Men's Ties & Accessories

Europe's Importers Need More German Consumption, Not Bailouts

That's meant to be a reductio ad absurdum of the idea that these problems can and should simply be solved by a German-financed bailout. But why are we discussing this in terms of bailouts at all? The underlying presumption of a lot of this discourse seems to be that running a large and persistent trade surplus is a really awesome state of affairs that Germany would only very reluctantly give up. Indeed, so reluctantly that it makes more sense to talk about the idea of Germany simply mailing money to the deficit countries. But a persistent trade surplus isn't fun? It's a drag! It's means you're doing a lot of work for a relatively small amount of stuff even though the whole point of working is to get the stuff. Southern Europe needs higher income, and Germany is one likely source of the income. But instead of bailouts, Germans could provide Southern Europe with money in exchange for goods and services. Olive oil! Beach vacations! Marble countertops! Americans manage to buy more stuff made in Spain and Italy than we sell to Spain and Italy. They have a lot of fun, delicious stuff in Spain and Italy.

Source: Slate Magazine (blog)

Banana import licenses to be abolished - Fruitnet.com | The Global ...

Freshfel Europe has praised the decision of the EU Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets to abolish the bloc's banana import license system.

According to the European fresh produce association, it has advocated the repeal of banana import licenses for several months, describing the monitoring tool as 'redundant' and 'unnecessarily burdensome' for operators after the move of the import regime to a tariff-only system.

The decision to eliminate the banana import license system will come into force on 1 January 2012, something that awaits publication in the EU Official Journal in coming weeks, Freshfel said.

Some 4.8m tonnes of bananas originating from third countries are imported into the EU on an annual basis, and while ACP-grown bananas have not required an import license since total market liberalisation in 2008, other supplying countries have been, until now, requested to lodge import licenses when bringing bananas into free circulation in the EU....

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Russia 'to lower citrus import duties' - Fruitnet.com | The Global ...

Russia could be set to lower the import duty on citrus products within a year of its accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), according to a document seen by Interfax and reported by Agrooglyad.

The document said that import duties on oranges and grapefruits, which currently stand at 5 per cent, €0.02 per kg, will be maintained until Russia joins the WTO.

However, in 2013 the import duty on oranges will drop to 5 per cent but no lower than €0.017 per kg, while on grapefruits it will fall to 5 per cent but no lower than €0.015 per kg.

Duties will also be lowered on mandarin oranges, lemons and limes, the document suggested.

Import duties on grapes, papayas and bananas will remain stable, but will fall for pineapples from 5 per cent to 3 per cent.

Between January and September this year, Russia's citrus imports grew from 873,000 tonnes at US$730.7m to 1m tonnes at US$979.3m.

Source: Russia 'to lower citrus import duties' - Fruitnet.com | The Global ...

Import Articles Europe News

EU oil import costs soar above $400bn

Financial Times - Jan 01, 1970

The European Union's oil import costs have soared to more than $400bn this year as crude prices continue to trade above $100 a barrel, heightening concerns about their impact on the region's economy, the International Energy

Europe's Importers Need More German Consumption, Not Bailouts

Slate Magazine (blog) - Jan 01, 1970

Europe features "imbalances" between countries (like Germany) that export more than they import, and countries like Spain that import more than they export. Those imbalances lead to the accumulation of debt in the importing

EU steel import applications drop in October to 21-month low

Platts - Jan 01, 1970

EU steel import applications fell in October to a 21-month low of 1.55 million mt from 1.82 million mt a month earlier, on falling volumes from China, Ukraine and Russian-origin licenses. Applications to import steel from South Korea and Turkey

Giving Thanks for Income Improvement

Morningstar.com - Jan 01, 1970

Falling manufacturing indexes in China and Europe and poor bond auctions for government debt in Europe set us up for a bad conclusion to the pre-holiday period for financial markets.

Italian steel HRC traders hold off import positions as macro gloom persists

Platts - Jan 01, 1970

Hot-rolled coil traders in Italy are still holding off on taking positions, waiting instead for prices to slip below current import offer levels as the economic malaise persists in Europe and end-users opt for local material, market participants said