April 02, the United States and the South Korea reached a free trade agreement which lifts tariffs on wide range of products except rice. The agreement is waiting to be approved by both countries’ legislature. This is the United States’ biggest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993 and is the first trade deal with major Asian economy.

What products are included in the Agreement?

About 90 percent of both countries’ tariffs on industrial goods will be eliminated immediately and will be expanded to the remainder in three to 15 years. Two of the most notable goods in the agreement would be auto and beef.

In 2005, the United States trade deficit with the South Korea was about 16 billion dollars. Auto trade accounts more than 80 percent of it. Some 4,000 U.S. made vehicles were sold in the South Korean compare to 800,000 Korean made vehicle sold in the United States. In the agreement, Seoul promised to change its tax system on autos which will make U.S. cars less expensive to sell in Korea. Read the rest of this entry »

Plastic bag is commonly used when you are grocery shopping, and is usually cheap enough that the stores will not charge for that. Since it is cheap and is free for the customers that people may not caution about how many to use. Thus, it leads to a problem of overusing. In Hong Kong, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is going to propose a bill to the Legislative Council this month which suggests imposing taxes on using plastic bags in supermarkets and convenience stores.

There are two plans for the bill. The first one is charging HKD $ 0.50 (USD $ 0.064) on each plastic bag that customers used, and the second is charging manufacturers and importer HKD $ 12.50 (USD $ 1.60) for each kilogram of plastic bag. If the stores violated the law by giving the customers free plastic bag, there would be a penalty fee from a few thousand to few hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Read the rest of this entry »

What kind of souvenirs would you like to buy after visiting China? What about a notebooks or booklets made by Panda poop? Not a joke! Researchers at a giant panda reserve in southern China Szechwan are planning to produce papers and other souvenirs by giant panda excrement. The research claimed that giant panda excrement is fiber-rich which is excellent to process into high quality paper.

This is not a new idea. The idea was taken from Thailand which produces paper out of elephant dung. Also, if you may remember, China sent two giant pandas to live Thailand in 2003 for ten years. The Zoo in Thailand is already using the two giant pandas’ excrement to produce souvenirs, such as notebook, booklet, and folding fans. The zoo made more than US$7,000 in profit by doing so. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a work I wrote in 2005 for my International Business Class

By H.W.C

April 21, 2005

INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPER REPORT-Trade & Investment

ARTICLES
EUROPEAN OFFICIALS DOWNPLAY CHIRAC’S WAR ON CHINESE TEXTILES
By Toh Han Shih. 16 April 2005. South China Morning Post
&
GET OUT OF THE FIRING LINE, HK FIRMS TOLD; MVES BY US AND EUROPE TO IMPOSE QUOTAS ON CHINA-MADE GARMENT PROMPT TDC CALL TO SHIFT PRODUCTION FROM MAINLAND
By Toh Han Shih. 8 April 2005 South China Morning Post
&
UNDERWEAR COVERS THE REAL ISSUE BEHIND US POSTURING ON TEXTILE
By Neil Gough. 9 April 2005. South China Morning Post
&
US JUMPS GUN ON TEXTILE SAFEGUARDS; ‘SELF-INITIATED’ INVESTIGATIONS POSE THREAT OF NEW QUOTAS ON MAINLAND PRODUCTS
By Toh Han Shih. 6 April 2005. South China Morning Post

COUNTRY
CHINA (HONG KONG SAR)

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This is a work I wrote in 2005 for my International Business Class

By H.W.C

Feb 14, 2005

INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPER REPORT

Globalization & Social Responsibility

ARTICLES:

“HI-TECH PLAN SEEN AS LONG-TERM GOALTO BOOST RECOVERY”
By Sherman So. 9 December 2003 South China Morning Post
&
“TOP SCIENCE PARK IN NEED OF ENGINEERS”
10 July 2004 South China Morning Post
&
PROTECTION OF IPR GIVE TECH PARK THE EDGE
By Stuart Biggs. 2 November 2004 South China Morning Post
&
GOOD DAY FOR TUNG AS PHILIPS COMPLETES LONG WALK TO SCIENCE PARK
By Bien Perez. 3 February 2005 South China Morning Post

COUNTRY
CHINA(HONG KONG SAR)

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