Statoil risks huge fine after raid

Norwegian state oil company Statoil risks getting hit with a huge fine, possibly as much as NOK 70 billion (USD 12 billion), if a raid on its headquarters Tuesday leads to cartel charges from European regulators. The raid itself, claimed one analyst, is “one of the worst things a company can experience.” Inspectors from the [...]

Competition authorities raid Statoil

UPDATED: Officials from the European Free Trade Association’s surveillance authority raided the headquarters offices of Norwegian state oil company Statoil in Stavanger on Tuesday, with the help of Norway’s own competition authorities (Konkurransetilsynet). The raid stems from suspicions that Statoil and other companies have struck deals that hinder competition and abuse dominant market positions. Jannik [...]

Norwegians buying more time

New studies show that many Norwegians, armed with a big increase in purchasing power in recent years, are opting to spend their disposable income on more time-saving services and fewer material items. Growth in consumption of goods has stagnated, while Norwegians are buying more services than ever before. Among them, for example, are the dog-walking [...]

Cross-border shoppers unite

Thousands of Norwegians who regularly travel over the border to shop in Sweden are now banding together through an online organization aimed at getting even better deals from Swedish merchants. The Norwegians may also succeed in getting better prices at home as well. The organization is called Harryklubben, which derives its name from the expression [...]

Fishing industry still fears retaliation over higher import tariffs

Norway’s huge and important fishing industry remains deeply worried that its seafood exports will be slapped with higher customs duties, in retaliation for the Norwegian government’s decision to protect domestic agriculture by jacking up import tariffs on meat and cheese from abroad. Norway’s foreign minister has responded by telling the industry to stop publicizing their [...]

Danes concede to ‘cheese war’ truce

Denmark’s trade minister remains unhappy over the Norwegian government’s decision to boost import tariffs on cheese and meat, to protect domestic producers, but she’s reportedly calling off a “cheese war” with her fellow Scandinavians. Danish Trade Minister Pia Olsen Dyhr told ABC Nyheter that “we have no need” for a trade war with Norway. Her remarks [...]

Norwegian companies doing more business in Africa

Investment in Africa by Norwegian companies has increased six-fold during the past 10 years, according to state statistics bureau SSB. It remains small compared to investment on other continents, but business activity has taken off in recent years. Attendance at a recent African-Norwegian business conference in Oslo was high, and newspaper Aftenposten reported that representatives [...]

Cross-border trade in reverse, in Northern Norway

While Norwegians stream over the border, especially in southern Norway, to take advantage of lower prices in Sweden, the cross-border trade in the far north is the reverse: Russian citizens shuttle back and forth to Kirkenes, to stock up on goods they can’t get at home. Newspaper Aftenposten reported recently that traffic over the border [...]

Tobacco giant drops appeal

Philip Morris, the major tobacco producer, has decided not to pursue its legal challenge of a Norwegian law that forbids retailers from displaying tobacco products. The company’s Norwegian unit, Philip Morris Norge, had claimed the law hindered trade of legal products and failed to document the health benefits justifying such a hindrance. Philip Morris Norge [...]

Protests rise over meat and cheese

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg claimed that angry opponents of his government’s move to boost income for Norwegian farmers, by dramatically raising import tariffs, would calm down once they read the portion of the state budget where the increases are outlined. Not so: Denmark’s trade minister, for example, is even more angry than before and still [...]

Government pushes own trade agenda

Just as Norway’s government is sparking anger in Brussels over its intention to boost important tariffs on meat and cheese, it’s also fighting a ban on the sale of its own seal products within the European Union. Norway is gearing up to defend the complaint it lodged with the World Trade Organization (WTO), part of [...]

Trade war looms over higher tariffs

The European Union’s ambassador to Norway is calling the Norwegian government’s decision to raise import tariffs on meat and cheese “a clear violation” of a European trade agreement that took effect earlier this year. The higher tariffs are aimed at protecting and further raising the prices of Norwegian agricultural products, and EU Ambassador Janos Herman warned [...]

South Korean leader keen on Arctic

The president of South Korea wrapped up an official visit to Norway this week that ended with both him and Norway’s prime minister promising increased cooperation between the two countries. South Korea is one of Norway’s largest trading partners in Asia and  keen on having more influence in the Arctic. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak [...]

Trade surplus hits new high

Norway’s trade surplus was higher than ever before during the first half of this year, even though the price of oil and the amount of oil exported fell. One local economist noted that the growth shows what a “privileged” economic position Norway is in, at least for now. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported that the [...]

China sends new ambassador to Oslo

After 19 months of a diplomatic stalemate between China and Norway, the Chinese government has sent a new ambassador to Oslo. Some observers view the move as a sign that diplomatic relations, frozen since the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident in 2010, may finally be starting to thaw. The top [...]

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