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| U.S. Customs eyes two more CEEs by October |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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The number of Industry Integration Centers for Excellence and Expertise within U.S. Customs devoted to centralizing the import process for trusted shippers could double to four this fiscal year, Acting Deputy Commissioner Thomas Winkowski recently said. Customs and Border Protection last fall established two Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) - one in New York that deals with the pharmaceutical industry and one in Los Angeles responsible for electronics - as ...
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| U.S.-South Korea FTA enters force March 15 |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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The White House on Tuesday said the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement will enter into force on March 15. The announcement followed the completion over the President’s Day weekend of work by the United States and South Korea to review each other’s laws and regulations related to the implementation of the agreement. The United States has exchanged diplomatic notes with South Korea in which each side confirmed that they had completed their legal requirements and proc...
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| CBP proposes changes to in-bond rules |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make substantial changes to the way imported merchandise is transported inland under a bond, enabling the cargo owner to defer payment of duties until it reaches the destination port or is exported. The primary fixes involve making the in-bond process electronic and tightening up procedures to better track merchandise and prevent diversion. In the past, CBP has...
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| Boeing enters supply chain finance guarantee program |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing will participate in the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s Supply-Chain Finance Guarantee program, which provides competitively priced working capital financing to suppliers of goods or services to U.S. exporters. Ex-Im Bank approved the Boeing supplier program in September 2011 with an initial capacity of $740 million. The bank can guarantee up to 90 percent of that capacity. Citibank N.A. will serve as the lender operating the program for Boein...
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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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| NY shipper sentenced for illegal exports |
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Monday, February 20, 2012
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The U.S. Justice Department on Friday said Jeng “Jay” Shih, 54, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced in the District of Columbia to 18 months in prison, while his Queens, N.Y.-based company, Sunrise Technologies and Trading Corp., was sentenced to 24 months corporate probation for conspiracy to illegally export U.S.-origin computers from the United States to Iran via the United Arab Emirates. On Oct. 7, 2011, Shih and his company each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violat...
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| California shipper pleads guilty to illegal exports |
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Friday, February 17, 2012
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The U.S. Justice Department said Massoud Habibion, a U.S. citizen and co-owner of a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Online Micro LLC, pleaded guilty Thursday in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to illegally export computers from the United States to Iran through the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, Mohsen Motamedian, 44, a U.S. citizen and co-owner of Online Micro, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Ellen S...
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| C-TPAT to be recast as 'all-threats' program |
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
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The U.S. Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism could evolve beyond a program focused on supply chain security to one that encompasses all types of threats associated with international trade, David Aguilar, acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, recently said. Plans to widen the scope come as the program prepares to take a $5 million hit, according to the Obama administration's fiscal year 2013 budget proposal released this week. &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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| ITC: U.S. makers hurt by washers from South Korea, Mexico |
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
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The U.S. International Trade Commission has determined that there is a “reasonable indication” domestic manufacturers of large residential washers imported from South Korea are allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value. The ITC also determined similar washers imported from Mexico, while not subsidized, are also sold at less than fair value in the United States. The commission made its determination in a 4-1 vote on Fr...
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| Wind turbine tower imports hurt U.S. makers, ITC says |
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
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The U.S. International Trade Commission has determined there is a “reasonable indication” that domestic manufacturers of utility-scale wind turbine towers are injured by imports allegedly subsidized by China and from both China and Vietnam sold in the United States at less than fair value. The commission made its determination in a 5-0 vote on Friday. As a result, the Commerce Department will continue its investigations on imports of these products, wit...
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| Leavitt, Park City build food and drug visibility |
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
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Leavitt Partners and Park City Group have paired to create a joint solution to improve supply chain visibility for food and drug safety. The partnership will leverage Park City’s product "synchronization" technology that maintains inventories, tracks product movement, and is used to settle financial transactions among buyers. Leavitt Partners, a health care and food safety consulting firm, said the firms will start with a database of seller and b...
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| DHS tightens belt under Obama budget |
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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The Obama administration's fiscal year 2013 budget for the Department of Homeland Security would cut net discretionary spending by $191 million, or 0.5 percent, below the 2012 enacted level to $39.5 billion. The spending plan reflects fiscal realities that have led to belt-tightening across a wide section of government. Discretionary spending - the amount of the budget controlled by the annual budget process - represents only 30 percent of the federal government's outlay...
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| U.S. trade deficit grows even with strong exports |
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Monday, February 13, 2012
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The U.S. trade deficit widened in December and for 2011 as a whole despite solid growth in exports, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday. December exports and imports totaled $178.8 billion and $227.6 billion, respectively, resulting in a goods and services deficit of $48.8 billion, up 3.7 percent from $47.1 billion in November. The December trade deficit compared to a year ago increased $8.3 billion, with exports up $14.8 billion, or 9 percent, and imp...
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| U.S., Peru urge end to yarn forward rule |
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Monday, February 13, 2012
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U.S. import and Peruvian export advocates last week sent a letter to Peruvian Foreign Trade Minister Jose Luis Silva and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging elimination of a “yarn forward” rule of origin on apparel as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. The Peruvian Associación de Exportadores (ADEX) and members associations of the U.S. Trans-Pacific Partnership Apparel Coalition sent a joint letter on behalf of U.S. and Peru apparel producers, reta...
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| Wood borers found at Detroit airport |
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Monday, February 13, 2012
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U.S. Customs officers at Detroit Wayne County International Airport discovered wood-boring insects and evidence of their tunnels on 13 occasions in January while inspecting wood pallets and other packing material, the agency said. Six inspections in late January resulted in the interception of eight live wood-boring insects. Customs said it refused to allow the wood packing material to enter the commercial stream. Under international st...
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| CBP stops large volume of fake perfume in 2011 |
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Monday, February 13, 2012
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection said front-line personnel seized $51 million worth of counterfeit perfume at ports of entry in fiscal year 2011, ended Sept. 30. Fake perfumes labeled with brand names cost the legitimate manufacturer lost sales and possible reputation if customers associate the inferior product with the company. Counterfeit perfumes also pose a potential health hazard because they are often contaminated with unknown chemicals. The bor...
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| Importer pays $1 million for mislabeling fish |
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Friday, February 10, 2012
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California-based Seafood Solutions Inc. was sentenced in federal court in Los Angeles Monday to pay $1 million in fines and community service payments for its role in the false labeling of frozen fish fillets, according to the U.S. Justice Department. The sentence stemmed from the company's conviction last July for trafficking in fish that had been transported and sold in violation of the Lacey Act, a conservation law that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish and plants tha...
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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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| Ex-forwarder pleads guilty to illegal export |
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Thursday, February 09, 2012
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A former manager of a Netherlands-based freight forwarder pleaded guilty for conspiring to defraud the United States by facilitating the illegal export of goods to Iran. Ulrich Davis, 50, a Dutch citizen of Pumerend, The Netherlands, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark, N.J. federal court on Monday. According to court documents, Davis was the sales and business development manager for a company described in the In...
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| Companies assessed U.S. antiboycott fines |
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Thursday, February 09, 2012
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The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said three companies agreed to pay a total of $35,200 in civil penalties to settle allegations that each violated the Export Administration Regulations’ antiboycott provisions. Antiboycott regulations prohibit U.S. persons from taking certain actions with intent to comply with or support unsanctioned foreign boycotts, including providing information about business relationships with or in a boycott...
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| U.S. zeros out ‘zeroing’ |
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Tuesday, February 07, 2012
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The United States in Geneva on Monday signed agreements with the European Union and Japan that will bring an end to longstanding trade disputes over “zeroing.” Zeroing is a label sometimes used to describe a methodology used in antidumping calculations for aggregating unfairly-traded (“dumped”) transactions with other transactions. The disputes started nearly nine years ago, when the EU first requested World Trade Organization consultations over the use of zero...
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| Hazardous waste cargo seized in Indonesia |
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Monday, February 06, 2012
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Several environmental groups reported a shipment of 113 containers of toxic waste discovered last month at the Jakarta Tanjung Priok Port in Indonesia points up the continuing problem of hazardous waste being shipped to developing countries. Indonesia Toxics-Free Network, the Basel Action Network, Ban Toxics, and BaliFokus urged all world governments to ratify the Basel Ban Amendment and enforce the Basel Convention which seeks to control...
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| Open U.S.-Canada wheat trade sought |
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Friday, February 03, 2012
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The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) each passed a resolution calling for an open border with Canada that provides reciprocal bilateral wheat trade. Under a December 2011 law, which still faces some legal challenges, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) will lose its grain marketing monopoly Aug. 1, allowing western Canadian farmers to sell their wheat and barley in the open market. The United States is routinely Canada’...
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| WTO slaps China’s export restraints |
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
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The World Trade Organization Appellate Body on Monday found China’s export restraints on several industrial raw materials used as key components in the steel, aluminum, and chemicals industries to be inconsistent with the country’s WTO obligations. The Appellate Body affirmed a WTO dispute settlement panel’s July 2011 finding, agreeing with the United States and rejecting China’s attempts to portray its export restraints as conservation or environmental protection measur...
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| CBP throws flag on fake NFL jerseys |
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Friday, January 27, 2012
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The National Football League makes a lot of money from licensing merchandise with team logos and players names, but fans looking to save money can find plenty of counterfeit apparel. Officers at U.S. Customs and Border Protection have been working during the football season to quell the trade of illegal merchandise. The agency announced Thursday that it has impounded 304 parcels containing 10,710 fake NFL jerseys at Los Angeles International Airpo...
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| AAFA holds emerging market seminar |
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Friday, January 27, 2012
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The American Apparel & Footwear Association will host a seminar Jan. 31 in New York to discuss overseas retail growth. The seminar, Retail Hotspots: Developing a Strategy to Globalize, will focus on market entry, operation models, and consumer demographics in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations. Speakers include Dr. Harry Broadman, PriceWaterhouseCoopers' chief economist and emerging markets practice leader, and former White House trade ne...
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| White House releases global supply chain security plan |
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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The Obama administration on Wednesday unveiled its global supply chain security strategy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The document is a whole-of-government approach towards balancing security and international trade that acknowledges to properly manage cross-border commerce extends beyond the Department of Homeland Security. The objective is to have a holistic approach for preventing, mitigating and responding to supply chain...
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| U.S. export reform to keep space industry in flight |
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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The Aerospace Industries Association warned in a report this week that the U.S. space industry is losing its competitive edge and risks falling short of future national security requirements unless the federal government quickly reforms the country’s Cold War-era export control system. “A strong and globally competitive space industrial and supplier base is a major national security asset,” said AIA President and Chief Executive Officer Marion C. Blakey, in a ...
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| U.S. investigates washer dumping |
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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The U.S. Commerce Department has initiated antidumping and countervailing investigations of imports of large residential washers from South Korea and an antidumping investigation on similar imports from Mexico. Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than fair value, while countervailable subsidies are financial assistance from overseas governments that benefit the production of goods from foreign companies and are limited to sp...
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| BIS criminal fines up in 2011 |
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security conducted investigations in fiscal year 2011 that resulted in the criminal conviction of 39 individuals and businesses, compared to 31 convictions in fiscal year 2010. The agency tallied its fiscal year 2011 convictions in its annual report to Congress. The penalties from these convictions came to $20,214,000 in criminal fines, more than $2.1 million in forfeitures, and more than 572 months...
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| U.S., Canada extend lumber agreement |
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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The United States and Canada on Monday signed a two-year extension of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA), so that the agreement will be in effect through Oct. 12, 2015. “The Softwood Lumber Agreement is very important for U.S. producers, particularly when both sides of the border are facing weak demand,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement. Monday’s action extends the SLA with no changes. The SLA entered into force on Oct. 12, 2006 and 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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| China, Vietnam wind tower dumping investigated |
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Friday, January 20, 2012
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The U.S. Commerce Department this week initiated an antidumping and countervailing duty investigation of imports of utility scale wind towers from China and Vietnam. Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than fair value, while countervailable subsidies are financial assistance from overseas governments that benefit the production of goods from foreign companies and are limited to specific enterprises or industries, or are cont...
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| Transpak gets Milwaukee FTZ status |
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Friday, January 20, 2012
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Transpak, a third party logistics firm specializing in packaging, warehousing, order fulfillment and distribution, has been recognized as a foreign-trade zone (FTZ) site by the Port of Milwaukee. The designation will allow Transpak partners to benefit from deferral, reduction, or even possible elimination of tariffs on imported goods. Transpak said it is the first packaging and logistics business in Wisconsin to receive this FTZ designation through the port,...
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| CBP sees 3-year rollout for centralized import centers |
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
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Establishment of new centers aimed at helping expedite the import process for specific industries will take a couple of years longer than originally announced, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Last October, the agency set up Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) focused on the pharmaceutical and electronics industries. The units essentially function as resource hubs on industry-specific issues for CBP, other government agencies and the priv...
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| U.S., Saudi Arabia discuss trade opportunities |
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
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U.S. and Saudi Arabian government officials discussed ways to open trade avenues between the two countries during a meeting in Riyadh this week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement. Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East L. Daniel Mullaney and Saudi Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry for Foreign Trade Abdullah A. Al-Hamoudi co-chaired the second meeting of the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Trade and Investment Council, with ...
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| Pests found on Puerto Rico flower imports |
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
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In the past several weeks, agricultural specialists in San Juan, Puerto Rico, have intercepted more Thrips on shipments of cut flowers from Colombia than usual, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. Common names for thrips include thunderflies, thunderbugs, storm flies, thunderblights and corn lice. Thrips species feed on plants and vegetables by puncturing them and sucking up the contents, causing discoloration, deformities and reducing their marketability.
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| Amber Road's free global trade cloud portal |
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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Amber Road, formerly Management Dynamics, is building on its global trade management (GTM) offerings with the launch of TradeWizards.com, a free cloud-based portal for global trade operations. The Website is a combination of nine research tools built around obtaining data related to cost and compliance risks around importing and exporting goods. The modules available in the suite cover restricted party screening against 40 lists; product classification cover...
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| Agility releases new emerging markets index |
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Monday, January 16, 2012
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Agility and Transport Intelligence said ithey will launch the second edition of the Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, a measure of how change and instability in the last year have affected more than 40 of the world’s emerging markets. The index will address issues like: Which market became China’s biggest trading partner? Did the Arab Spring impact business and confidence across the Middle East? Which markets does the logistics industry think are the top 10 ...
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| FDA denies orange juice imports with pesticide |
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Friday, January 13, 2012
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The Food and Drug Administration said it is testing of orange juice for the presence of the fungicide carbendazim. In a Jan. 9 letter on the FDA Website, Nega Beru, director of the Office of Food Safety, said the agency "will deny entry to shipments that test positive for carbendazim." Her letter said "On Dec. 28, 2011, FDA learned from a juice company that it had detected low levels of carbendazim (in the low parts per billion range) in...
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| ILWU plans to walk 'narrow path' in EGT protest |
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Friday, January 13, 2012
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The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is preparing for a protest this month when the first ship is expected to call at the EGT grain terminal in Longview, Wash. The union said its members should get jobs at the new EGT terminal and are upset the operator has switched work to a subcontractor that has signed a contract with a rival union, the Operating Engineers. "We believe that at some point this month a vessel will call at...
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| eBay improves Singapore service |
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
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eBay has launched a new shipping service in collaboration with Singapore Post (SingPost) and the U. S. Postal Service in the hopes to improve both delivery and tracking of lightweight goods moving between the United States and Singapore. The service, named ePac, is eBay’s first postal service partnership in Southeast Asia and its third partnership globally. The service was introduced to boost cross-border trade which eBay calls its fastest-growing segment. &n...
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| U.S. to ship papayas to Japan |
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
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The Japanese government has recently approved Hawaiian-grown Rainbow papaya for commercial shipment to Japan. In the 1990s, an outbreak of the papaya ringspot virus decimated Hawaii's papaya crop. Scientists from Cornell University, the University of Hawaii, The Upjohn Co. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service used biotechnology to develop the Rainbow papaya, which is resistant to the virus. After receiving full clearance from ...
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| Aguilar: Bersin to spread CBP best practices within DHS |
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
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In his new job as the Department of Homeland Security's assistant secretary for international affairs and chief diplomatic officer, Alan Bersin will likely try to replicate across multiple agencies the types of management, policy and structural reforms that became the hallmark of his 21-month term as U.S. Customs commissioner, his successor at Customs and Border Protection said Monday. David Aguilar, acting commissioner of CBP, told a handful of reporters during an ...
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| FedEx pays $370,000 to settle export violations |
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
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The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said FedEx Express has agreed to pay a $370,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it committed six violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) relating to FedEx’s provision of freight forwarding services to exporters. BIS alleged that on two occasions in 2006, FedEx “caused, aided and abetted” acts prohibited by the regulations when it facilitated the attempted unlicensed export of ...
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| Aguilar says trade facilitation to remain CBP priority |
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
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There will be no letup in the rapid pace of reforms underway at U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reduce red tape associated with trade enforcement so that legitimate cargo can be cleared and processed as efficiently as possible, Acting Commissioner David Aguilar said 10 days into his new job. In an invitation-only meeting with three reporters, Aguilar emphatically pledged to build on the initiatives begun by his predecessor, Alan Bersin, to ...
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| 3 Filipinos arrested in U.S. for arms trafficking |
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Monday, January 09, 2012
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The U.S. Justice Department on Friday said three Philippine nationals were arrested on charges of attempting to import unlicensed firearms into the United States. Sergio “Yogi” Santiago de Leon Syjuco, 25, of Muntinlupa City; Cesar Paolo “Arvi” Inciong Ubaldo, 26, of Paranaque City; and Arjyl Revereza, 25, of Manila were charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in the Central District of California with importing defense articles into the United States without a license...
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| U.S., South Korea meet on FTA implementation |
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Monday, January 09, 2012
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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Jan. 9-10 will hold working-level meetings with South Korea in Seoul to continue discussions related to implementation of the U.S.-Korea trade agreement. The delegations will discuss each other’s respective laws and regulations related to implementation of the trade agreement, USTR said. On Oct. 12, Congress approved the U.S.-Korea FTA among other trade legislation including FTAs with Colombia and Panama. The Korean Nat...
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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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| ACE program suffers loss with death of Genovese |
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Thursday, January 05, 2012
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Colleagues at U.S. Customs and Border Protection are mourning the sudden death of David Genovese, director of trade modernization and automation coordination in the ACE Business Office. Genovese, 44, died Dec. 27 from a massive heart attack, agency officials said. He previously was the acting executive director of the ACE Business Office, and held several other positions in the Office of Trade, including in the antidumping duty division. The Aut...
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| China, Vietnam dumping wind towers U.S. claims |
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Wednesday, January 04, 2012
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A group of U.S. manufacturers of utility-scale wind turbine towers have filed dumping and subsidy petitions with the federal government against China and Vietnam. Specifically, the Wind Tower Trade Coalition (WTTC) has asked the U.S. Commerce Department and International Trade Commission (ITC) to conduct antidumping investigations into Chinese and Vietnamese imports of utility-scale wind towers, and a countervailing duty investigation into Chinese imports of utility scal...
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| Customs chief Bersin returns to DHS post |
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Tuesday, January 03, 2012
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President Obama on Friday named Alan Bersin assistant secretary for international affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, keeping him in the fold to continue pursuing initiatives on cross-border trade and travel in a different position. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano made the announcement at a ceremony in Washington in which leadership of Customs and Border Protection was transferred from Bersin to Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar. ...
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| Bersin leads international policy at DHS |
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Friday, December 30, 2011
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Bersin President Obama has named Alan Bersin assistant secretary for international affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, keeping him in the fold to continue pursuing initiatives on cross-border trade and travel in a different position. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano made the announcement this morning at a ceremony in Washington in which leadership of Customs and Border Protection was transferred from Bersin to Deputy Commissioner David Ag...
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| Small firms miss exports, UPS says |
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Friday, December 30, 2011
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Only a quarter of small and medium-sized businesses export even though growth prospects overseas are better than strictly through domestic sales, according to a survey of more than 1,000 companies sponsored by UPS. The survey sample shows the untapped potential for exports, but is substantially more than the 1 percent of U.S. companies overall that the U.S. government and other experts estimate are engaged export activity. The uncertain economy and governmen...
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| Certain sleeping bags lose GSP favor |
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Friday, December 30, 2011
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Based on its annual review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the White House determined only one product – certain non-down sleeping bags – should be removed from eligibility for duty-free treatment in the trade program. However, a petition to remove GSP duty-free treatment for two types of self-adhesive plastic tape was denied. Congress created the GSP program in the 1974 Trade Act to help developing countries expand their economies by allowing certai...
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| AGOA countries remain same |
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Friday, December 30, 2011
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The White House has determined all 40 sub-Saharan African countries currently eligible for trade preferences and other benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) will remain the same and no new countries will be added at this time. The Obama administration’s determination is based on the annual review of whether the countries named in AGOA continue to meet its eligibility criteria. Those criteria include establishing, or making continual prog...
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| BIS wants regulatory review input |
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
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The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which is tasked with overseeing the nation’s commercial export control rules, seeks additional industry comments on a regulatory review. Last August, BIS published a notice in the Federal Register looking for comments on a “retrospective” regulatory review mandated by Executive Order 13563, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review." BIS specifically asked for comments on aspects of the Export Admini...
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| U.S. agents arrest 33 for fake goods imports |
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
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A six-week U.S. government dragnet ended Dec. 16 resulted in the arrest of 33 people allegedly involved in importation, distribution and sale of more than 327,000 counterfeit products, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE agents participating in Operation Holiday Hoax seized fake toys, cell phones and chargers, handbags, DVDs, perfume, integrated circuits, wallets, computer software and sports jerseys from stores, flea markets and spe...
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| U.S. regulators stop unsafe toys |
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
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Collaboration between U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Consumer Production Safety Commission has resulted in thousands of unsafe toys being kept from sale to the public. In November, CBP officers in Chicago seized a shipment of 47,700 FBI Action Play Sets from China after CPSC testing of samples determined they contained excessive amounts of lead, which can cause neurological damage in children, the agency said last week. CBP officers also confis...
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