The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva,Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish,revise,and enforce the rules that govern international trade in cooperation with the United Nations System. The WTO is the world's largest international economic organization,with 166 members representing over 98% of global trade and global GDP.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting American trade policy. Part of the Executive Office of the President,it is headed by the U.S. Trade Representative,a Cabinet-level position that serves as the U.S. President's primary advisor,negotiator,and spokesperson on trade matters. USTR has more than two hundred employees,with offices in Geneva,Switzerland,and Brussels,Belgium.
Ronald Kirk is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Trade Representative from 2009 to 2013,as the 97th Secretary of State of Texas,and as the 56th Mayor of Dallas from 1995 to 2002. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
In American politics,the China lobby consisted of advocacy groups calling for American support for the Republic of China during the period from the 1930s until US recognition of the People's Republic of China in 1979,and then calling for closer ties with the PRC thereafter.
The Australia –United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) is a preferential trade agreement between Australia and the United States modelled on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The AUSFTA was signed on 18 May 2004 and came into effect on 1 January 2005.
Stephen Paul Cannane is a news journalist and current affairs reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He is the chief of the ABC's Europe bureau,based in London. Cannane had previously been the ABC's Europe correspondent,a reporter for the ABC's Investigations unit,a host of The Drum and a reporter at Lateline.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is an American multinational tobacco company,with products sold in over 180 countries. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is Marlboro. Philip Morris International is often referred to as one of the companies comprising Big Tobacco.
Rufus Hawkins Yerxa is a retired American lawyer and former U.S. government and international official. He served as Deputy United States Trade Representative during the George H.W. Bush and Clinton Administrations,and served for 11 years as Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). From 2016 to 2021 he was President of the National Foreign Trade Council.
Zoran Jolevski is a Macedonian diplomat and the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia. Prior to his appointment as Minister of Defense,he served as Macedonia's Ambassador to the United States of America. In November 2008,he was appointed chief negotiator to the Macedonia naming dispute,and in 2011 he was appointed Ambassador to the United Mexican States and as Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States. He served as Secretary General of the late Macedonian president Boris Trajkovski from 2000–2004. He holds a Ph.D. in International Economy from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje. He is married to Suzana Jolevska,and together they have two sons,Pero (1988) and Filip (1992).
Diplomatic relations between Australia and Ukraine were established in 1992. Ukraine has had an embassy in Canberra since March 2003 and the Australian Embassy in Kyiv was established in December 2014,however,Australia closed its embassy in Kyiv in February 2022 due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Lieutenant Colonel Boniface Guwa Chidyausiku is a Zimbabwean diplomat who served as Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Russia from 2011 to 2015. Chidyausiku participated in the Zimbabwe Liberation War as a member of ZANLA from 1975 to 1980,which led to the attainment of National Independence and multiracial democracy. He was attested and commissioned with the rank of Lt Colonel in the Zimbabwe National Army. He went back to college in 1982 and obtained a BA History [Honours] Degree,and a Master of Science Degree in International Relations from the University of Zimbabwe.
The Ministerial Conference is the top decision making body of the World Trade Organization (WTO). There have been twelve ministerial conferences from 1996 to 2022,usually every two years.
Tobacco politics refers to the politics surrounding the use and distribution of tobacco,likewise with regulations.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,is a federal statute in the United States that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 22,2009. The Act gives the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate the tobacco industry. A signature element of the law imposes new warnings and labels on tobacco packaging and their advertisements,with the goal of discouraging minors and young adults from smoking. The Act also bans flavored cigarettes,places limits on the advertising of tobacco products to minors and requires tobacco companies to seek FDA approval for new tobacco products.
Plain tobacco packaging,also known as generic,neutral,standardised or homogeneous packaging,is packaging of tobacco products,typically cigarettes,without any branding,including only the brand name in a mandated size,font and place on the pack,in addition to the health warnings and any other legally mandated information such as toxic constituents and tax-paid stamps. The appearance of all tobacco packs is standardised,including the colour of the pack.
Vangelis (Evangelos) Vitalis is a New Zealand diplomat and trade negotiator currently working as the Deputy Secretary for the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Amina Chawahir Mohamed Jibril,born 5 October 1961,is a former Kenyan cabinet secretary,lawyer and a diplomat of Somali descent. She is the immediate former Cabinet Secretary for Sports,Heritage and Culture in Kenya. She previously served as chairwoman of the International Organization for Migration and the World Trade Organization's General Council,as well as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. She served as the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya from May 2013 to February 2018,when President Uhuru Kenyatta,after re-election,moved her to the Education docket. In March 2019,she was moved to the Sports Ministry replacing Rashid Echesa. The KNEC Director,George Magoha replaced her in the Education docket.
Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo is a Brazilian career diplomat who served as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2013 until 2020. Since 2020,he has been Executive Vice President and Director of Corporate Affairs at PepsiCo.
The illicit cigarette trade is defined as "the production,import,export,purchase,sale,or possession of tobacco goods which fail to comply with legislation". Illicit cigarette trade activities fall under 3 categories:
- Contraband:cigarettes smuggled from abroad without domestic duty paid;
- Counterfeit:cigarettes manufactured without authorization of the rightful owners,with intent to deceive consumers and to avoid paying duty;
- Illicit whites:brands manufactured legitimately in one country,but smuggled and sold in another without duties being paid.
Stephen de Boer is Canada's former Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization in Geneva,Switzerland.
