Japan Implements New Anti-Piracy Law – Japan’s new anti-piracy law came into effect on November 30th. The law will allow private armed guards to board Japanese-registered oil tankers and other cargo ships in waters off Somalia. Deploying private armed guards was previously against the domestic firearms and swords control law.
Read more from Journal of Commerce.
Protests in Ukraine over Vetoed Trade Deal with EU – About 300,000 people are protesting in Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine. Protestors are upset because the government vetoed a potentially historic trade deal with the European Union (EU) in order to focus on strengthening trade ties with Russia. The EU trade deal was due to be signed on November 29th and would have boosted Ukraine’s economy by more than 6 percent.
Read more from Global Trade News.
Australia Signs FTA with South Korea – Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Australia and South Korea have concluded and will go into effect pending government approval in each country. Australian exports to Korea are expected to grow by 73 percent over the next 15 years. Tariffs will be eliminated on Australian agricultural exports.
Read more from ABC News AU.
EU, Guatemala Trade Deal Becomes Operational – Trade barriers between the European Union and Guatemala were lifted on December 1st when the trade pillar of the EU-Central America Association Agreement was applied. This trade partnership already included Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama, and with Guatemala, now applies to the entire region.
Read more from European Commission.
