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| Export reform update at Silicon Valley seminar |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Eric L. Hirschhorn on March 1 will meet with leading Silicon Valley companies to update them on the reform of the country’s export control regulations. The two-hour seminar, scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at SAP in Palo Alto, Calif., is sponsored by Women in International Trade – Northern California. The seminar will include a preview of proposed rulings and how companies are impacted by the e...
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| TCC wins key decision in MQC claims pursuit |
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
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The shuttered transpacific liner carrier The Containership Co. earlier this month won a decision in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that could help the line recoup lost revenue from its former shipper customers. On Feb. 10, a U.S. Bankruptcy judge in New York found in favor of Norway-based TCC in a motion filed by a group of its customers, who were seeking to have to breach-of-contracts proceedings moved before the Federal Maritime Commission. U.S. Judge Sean Lane denied the motio...
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| TNT reports $230 million 4Q loss |
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
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Days after it rejected an acquisition bid from UPS, the Dutch document and package carrier TNT Express said it had a loss of 174 million euros ($230 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to a profit of 4 million euros in the same 2010 period. Revenues were 1.87 billion euros in the fourth quarter, 2.3 percent more than the same period a year earlier. For the full-year 2011, the company lost 272 million euros, compared to a profit of 69 m...
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| NY/NJ port authority puts toll violators on notice |
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Monday, February 20, 2012
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Deadbeat truckers, bus companies, vehicle rental businesses and motorists who have racked up thousands of dollars of unpaid tolls at bridges and tunnels in the New York City metropolitan area are now having their identities exposed to shame them into compliance. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Friday published its list of top toll violators , who collectively owe about $5 million. Several small trucking firms involved in goods transportation are named. &nbs...
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| U.S., EU seal organic food trade |
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
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The United States and European Union on Wednesday announced that starting June 1 organic products certified in Europe or the United States may be sold as “organic” in either region. The United States and Europe are considered the world’s largest producers of organic crops, with a collective value of $52 billion (40 billion euros). The agreement’s signing took place at the BioFach World Organic Fair, the largest trade show for organic products in the world. &...
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| Conviction upheld in waterfront mob case |
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
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The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Michael Coppola who was found guilty by a jury of racketeering and sentenced to 16 years in jail in 2009. The court said Coppola was found guilty after a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York "of conducting and conspiring to conduct the affairs of the Genovese organized crime family through a pattern of racketeering activity evidenced by the use of extortion ...
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| Court won't block NY Waterfront Commission program |
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Monday, February 13, 2012
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The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of a complaint by the New York Shipping Association (NYSA) that sought to block a program by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor (WCNYH) that would give it the option to install independent monitors at port businesses. The commission was created in 1953 by the states of New York and New Jersey as a special law enforcement agency to combat crime and corruption at marine terminals and other wa...
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| General average declared after ship engine explosion |
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Monday, February 13, 2012
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The owner of the containership Hanjin Osaka has declared “general average,” following an explosion in its main engine on Jan. 8. MS Pelapas GmbH & Co. KG is the vessel owner, according to the shipping information database Equasis. It lists F. Laeisz as the ship manager, and a brochure on the F. Laeisz Website says the 1992-built Pelapas and its sister ships Perugia and Pereira are under long-term time charters to Hanjin. The vessels have a capacity of 4,024 TEUs an...
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| DTAG seeks new members |
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Friday, February 10, 2012
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The Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG), a private-sector panel that provides advice to the federal government on the policy and regulation of U.S. defense trade, is now accepting membership applications for the upcoming 2012-2014 term. “Membership on this panel presents an exciting opportunity to participate in the administration’s Export Control Reform Initiative, seeking to better align the export control process with emerging global security challenges,” the State De...
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| Judge declines to prevent NY-NJ toll hike |
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Tuesday, February 07, 2012
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A federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday denied a request from the Automobile Club of New York and the Automobile Club of North Jersey (AAA) for a preliminary injunction against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to keep the agency from raising tolls on its four bridges and two tunnels. The toll hikes have upset some commuters and truckers in the region. Tolls vary according to time and day of use and whether a vehicle has an EZ pass radio-frequency tag. For ex...
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| ACP says canal expansion on schedule |
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Thursday, February 02, 2012
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The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), as well as Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), the consortium of four construction companies building a new, larger set of locks for the waterway, said they expect the expansion project to be completed on time. Despite a one-week construction workers strike in January, problems with perfecting the concrete mix for the locks project, and a report of work falling behind, both ACP and GUPC said in statements the canal expansion was ...
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| U.S. dolphin-safe rules pressed in WTO |
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Monday, January 23, 2012
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The United States on Friday filed an appeal in the World Trade Organization dispute with Mexico challenging the United States’ dolphin-safe labeling measures for tuna products sold in America. On Sept. 15, 2011, a WTO Panel report in this dispute was released, which found the objectives of the U.S. measures are legitimate; the measures do not treat Mexico’s tuna products any less favorably than tuna products from the United States or other WTO members; and any adverse ef...
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| U.S. caviar seller runs afoul of Lacey Act |
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday said two Kentuckians and their caviar companies pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to trafficking in and falsely labeling illegally harvested paddlefish. Steve Kinder and his wife, Cornelia Joyce Kinder, both of Owenton, Ky., owned and operated Kinder Caviar Inc. and Black Star Caviar Co. Those companies were in the business of exporting paddlefish eggs as caviar to customers overseas. ...
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| CN attacks Ackman-Harrison alliance |
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Monday, January 16, 2012
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Canadian National Railway Co. is alleging that private investor William Ackman's plan to have former CN chief executive officer Hunter Harrison run its competitior, Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., may violate a non-compete agreement that Harrison signed when he left CN. “As part of his employment contract with CN, Mr. Harrison agreed, upon retirement as president and chief executive officer on Dec. 31, 2009, to be bound by a broad range of confidentiality and multiyear non-c...
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| Amazon.com DCs in Va., Tenn. raise eyebrows |
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Thursday, January 05, 2012
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Amazon.com will invest $270 million to open four fulfillment centers in Virginia and Tennessee this fall, the company announced Dec. 22. The Seattle-based Internet retailer will spend $135 million in Virginia for two distribution centers, one in Chesterfield County, south of Richmond, and the other in Dinwiddie County, near Petersburg. The Chesterfield DC will be the larger of the two with 1 million square-feet of space and more than 1,000 job...
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| Cell phone restrictions in trucks take effect |
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Tuesday, January 03, 2012
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Starting today, interstate truck drivers are prohibited from using handheld cell phones while driving due to a final rule implemented by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Violations carry a $2,750 fine for each offense and possible commercial license suspension for drivers with multiple convictions involving these violations....
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| Truckers seek Supreme Court review of LA port case |
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
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The American Trucking Associations last week filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of its case against the Port of Los Angeles. The ATA prevailed on the major issue in its dispute with the port when the 9th Circuit of Appeals ruled in September that the Port of Los Angeles could not ban the use of independent contractors at the port in favor of employee truck drivers. The court found that requirement in the port’s ban was preempted by a...
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| El Al pays damages in price-fixing suit |
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
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Israeli flag carrier El Al became the 16th airline to settle a class-action suit on behalf of freight forwarders who claim they were harmed by paying inflated prices for transportation because of collusion by carriers on surcharges, the elimination or prevention of discounts and commissions. El Al agreed to pay $15.8 million to the plaintiffs. The airline's decision brings the total amount recovered so far to $478.3 million, according to a statement from H...
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| Shipping executive charged with embezzlement |
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
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George Ortega of Kinnelon, New Jersey, the former managing director of Passport CFS Logistics, was arrested Dec. 7 for allegedly embezzling or obtaining unlawfully approximately $1.6 million from ARGIX Direct, doing business as Passport CFS Logistics, over an eight-year period. The arrest was announced by Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli in New Jersey Passport's primary business involved the transporting shipping containers from various ports located in the ...
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| NLRB ends case against Boeing |
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
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The business community won a major victory Dec. 9 when the National Labor Relations Board decided to withdraw its complaint against Boeing Co. for opening a second production line for its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft in South Carolina, a right-to-work state. The NLRB has become a focal point of industry anger with the Obama administration because Democratic appointees are perceived as making a series of activist pro-labor decisions as a political favor to lab...
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| Browning to lead GM's customs operation |
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Friday, December 09, 2011
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Douglas Browning, a former deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is leaving Sandler Travis Trade Advisory Services after six years to become global customs counsel for General Motors, he announced in an e-mail to friends and colleagues. Browning was senior vice president and general counsel for STTAS and on call as an advisor to sister law firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg. In his new position, he will manage a team of mo...
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| Cargolux execs plead guilty |
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Friday, December 09, 2011
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Two executives of Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International S.A. have each pleaded guilty and agreed to serve 13 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to fix cargo rates for international air shipments, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday. Ulrich Ogiermann, the former president and chief executive officer, and current employee of Cargolux; and Robert Van de Weg, the airline’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, pleaded guil...
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| A sticky situation |
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Wednesday, December 07, 2011
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A grand jury has charged three persons with smuggling honey from China into the United States, said United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill in Jacksonville. Chin Shih Chou, a/k/a "Jeff" (48, Taiwan), Qiao Chu, a/k/a "Dott" (25, China), and Wei Tang Lo a/k/a “Danny,” a/k/a “Larry Law,” a/k/a "David Lo" (48, Hacienda Heights, California) are charged with falsely labeling the honey as "rice fructose" in order to avoid more than $1 million in duties owed to the United States. They...
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| Justice sniffs out counterfeit perfume |
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Tuesday, December 06, 2011
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Two New Jersey men were charged in an indictment unsealed on Dec. 1 in the Eastern District of New York for their roles in a conspiracy to import and traffic in counterfeit perfume, the Justice Department said. Sanjay Anandani, 34, of Clinton, N.J., was arrested on Dec. 1 in Secaucus, N.J., and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy in the Eastern District of New York. Rohit Rohit, 28, of Edgewater, N.J., surrendered to authorities t...
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| Former air cargo exec pleads guilty to price fixing |
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Thursday, December 01, 2011
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The U.S. Justice Department said a former executive of a Peruvian airline pleaded guilty Wednesday for his role in a conspiracy to fix surcharges on air cargo shipments from the United States to South and Central America following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. George Gonzalez, former chief commercial officer of Cielos Airlines, a Peruvian air cargo carrier, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to a one count charge of price fixing. On Oct. 28, 2010, Gonzalez...
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| White named RILA general counsel |
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Wednesday, November 09, 2011
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The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has named Deborah White as executive vice president and general counsel, the organization said Tuesday. As RILA’s chief legal officer, White will oversee all association corporate governance and related legal activities and serve as the primary liaison to RILA member company general counsels and members of the RILA general counsel committee. White will also serve as president of the Retail Litigation Center, which brin...
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| FMC meets with Shanghai Shipping Exchange officials |
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
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The Federal Maritime Commission on Tuesday began meetings with officials from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange in an effort to address U.S. shipper and non-vessel-operating common carrier concerns about the purpose and management of certain sensitive shipment information collected by the exchange. The meetings, underway at the commission’s Washington headquarters, will be held through Thursday. The FMC and the exchange also met briefly with COSCO Americas officials at the end of ...
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| Johns to receive 2011 Connie Award |
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
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The Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII) will present the 2011 Connie Award to Robert Kenneth (Ken) Johns, former president of Sea-Land Service, for his significant influence on containerization in worldwide trade and transportation. Johns served as Sea-Land's president and chief operating officer from 1979-87. Under his leadership, Sea-Land prospered as one of the world's largest, most innovative and successful transportation companies. Following...
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| NY man, firm guilty of illegal computer exports |
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Monday, October 10, 2011
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Jeng “Jay” Shih, 54, a U.S. citizen, and his Queens, N.Y.-based company Sunrise Technologies and Trading Corp., pleaded guilty on Friday in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to illegally export U.S.-origin computers from the United States to Iran through the United Arab Emirates. At the court hearing, Shih and his company each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and to defraud the United States. The maximum senten...
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| CBP makes headway on simplified entry |
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Thursday, September 29, 2011
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U.S. Customs and industry representatives on Monday outlined how a simplified process for filing import declarations would look and said a trial program will start soon to demonstrate how fewer documentation requirements could benefit the government and importers alike. The goal is to give trusted traders a more streamlined process to get goods released by linking security and admissibility data requirements. A simplified customs entry would resemble the Importer Security Filin...
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| St. Louis forwarder settles export violations |
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
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The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said Ram International, a St. Louis-based freight forwarder, has agreed to pay a $40,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it committed two violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). BIS alleges that on two occasions in 2006, Ram’s Elk Grove Village, Ill., office “aided and abetted” the unlicensed export of salvage scrap electrolytic tin plate steel to Allied Trading Company in Karachi, Pakistan,...
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| E-waste firm indicted over exports |
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Monday, September 19, 2011
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Electronic waste firm Executive Recycling Inc., its owner and a former executive were indicted by a federal grand last week in Denver. Executive Recycling; Brandon Richter, the owner and chief executive officer; and Tor Olson, former vice president of operations, were indicted on charges of wire and mail fraud, environmental crimes in connection with the failure to file a notification to export hazardous waste, exportation contrary to law, and destruction, alteration or falsifi...
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