The United States said Wednesday it was prepared to negotiate a settlement to a long-standing dispute with the EU over allegedly illegal state subsidies to Airbus if such aid was in line with global trade rules.
The World Trade Organization has ruled in favour of the United States,\nJapan and Taiwan in their complaint against EU duties on high-technology\nproducts, a source close to the dispute told AFP on Monday.
In 2009, EU Customs took action in 43,500 cases involving several million products suspected of being counterfeited or pirated at the external borders of the EU. This is according to the European Commission’s annual report on EU Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), which was published today. Cigarettes, clothing and brand labels were among the main articles stopped by customs on suspicion of IPR infringements. However, products for daily use and posing a potential danger to citizens’ health, such as shampoos, toothpaste, toys, medicines or household appliances, also accounted for a significant part. Today’s report gives statistics on the type, origin and transport method of IPR infringing products stopped at the external borders.
The 16-nation eurozone\'s trade balance with the rest of the world veered heavily into deficit in the first quarter of 2010, official figures showed on Thursday.
European companies are increasingly worried about doing business in China, says Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, citing intellectual property protection as a major concern.
The European Union has hit back against the World Trade Organization\'s ruling which partly backed a US complaint that some state support for aerospace giant Airbus is illegal.