MAIN HEADLINES FROM THIS ISSUE:

• Malaysia to announce national countertrade policy, allows credit banking

  Malaysia will compel its ministries to engage in the country’s countertrade process when purchasing from foreign contractors. The government will announce a national countertrade policy within the year.  Malaysia has also introduced new countertrade guidelines, effective now, that allow for the banking of offset credits…

• Turkey’s new evaluation formula

  Turkey has changed its evaluation score for offset proposals, with a variation in the coefficient category and preference for design projects that benefit SMEs.

• Slovakia: The new offset law will have to be amended

  Slovakia is considering amending its new offset policy. The policy was conceived as recently as December 2007 and became mandatory a month later…

• Czech Republic doubles threshold and signals further policy review

  The Czech Republic has significantly altered its priorities for offset fulfilment and is to revise its guidelines in preparation for compliance with the EDA Code of Conduct on Offsets. The threshold, presently €18m, is…

• EDA: Transparency in all but name

  CTO considers the reference to transparency to be insincere, paradoxical and duplicitous. We put it to a senior official that confidential information is to be submitted to the EDA by each SMS, later to be circulated amongst members, but not to be available for publication…