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| Washington Notebook: Virginia transport politics, Commerce's export awards |
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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Va. Gov. McDonnell signs landmark transportation bill. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell last week signed the breakthrough transportation funding bill passed by the General Assembly in March. The "Virginia's Road to the Future" bill, the first comprehensive transportation funding plan in 27 years, provides an additional $3.5 billion in funding by 2018 for new road and bridge construction, mass transit, rail and other needs, along with several reforms to improve project development. &...
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| Washington Notebook: British leader discusses trade deal with Obama |
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
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Preparations for upcoming negotiations between the United States and European Union on a transatlantic free trade and investment agreement were on the agenda Monday when U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron visited the White House. The United States and European Union enjoy the world's largest economic relationship, accounting for a third of total goods and services trade, and half of world output. Trade supports 13 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. Each day an ...
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| Washington Notebook: Commerce Department trade update |
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Tuesday, May 07, 2013
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Trade finance association to support NEI. The Finance, Credit and International Business Association (FCIB) and the U.S. Commercial Service of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to increase awareness in the U.S. business community, particularly among small and midsized businesses, about exporting and the tools and resources our organizations provide to help them succeed. The FCIB and ITA have previously collabo...
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| Washington Notebook: Calif. lawmakers side with Long Beach in SCIG dispute |
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Tuesday, April 30, 2013
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Two members of Congress from Southern California are urging the City of Los Angeles and BNSF Railway to take further steps to mitigate the environmental effects of a planned intermodal container transfer facility to protect the health of Long Beach residents who live close by. The Southern California International Gateway is planned for construction on property owned by the Port of Los Angeles a few miles from the marine terminals. It is designed to shorten the drive for trucker...
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| Washington Notebook: U.S.-Canada bridge in Detroit gets State Dept. approval |
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013
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The U.S. State Department recently issued a presidential permit to the state of Michigan to build a new bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. The State Department approves new international border crossings after reviewing whether they are in the national interest. Local and national officials in Canada and the United States for many years have been developing plans for a second bridge to relieve congestion on the privately-held Ambassador Bridg...
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| Washington Notebook: CBP inspectors look for illegal Land Rover shipments |
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Tuesday, April 16, 2013
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Since October U.S. Customs has seized more than a dozen imported Land Rover Defender off-road utility vehicles for violating federal road safety standards, including two early last month at the Port of Norfolk in Virginia. The agency said it is aware of vehicles with altered vehicle identification numbers to make them appear at least 25 years old and therefore exempt from certain safety standards, such as air bags. The illegal shipments have been discovered arriving from Gr...
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| Washington Notebook: DOT readies for TIGER V funding |
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
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The U.S. Department of Transportation plans to issue within the next two weeks a notice of funding availability for the fifth round of TIGER grants, Polly Trottenberg, under secretary for policy, said Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors on Capitol Hill. Officials expect to make awards by late summer or early fall, she said. The Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) is a discret...
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| Washington Notebook: Gov. Scott tells Obama to reimburse Fla. for dredging |
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Tuesday, April 02, 2013
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Scott Florida Gov. Rick Scott chided President Obama for advancing a proposal for $21 billion in transportation infrastructure investments during a visit to the Port of Miami on Friday while not providing necessary federal funding for port facilities in the state. At the Port of Miami, Obama urged Congress to pass an infrastructure package that includes the creation of an infrastructure bank with $10 billion in start-up funds, $7 billion worth of tax reforms related to pub...
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| Washington Notebook: Tax reform could limit financing tool for ports |
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
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An Obama administration proposal to cap benefits enjoyed by buyers of tax-exempt bonds as part of a broader deficit-reduction strategy could harm the ability of U.S. port authorities to finance new infrastructure projects, experts say. Tax-exempt bonds are a traditional way for municipalities and states to pay for public works projects and spread the cost over time. Issuers like bonds because they generally have a low interest rate and buyers benefit by not having to p...
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| Washington Notebook: C-TPAT data issue, plus conference tidbits |
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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
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U.S. Customs seeks to prevent C-TPAT disclosures. U.S. Customs and Border Protection wants to exempt from disclosure under the Privacy Act certain information it collects and maintains about companies that participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, a voluntary supply chain security program. In a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register last Wednesday, CBP said it needed to bypass the law's disclosure requirements with regard to C-TPAT...
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| Washington Notebook: Federal update, fake handbags |
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
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Senate to consider short-term funding bill. The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee is now considering a proposal put forth by Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and ranking member Richard Shelby of Alabama that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year, on Sept. 30, and avert a government shutdown March 27, when the current stop-gap spending measure expires. The budget amendment builds on the continuing resolution passed by the House last week. Instea...
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| Washington Notebook: Does continuing resolution endanger highway funding? |
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Tuesday, March 05, 2013
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It’s been governance by crisis the past two years in Washington. First it was the debt-ceiling standoff that nearly wrecked the nation’s credit rating, then there was the two-week partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration after a partisan dispute over unionization of airline workers, and finally a reauthorization bill last year after four years and 20 short-term funding extensions, nine extensions of the surface transportation bill because lawmakers in Congress&nbs...
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| Washington Notebook: DOT warns of sequester's impact on aviation |
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
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The Obama administration last week tried to make the arcane, Washington Beltway battle over looming spending cuts a little more personal by running Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood before the cameras and the press corps at the White House to explain how air travelers will feel the pain. On Friday, the federal government will begin to implement $85 billion in automatic, government-wide spending cuts for fiscal year 2013 that kick under a 2011 deal between Congress and the Whi...
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| Washington Notebook: Sequester spells delay for international commerce |
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is preparing for the worst with the blunt tool of across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration, which is scheduled to kick in March 1 unless Congress acts to replace it with a more measured deficit-reduction package. In testimony last Thursday before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the automatic budget cuts resulting from the 2011 debt-ceiling agreement would diminish border ...
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| Washington Notebook: CBP updates |
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Tuesday, February 12, 2013
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U.S.-EU fully implement trusted trader reciprocity. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently announced that mutual recognition between its Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program and the European Union's Authorized Economic Operator program was fully implemented Jan. 31. The arrangement is designed to give expedited security status to shippers that belong to one of the trusted shipper programs and have demonstrated to local authorities that they have effective se...
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| Washington Notebook: NTSB recommends safety step for truck drivers |
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Wednesday, February 06, 2013
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The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should create a mechanism to gather and record driving-related employment history information about all licensed commercial truck drivers, and make the information available to all prospective motor carrier employers, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended last week after investigating a highway-rail grade crossing accident in Nevada. The Transportation Department agency should also require motor carriers to docu...
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| Washington Notebook: Report provides update on U.S. export strategy |
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
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The Commerce Department recently issued a report updating Congress on the Obama administration's National Export Initiative and its plans for the fourth year of the collective government effort to boost overseas sales. The five-year strategy aims to raise exports to $3.2 trillion by the end of 2014. Exports of goods and services over the past 12 months grew 5 percent to $2.2 trillion, up from $2.1 trillion in 2011 (on 14.5 percent growth) and $1.83 trilli...
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| Washington Notebook: AASHTO recommends gas tax alternative |
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Tuesday, January 22, 2013
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The organization representing state transportation departments last week proposed substituting the federal fuel tax on motor vehicles with a sales tax on fuel to pay for highway and transit infrastructure that experts say requires massive investment for maintenance and upgrades to keep up with rising traffic levels. In a keynote address to the Transportation Research Board's annual convention in Washington, John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of Sta...
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| Washington Notebook: U.S., Canada issue progress report on cross-border efficiency |
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
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The United States and Canada on Friday released progress reports listing steps the two governments have taken in their one-year-old effort to make the norther border more efficient and simplify regulations. Many of the accomplishments under the Beyond the Border and Regulatory Cooperation Council initiatives have been widely publicized as they occur, but the reports summarize in one place all the work undertaken so far. Beyond the Border is a bilateral strategy...
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| Washington Notebook: Customs roundup |
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012
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CBP solidifies ties with Israel Customs. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is laying the ground work for an agreement to mutually recognize the Israeli Tax Authority's Authorized Economic Operator program. The agency said Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar, who has headed the organization the past 11 months, met with Israeli Customs Director General Doron Arbely at CBP headquarters in Washington last week to sign a joint work plan so that exporters in Israel's AEO program can r...
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| Washington Notebook: Walmart audit turns up possible corruption overseas |
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
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Walmart disclosed earlier this month that a lengthy internal investigation into bribery at its Mexico subsidiary had widened to include operations in Brazil, China and India. Bribery of foreign officials to gain preferential business treatment is against the law under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The New York Times reported earlier this year that Walmart had uncovered evidence during an audit that officials in Mexico had bribed officials to e...
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| Washington Notebook: Veterans' Day salute for railroads |
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
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In opening remarks Monday before the 105th annual meeting of the National Industrial Transportation League in Anaheim, Calif., President Bruce Carlton made an eloquent Veterans' Day statement about the respect people in the military and veterans deserve for upholding the American way of life and singled out the freight rail industry for hiring veterans. Less than a week removed from a bitter presidential election, Carlton noted that citizens were able to freely side with th...
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| Washington Notebook: Obama, Romney spar over China trade sanctions |
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney took turns in Monday night's presidential debate flexing their muscles over trade relations with China, which they both said has used unfair tactics to gain a competitive advantage for its products in foreign markets. In their third, and final, debate Romney repeated his campaign promise to slap across-the-board tariffs on China for artificially suppressing the value of its currency to make its products less expen...
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| Washington Notebook: LaHood speaks highways, his future to TIACA |
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012
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DOT aims to deliver freight policy in early 2013. The Obama administration hopes to complete development of a national freight policy early next year when Congress is expected to begin debating a long-term surface transportation plan that authorizes how money is spent and sets federal policies, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told an audience of air freight stakeholders gathered in Atlanta early this month. Last summer, President Obama signed a two-year bill that ...
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| Washington Notebook: Asia-Pacific slow growth expected, World Bank says |
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Tuesday, October 09, 2012
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The World Bank on Monday downgraded its economic projections for the Asia-Pacific region this year, saying the region would experience 7.2 percent growth compared to 8.2 percent in 2011. Both figures are a sharp decline from the region's 10 percent growth rate in 2010. In May, the World Bank predicted the Asia-Pacific region would grow 7.6 percent in 2012. Growth will rebound to 7.6 percent next year, with growth mainly produced by domestic demand...
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| Washington Notebook: Optimism exists despite 2Q GDP downgrade |
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Tuesday, October 02, 2012
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The U.S. economy performed worse in the second quarter than originally thought. The Bureau of Economic Analysis within the Commerce Department now says real gross domestic product grew 1.3 percent during the quarter instead of the 1.7 percent previously estimated. In the first quarter, GDP grew 2 percent. The deceleration in real GDP in the second quarter was related to a slower growth in personal consumption (1.5 percent vs. 2.4 percent in the fir...
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| Washington Notebook: Congress drops the ball on Russia PNTR |
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
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Once again the hyper-partisan Congress has failed to act on important legislation. The issue this time is Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Russia, which would help spur U.S. exports to the seventh largest economy in the world. U.S. businesses are big-time frustrated that Congress didn't vote on giving most-favored nation trading status to Russia during a short session this month before lawmakers adjourned to head home and campaign for the November el...
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| Washington Notebook: U.S., EU seek public input on coordinating regulations |
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012
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Earlier this month, the Obama administration published a joint U.S. and European Union request for public feedback on how to promote greater transatlantic regulatory compatibility. The goal is to eliminate unnecessary burdens to trade that hinder economic growth and job creation, without degrading protections for health, safety, welfare and the environment. Any progress could have a large impact given that the U.S. and EU economies together account for almost h...
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| Washington Notebook: Russia PNTR bill has chance to pass this month |
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Tuesday, September 11, 2012
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Legislation granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations to Russia, with benefits accruing to U.S. companies in that market, has strong bipartisan and bicameral support in the U.S. Congress and could be passed during the next two weeks before legislators leave Washington to concentrate on the November election. Industry and legislative supporters of the bill see a window to get the legislation done now. There will be a lame duck session of Congress after the election, but othe...
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| Washington Notebook: ICE chief of staff resigns over sexual allegations |
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Tuesday, September 04, 2012
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton's chief of staff resigned Saturday amid allegations of sexual harassment by three male ICE employees, according to multiple news reports. Suzanne Barr served as an aide to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano when she was governor of Arizona and came to Washington to take the ICE position in 2009 at Napolitano's request. Barr She wrote in a letter to Morton, viewed by the news organizations, ...
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| Washington Notebook: Former P&G official to help shape trade policy |
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012
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Miller Scott Miller, who retired earlier this year as director of global trade policy at Procter & Gamble, has joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington as a senior advisor on international business. He succeeds Meredith Broadbent, who has been appointed to the International Trade Commission and held the William M. Scholl Chair since 2010. In his role as director of global trade policy at P&G, Miller led numerous business...
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| Washington Notebook: FDA's F.U. inspection sounds worse than it is |
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012
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Howard Sklamberg is acting principal deputy associate commissioner for regulatory affairs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He runs counter to the stereotype of humorless, boring bureaucrats. He's actually a funny guy, as people can attest who attended his keynote address at the American Association of Exporters and Importers on June 5 in which he talked about the culture change underway at FDA to become more strategic in how it goes about enforcing food and dr...
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| Washington Notebook: Union says Romney-Ryan ticket neglects infrastructure |
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Tuesday, August 14, 2012
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Unions are backing President Obama in the November election. The AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department put out the following statement regarding Republican candidate Mitt Romney's selection of Rep. Paul Ryan, a deficit hawk who has proposed drastic cuts to government spending to deal with the nation's debt problem, as his vice presidential running mate: “The selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as Gov. Mitt Romney’s running mate confirms what we have known all al...
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| Washington Notebook: U.S. trade delegation arrives in S. Africa |
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Tuesday, August 07, 2012
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A group of business leaders led Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is in South Africa for three days to explore investment opportunities. The group, which includes senior executives from Boeing, Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (the diesel-electric locomotive manufacturing subsidiary of Caterpillar), FedEx Express, Walmart and General Electric, participated Monday in a U.S.-South Africa Business Summit in Johannesburg. Clinton is meet...
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| Washington Notebook: CBP's new port director for Houston/Galveston |
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection has named L. Dave Fluty as port director for the Houston/Galveston area. Fluty previously served as the deputy assistant commissioner for CBP’s Office of Training and Development. He is returning to the Houston area where he once served as director of the agency's local laboratory that provides scientific and forensic analysis of imports for CBP officers checking for potential radiological d...
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| Report: Trucking market poised on knife edge |
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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The U.S. domestic trucking market is finely poised, with characteristics that could push it into no growth or capacity shortage, depending on which way the wind blows, according to Noel Perry, senior consultant of the transportation analyst FTR Associates. Perry and fellow senior consultant Larry Gross gave a rundown of rail, trucking, and intermodal markets in FTR’s State of Freight webinar last week. “We need to think about the relationship between truck freight ...
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| Obama gives ports attention they deserve |
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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The Obama administration gets criticized a lot for not being business friendly, for not creating policies that help companies thrive. A lot of that perception is tied to the massive health-care overhaul law and the National Labor Relations Board's questionable efforts to make it easier for unions to organize workers. But a lot of it stems from ideologically conservative business leaders who demand data-driven processes to run their businesses but don't apply the same rigorous analysis w...
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| Washington Notebook: Commerce readies supply chain advisory group |
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012
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The U.S. Department of Commerce will announce in a few weeks the members of a new supply chain advisory committee, Michael Masserman, executive director for export policy, promotion and strategy, said Monday at a seminar in Chicago focused on growing U.S. exports. The federal advisory panel will include people from the public and private sectors and be charged with advising the government on how to develop a holistic, national system for freight infrastructure and a n...
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| Washington Notebook: Michigan gets infrastructure handout from Canada |
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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
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Friday's announcement that Michigan has approved a deal with Canada to construct and operate a new international bridge two miles from the existing Ambassador Bridge in Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is good news for the border economy and both nations. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder deserves credit for understanding the desire of businesses for a wider bridge that can relieve congestion on what is the busiest commercial truck crossing between two nations. But Michiganders should...
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| READER'S COMMENT: CMA CGM, France's distinctive global line |
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Monday, June 18, 2012
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I draw your attention on a couple of points in your article under caption ( AS Daily June 15 ), mostly related to the second paragraph, which reads: "...it had no access to French trade with West Africa, nor Delmas' Indian Ocean trades, both significant elements of the French colonial empire prior to the 1960s. CMA CGM obviously has a distinct advantage throughout the French-speaking world, which grew to be second in size only to the English-speaking British colonial empire...
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| CMA CGM, France’s distinctive global line |
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Thursday, June 14, 2012
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This commentary is brought to you by: Register for the free weekly BlueWater Reporting ServiceTracker here. Not for nothing is Marseilles-based CMA CGM known as “The French Line”. This privately-controlled liner shipping operator, with a worldwide network of routes based on historical French trades, runs third in size behind Maersk Line of Denmark and Mediterranean Shipping Co. of Switzerland. The two top lines are almost twice the size of CMA CGM measured in containership capacity, but CMA...
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| Washington Notebook: Commerce secretary takes medical leave |
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Tuesday, June 12, 2012
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Bryson U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson is taking a medical leave of absence after Obama administration officials on Monday said he suffered a seizure while driving Saturday in California and slamming into two cars. Bryson was charged with felony hit-and-run for one accident in Los Angeles County. A few minutes later he hit a second car and was found unconscious behind the wheel. He was treated at a local hospital and released Sunday. Deputy Secretary Rebec...
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| Washington Notebook: U.S. House to finalize port security bill |
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Wednesday, June 06, 2012
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The House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday is scheduled to edit H.R. 4251, the SMART Port Security Act. The bill is designed to authorize and enhance existing Department of Homeland Security programs for port and cargo security that are based on risk management principles. The full title of the bill is the "Securing Maritime Activities through Risk-based Targeting for Port Security Act." Among other things it would require DHS to: Look for ...
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| Washington Notebook: DHS' careful approach to cargo radiation monitors |
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
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Next-generation machines for detecting radiation in large ocean containers, trucks and other conveyances are still being pursued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but spelling out expectations and establishing better evaluation criteria have taken precedence over rushing to acquire the technology, according to an official involved in the process. The development of Advanced Spectroscopic Portal (ASP) monitors has largely continued out of public view since the Bus...
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| Washington Notebook: Panama Canal report's credibility issues |
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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A February report by Carrie Kissel, associate director of the National Association of Development Organizations, about potential economic development opportunities associated with the expansion of the Panama Canal for regional organizations in the South and East of the United States contains some flawed statements. For instance, she writes that "West Coast ports are the largest receivers of Asian imports, and containers make it possible for imports to then be transfer...
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| Washington Notebook: Calling on Hercules to rescue transport |
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012
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Rep. Hahn wants more policy focus on ports. Members of the congressional PORTS Caucus are scheduled to meet with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood next month to press the connection between port investment and economic growth, Rep. Janice Hahn, D-Calif., told a pro-freight audience last week at the annual conference of the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors on Capitol Hill. The PORTS Caucus, founded by Hahn last fall, has about 65 members. "We re...
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| Washington Notebook: The economy, a transport bill and Twitter |
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Tuesday, May 01, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch U.S. GDP slows to 2.2% The U.S. economy grew 2.2 percent in the first quarter, down from the 3 percent output of goods and services in the fourth quarter, according to preliminary figures from the Commerce Department. Personal consumption and exports were the strongest contributors to Gross Domestic Product. Exports of goods and services increased 5.4 percent in first quarter, compared with an increase of 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter. &nbs...
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| Washington Notebook: Political maneuvering stalls transportation bill |
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Tuesday, April 24, 2012
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed another 90-day extension of the surface transportation bill last week, which would provide funding for road building and transportation programs through the end of the fiscal year. The current three-month extension lasts through June. So why move on another extension before the existing one nears expiration? Well, for one thing, it provides a little bit of certainty to state transportation planners that money will ...
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| Washington Notebook: Obama touts trade at Port of Tampa |
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Tuesday, April 17, 2012
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President Obama visited the Port of Tampa Friday and spoke about the benefits of trade with Latin America on his way to the Summit of the Americas in Colombia. The president reiterated that increasing exports to the rest of the world is a part of his plan to help restore American manufacturing and create jobs. "Part of building that economy is making sure that we're not a country that's known just for what we buy and what we consume. After all,...
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| Washington Notebook: Regulatory nuggets |
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012
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DOT bans motor carrier The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Monday ordered J&A Transportation of New Jersey to shut down operations because it posed a threat to public safety. The agency, part of the Department of Transportation, placed J&A out of service after multiple hours-of-service, driver and vehicle maintenance violations were discovered during roadside inspections. FMCSA found the trucking company continued to operate without an ...
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| Supply chain vendors slow to use social media |
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Thursday, April 05, 2012
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The use of social media by business-to-business suppliers and vendors for their customer relationship management (CRM) is not widespread, but those who have developed a social media CRM aspect are seeing better customer experiences and benefits according to a new study by Kemp Goldberg Partners and IDG Research Services. The researchers surveyed 150 companies from more than a dozen business-to-business industries to see how their customers view social media when dealing with sup...
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| U.S. publishes roadmap for risk-based air cargo screening |
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Wednesday, April 04, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Friday publicly released its strategic plan for securing air cargo by screening advanced data from carriers and forwarders. A pilot program quickly initiated by the agency in conjunction with express carriers following the October 2010 Yemen printer-bomb plot, has pre-cleared 14 million transactions using shipment-related data to assess for anomalies prior to loading on a plane, Acting Deputy Commissioner Thom...
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| Members of Congress pay homage to ports |
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch Rep. John Mica, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and leaders of the House PORTS Caucus visited the American Association of Port Authorities spring conference in Washington last week to express their commitment to seaports as vital engines of economic growth. Mica received a standing ovation as he accepted the AAPA's "Port Person of the Year" award during a lunch ceremony. The AAPA honored him in large part b...
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| Cook handicaps election at AAPA function |
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch The presidential election will be very close because the economy is improving too slowly to provide a decisive boost to President Obama, but Democrats likely will pick up five to 15 seats in the House of Representatives, political analyst Charlie Cook told a gathering of port officials Monday. Democrats would need to gain 25 seats to retake control of the House. That’s a tall order, but Republicans captured so many seats in 2010 that they’re bound to follow prece...
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| Maritime law, trade deficit, drug seizure |
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch Thompson Coburn LLP said it hired Jonathan Benner as a partner to head the law firm's Maritime Regulatory and Ports Practice within its large Transportation and International Trade Group. A former general counsel at the Federal Maritime Commission, Benner most recently worked as a partner at Reed Smith. He also helped establish multi-mode transportation practices as managing partner of Haight Gardner Poor & Havens in Washington and then as group leader ...
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| Industry opposes Obama tax on overseas profits |
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Tuesday, March 06, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch A major part of President Obama's economic blueprint for sustainable growth focuses on ways to promote U.S. manufacturing and create more jobs. One of the ways he wants to do that is through the tax code, lowering rates for companies that operate in the United States and closing loopholes for companies that shift production overseas. More specifically, the White House calls for eliminating the deduction for outsourcing and instead offering a credit t...
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| iPad3 launch to impact air freight shippers |
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Thursday, March 01, 2012
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Apple’s latest product salvo, the iPad3, is due to hit U.S. stores any day now, if the online rumors are to be believed. The often secretive tech giant hasn’t announced a release date, but airfreight activity in China, where the product is being assembled, suggests the new tablet launch is near. Taking aside Apple’s supply chain task of distributing to eager global markets, the launch of such an anticipated product can have knock-on effects for other shippers. &nbs...
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| U.S.-EU regulatory cooperation slow for trade security |
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch Business people involved in trade compliance and security usually think of countries integrating their supply chain security programs when they hear the term mutual recognition. But the practice of trade partners granting reciprocal recognition to each other's rules and regulations really can apply to all types of cross-border activity. The agreement signed by the United States and European Union earlier this month regarding how "organic" products grown in one re...
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| LaHood's son caught in Egyptian power struggle |
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch Senate Budget Committee leaders expressed their concern during a hearing last week about the detention of Sam LaHood and 15 other young Americans by Egyptian authorities because of their work for non-governmental organizations dedicated to fostering and strengthening democratic institutions around the world. The key witness was Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Sam's father, who was there to testify about the Obama administration's fiscal year 2013 transportat...
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| Freight railroads reach deal with final union |
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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By Eric Kulisch The nation's freight rail system avoided disruption when railroads and a holdout union, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, reached tentative agreement on a labor deal. Agreement was necessary by Feb. 8, the deadline for parties to be allowed to take measures into their own hands through a strike or lockout. The compromise also kept Congress from intervening and imposing contract terms. Among the issues at play was healthcare benefits. E...
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