Report: Congo officers benefit from mineral trade

GOMA, Congo (AP) — An environmental watchdog group says armed groups and high-ranking officers in the Congolese army are continuing to benefit from the illegal mineral trade in eastern Congo, despite international efforts to clean up the supply chain.

The report published Tuesday by Global Witness says that although there are signs of improvement in Congo's tin and tantalum sectors, the "progress remains localized."

The gold trade in particular remains a problem. The report said tons of gold mined in eastern Congo is smuggled to neighboring Burundi every year because it is easily smuggled across borders and proper checks are not carried out by local buyers in Africa's Great Lakes region or by international traders. Laundered through the Burundian local trade, the gold is exported to Dubai where it is bought by international traders.

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Officers in Congo benefitting from mineral trade

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Armed groups and high-ranking officers in the Congolese and Burundian armies are continuing to benefit from the illegal mineral trade in eastern Congo, despite international efforts to clean up the supply chain, according to a report published Tuesday by an environmental watchdog group.

Although there are signs of improvement in Congo's tin and tantalum sectors, the "progress remains localized," said the report by London-based Global Witness.

The gold trade in particular remains a problem. Because gold is easily smuggled across borders and proper checks are not carried out by local buyers in the Great Lakes region or by international traders, tons of the mineral mined in eastern Congo are smuggled to neighboring Burundi every year. Laundered through the Burundian local gold trade, the mineral is then exported to Dubai where it is bought by international traders, said the report.

High-ranking officers in both the Congolese and Burundian armies are benefiting from the illegal trade, as well as local armed rebels who use the cash to buy weapons in order to carry on their fight, according to the research by Global Witness. Moreover, armed groups often fight each other over the control of mines.

Eastern Congo's population bears the brunt of the conflict fueled by the corrupted mineral trade. Last week, two groups fought each other for control of Pinga, in the Walikale territory, a mineral-rich area in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo. Thousands of people fled into the forest to avoid the clashes between the APCLS and Mai Mai Cheka rebels. Eleven employees of international charity Doctors Without Borders went missing.

Senior Congolese officers also abuse their position to benefit from the minerals trade, says the report.

Gen. Gabriel Amissi, the former army chief of staff, used his power to control the Omate gold mine in Walikale, says Global Witness.

"Col. Mundos, a former member of the Presidential guard, manages collection of daily production at the mine site on behalf of the general," says the report.

Gen. Amissi was removed from his post in November 2012, following the revelations in the United Nations Group of Experts report, showing Amissi had provided weapons and ammunition to a local armed group called the Raia Mutomboki. Amissi is still benefiting from the gold trade through the patronage network he was set up, Global Witness says. Amissi, currently in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, has not been charged with a crime.

Although smuggling remains widespread, ongoing international efforts to clean up the trade have led to some improvements, says the report. In October 2012, the Conflict-Free Tin Initiative launched in the Kalimbi mine attempted to set up a system to trace the minerals' journey out of Congo and ensure that the metals mined here do not contribute to the conflict.

"Although localized, these positive developments represent emerging opportunities for responsible sourcing, which the Congolese government, companies and international donors should support and develop," says the report.

Section 1502 of the Dodd Frank law, passed by the United States Congress in July 2010, requires that American companies apply due diligence to make sure that the minerals they are buying from the Great Lakes region are not conflict minerals. The European Commission is currently considering a similar supply chain initiative for European companies.

These initiatives have received mixed reviews, with critics pointing to the little impact they have had on the conflict itself, as well as the harmful, de facto embargo by U.S. companies leading to many local miners losing their livelihood.

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EU, Canada see trade deal as possible template for U.S. deal

OTTAWA (Reuters) - There are still obstacles to a Canada-European Union free trade deal, the prime ministers of Canada and France said on Thursday, but both said a deal could smooth the way for a similar EU deal with Washington.

The initial end-2011 timeline to complete the Canada-EU deal has slipped, and a decision from Europe and the United States to begin their own free trade negotiations has put extra pressure on Canada.

"Clearly, I think it's advantageous for us to have such an agreement before the United States does," Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters after a meeting with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

"I also think it's important for the Europeans to have such success in North America before really launching a discussion, which will be in my opinion difficult, with the United States."

Canada's economic growth strategy depends partly on diversifying its trade away from the United States, which takes about three-quarters of all exports. But U.S. demand isn't growing fast enough to spur substantial export growth in Canada.

Both Harper and Ayrault noted that significant progress had been made toward a trade deal and said they hoped a pact would be ready as soon as possible.

Ayrault said disagreements persisted over agricultural exports, intellectual property and cultural diversity.

Canada wants more access to the European market for its beef and pork and the EU has concerns about European poultry.

Ayrault said the final text of a Canada-EU deal would, if concluded in time, likely be a precursor for a similar deal between Europe and the United States.

"It's true that if this agreement is concluded and is exemplary ... it will not be without influence on the contents of the negotiations between the European Union and the United States," he said in French.

(Reporting by Randall Palmer and Louise Egan; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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EU, Canada see trade deal as possible template for U.S. deal

OTTAWA (Reuters) - There are still obstacles to a Canada-European Union free trade deal, the prime ministers of Canada and France said on Thursday, but both said a deal could smooth the way for a similar EU deal with Washington.

The initial end-2011 timeline to complete the Canada-EU deal has slipped, and a decision from Europe and the United States to begin their own free trade negotiations has put extra pressure on Canada.

"Clearly, I think it's advantageous for us to have such an agreement before the United States does," Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters after a meeting with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

"I also think it's important for the Europeans to have such success in North America before really launching a discussion, which will be in my opinion difficult, with the United States."

Canada's economic growth strategy depends partly on diversifying its trade away from the United States, which takes about three-quarters of all exports. But U.S. demand isn't growing fast enough to spur substantial export growth in Canada.

Both Harper and Ayrault noted that significant progress had been made toward a trade deal and said they hoped a pact would be ready as soon as possible.

Ayrault said disagreements persisted over agricultural exports, intellectual property and cultural diversity.

Canada wants more access to the European market for its beef and pork and the EU has concerns about European poultry.

Ayrault said the final text of a Canada-EU deal would, if concluded in time, likely be a precursor for a similar deal between Europe and the United States.

"It's true that if this agreement is concluded and is exemplary ... it will not be without influence on the contents of the negotiations between the European Union and the United States," he said in French.

(Reporting by Randall Palmer and Louise Egan; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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Canadian trade minister expects EU trade pact this year

By Edward McAllister

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canada hopes to sign a long-delayed free trade deal with the European Union this year, though some key disagreements remain which could further postpone it, Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast said in an interview in New York on Wednesday.

Fast and his EU counterpart Karel De Gucht met last month to try to iron out differences over agricultural exports, intellectual property and public procurement that have so far kept officials from signing a deal.

But they failed to sign an agreement that Canada says would help diversify Canadian trade away from the United States and boost trade with Europe.

"It is a very small handful of issues that are difficult," Fast told Reuters. "We are trying to identify some creative ways in bridging the gaps between our positions."

He declined to say which issues were causing the delay.

The United States currently takes 75 percent of all Canadian exports, and the EU just over 10 percent. Under an FTA, Canada-EU trade could increase by 20 percent, Canada has said.

FTA talks started in 2009 and were initially expected to conclude by the end of 2011, a date that was pushed back to the end of 2012. Even now, Fast said he will not be pushed by arbitrary deadlines while disagreements remain.

"Understand that it is the quality of the agreement and not a particular calendar date," Fast said. "It has to be in Canada's long term trade interests, otherwise we won't sign a deal."

Canadian meat producers want an end to high EU import tariffs they say have effectively shut Canada out of a European market that consumes 8 million tonnes of beef products a year.

The Europeans want Canada to extend patent protection for major pharmaceutical companies, accept more EU dairy products and open up internal procurement markets.

The Canada Europe Roundtable for Business trade lobby last month urged negotiators to wrap up a deal soon, noting any agreement would have to be voted on by the European Parliament, which is due to hold elections in April 2014.

If legislators do not deal with the treaty in time, it would be handled by the next Parliament, meaning ratification could be delayed by 18 months, the group said.

Adding to the pressure on Ottawa, the United States and the EU could begin their own free-trade talks by June, U.S. President Barack Obama said this month. The negotiations with Canada, if not completed, could become a lower priority at that point.

(Reporting by Edward McAllister; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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Conservation body rejects polar bear trade ban

BANGKOK (AP) — A proposal by the United States to ban cross-border trade in polar bears and their parts was defeated Thursday at an international meeting of conservationists, marking a victory for Canada's indigenous Inuit people over their big neighbor to the south.

Delegates at the triennial meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, rejected Washington's proposal to change the status of the polar bear from a species whose trade is merely regulated, not banned.

The proposal fell far short of the two-thirds needed to pass, garnering 38 votes in favor, 42 against and 46 abstentions. A similar proposal was defeated three years ago at the last CITES meeting.

While support for most of the meeting's 70 proposals covering the trade in other species fell along predictable lines, the U.S. proposal made for some odd bedfellows. Russia endorsed Washington's proposal, which was also supported by a cluster of animal humane societies. Canada was joined in opposition by some of the larger conservation organizations, including the CITES Secretariat and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, better known as TRAFFIC.

The worldwide population of polar bears is estimated to be 20,000-28,000, with about two-thirds in Canada.

The United States had contended that climate change was dangerously shrinking the bears' habitat, and that pre-emptive measures were needed to save them.

The Inuit, on whose lands many of the animals dwell, contended that polar bear populations were not declining, and that Canada was regulating the hunting of the bears in sustainable numbers. The tribal group said their way of life and livelihoods would be threatened by a ban.

"What it means to the Inuit people is that it is confirmation that the Inuit are managing the polar bear in a very responsible manner and that the world agrees with us, and it's a proud moment for the Inuit," Terry Audla, head of an Inuit rights group, said after the vote.

Audla earlier contended that the threatened ban was only the latest action that failed to heed the needs of the Inuit community.

"The world bans the seal trade, not based on science, but based on their bleeding hearts, right? Because 'it's so cruel,'" he said. "But we've lived off the seals for centuries, and the population is quite healthy. So that was taken away from us. Now the ivory trade, we have the walrus tusks and the narwhal tusks, and that trade was important to us as well. That was taken away from us. Now they're saying the polar bear should be taken away from us as well."

The U.S. delegation said it was disappointed that the trade ban proposal had failed.

"We will continue to work with our partners to reduce the pressure that trade in polar bear parts puts on this iconic arctic species, even as we take on the longer-term threat that climate change poses to polar bears," Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes said in a prepared statement.

"Limiting commercial trade in this species would have addressed a source of non-climate stress to polar bear populations and contributed to long-term recovery," said the statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Each year, an average of 3,200 items made from polar bears - including skins, claws and teeth - are reported to be exported or re-exported from a range of countries. Polar bear hides sell for an average of $2,000 to $5,000, while maximum hide prices have topped $12,000."

___

Associated Press writers Grant Peck and Todd Pitman contributed to this report.

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Vulnerable U.S. Dairy Industry Could Be Harmed By TPP Trade Deal

Farmers, Workers, Processors Fear Unfair Competition From New Zealand Dairy Industry

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congress should not approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal without carefully considering the impact on vulnerable U.S. dairy farms and workers. That was the message delivered today by 11 national organizations representing dairy farmers and dairy industry workers in a letter to eight key members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO)

The TPP has the potential to become the biggest trade deal in history.  As the 16^th round of talks gets underway today  in Singapore, negotiators now include Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Vietnam.  Other Pacific Rim nations – notably Japan, the Philippines and Thailand – are watching the talks closely, with an eye to joining the controversial trade pact.

U.S. dairy interests are especially concerned that the trade deal will damage family farmers, dairy processors and consumers.

The letter states the pending trade deal could have tremendous impact on where and how dairy products are produced and processed.

"New market access for New Zealand's monopolistic dairy sector would be especially damaging to U.S. dairy farmers and those who produce and process nonfat dry milk, butterfat or cheese," the letter states.

To make sure the U.S. dairy industry won't be decimated by the TPP, the letter urges Congress to adopt new trade policymaking procedures rather than reinstating so-called "fast-track" authority.

"Congress must make sure this trade deal doesn't open the door to unfair competition," said Rome Aloise, international vice president for the Teamsters and head of the union's dairy conference, which represents 30,000 dairy workers throughout the supply chain. "The dairy industry is too important to our economy and to our food supply."

Aloise added the Teamsters would not support any trade deal that provides lesser protections to workers than to corporations.

Ben Burkett, a farmer and the president of the National Family Farm Coalition, explained why his group joined the call to Congress, "This letter elevates an issue so important to our dairy farmer members and to all consumers. The future of our nation's 60,000 dairy farmers is at stake."

"National Farmers Union supports trade agreements that benefit U.S. agriculture and promotes societal goals of healthy communities, feeding the poor, economic justice, human rights, and a sound environment. If those high standards are to be met in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Congress needs to weigh in on the terms of the agreement now, before the negotiations are concluded," said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union.

"It's especially important that Congress review the impact of the TPP on the U.S. dairy industry because the deal has been negotiated in complete secrecy," said James P. Hoffa, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The letter was sent to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and Ranking Member Collin Peterson of Minnesota; House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp and Ranking Member Sander Levin, both of Michigan; Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Ranking Member Thad Cochran of Mississippi; and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana and Ranking Member Thad Cochran of Mississippi.

The letter was hand-delivered today to Capitol Hill by representatives of the ad-hoc national "fair trade" coalition, consisting of the Citizens Trade Campaign, Family Farm Defenders, Food & Water Watch, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance Fun, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, League of Rural Voters, the National Farmers Union, and Rural Coalition/Coalicion Rural.

An example of the letter can be found here.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

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Canada gets double blow on inflation, retail trade

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian economy registered its lowest inflation in more than three years in January and its largest decline in retail sales in almost three years in December, a double whammy of data that depressed the Canadian dollar and bond yields.

"All of this would feed into a dovish Bank of Canada and Canadian dollar weakness," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank.

Statistics Canada said on Friday that lower gas prices helped push the annual inflation rate down to 0.5 percent in January from 0.8 percent in December, the lowest since the 0.1 percent recorded in October 2009.

The rate is less than the 0.7 percent predicted by market analysts and farther outside the Bank of Canada's target range of 1 to 3 percent, offering further proof that the central bank is under no pressure to raise interest rates.

The Bank of Canada's closely watched core rate, which excludes the prices of items such as energy, tobacco and some food, slipped to 1.0 percent from 1.1 percent in December.

Sutton also noted with concern that on a seasonally adjusted basis, prices fell 0.1 percent in January from December.

The 2.1 percent fall in seasonally adjusted retail sales in December from November was far larger than the 0.3 percent decline predicted by market operators and suggested already muted expectations for fourth quarter growth might be too optimistic.

The monthly fall in retail sales was the greatest since the 2.4 percent decline recorded in April 2010. Trade was pulled down by slumping new car sales and a weak Christmas shopping season. Year on year, sales were down 0.7 percent, the worst since October 2009.

Last month the Bank of Canada already cut its fourth quarter growth forecast to 1.0 percent from 2.5 percent. December growth is likely to be disappointing given poor manufacturing and wholesale and now retail trade. Statscan is to release December and fourth quarter gross domestic product data on March 1.

In volume terms, used for calculating real gross domestic product moves, retail sales fell 1.6 percent.

Sales by auto and parts dealers dropped by 6.4 percent Sales at electronics and appliance stores, which jumped in November as Apple rolled out its iPad mini, fell by 12.1 percent.

Last month the Bank of Canada already cut its forecast for fourth quarter growth to 1.0 percent from 2.5 percent. December growth is likely to be disappointing given poor manufacturing and wholesale and now retail trade. Statscan releases December and fourth quarter GDP data on March 1.

"Basically this combination of data just piles on what had already been a weak footing for the Canadian dollar. Both numbers came in below already weak expectations. Obviously the real eye-opener here was the retail sales result," BMO Capital Markets chief economist Doug Porter said.

"We had been looking for a decline, but nothing on the order of that. And of course December just happens to be the most important month of the year for retailers. So obviously what had been a so-so year for retailers ended with a thud in December."

The Canadian dollar softened to its weakest level in seven months on the data, touching C$1.0230 versus the U.S. dollar, or 97.75 U.S. cents. It was at C$1.0210, or 97.94 U.S. cents shortly before the data release and finished Thursday's North American session at C$1.087, or 98.16 U.S. cents.

Overnight index swaps, which trade based on expectations for the central bank's key policy rate, showed that after the data traders eliminated already small bets on a rate increase in late 2013.

(Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp, Andrea Hopkins and Solarina Ho in Toronto; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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