Regulatory/Trade

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

   The Senate voted 78-20 to pass a bill to renew the U.S. Export Import Bank's charter for another three years and raise its lending cap from $100 billion to $140 billion.    The Coalition for Employment through Exports (CEE) and National Foreign Trade Council applauded the passing of H.R. 2072 (Securing American Jobs Through Exports Act of 2011) reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank.    John Hardy, president of CEE, said, “with the extension of the charter expiring at the end...

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

   For the European Union, all public sector buyers will be required to do their procurement electronically by 2016, according to a new deadline.    The European Commission set the 2016 deadline because it believes that some 100 billion euros of the current 2 trillion euros spent annually on procurement can be saved in the European Union by mandating that companies use e-procurement tools.    Activities covered under the guidelines include posting all contrac...

Monday, May 14, 2012

   The United States on Friday asked the World Trade Organization to establish a dispute settlement panel to decide U.S. claims regarding India’s restrictions on imports of various U.S. agricultural products, including poultry meat and eggs.    While India asserts that its measures are aimed at preventing entry of avian influenza, the United States claims India’s measures are inconsistent with the science, international guidelines, and standards India has set for its own domestic indu...

Friday, May 11, 2012

   The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday reported that exports of goods and services from the country in March were up 2.9 percent from February to reach a record $186.8 billion.    Record highs were seen in U.S. exports of both total services ($54.1 billion), and goods ($132.7 billion), with record levels of exports of industrial supplies ($44.3 billion) and capital goods ($44.4 billion). U.S. goods and services exports year-to-date through the first quarter of 2012 were up 8.2 p...

Friday, May 11, 2012

   Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano has formally notified Congress that her department will postpone by two years the mandate that all inbound ocean containers be scanned for hidden nuclear weapons or other terror-related contraband at foreign ports by July 2012.    The 9/11 Recommendations Act that required the 100-percent inspections included authority for the secretary to waive the deadline under certain conditions.    In a May 2 letter to the House and Senate Homelan...

Thursday, May 10, 2012

   Axway, which develops cloud-based software, has announced Nathan Associates has picked the company’s business-to-business integration (B2Bi) service to run a single window pilot program.    The pilot is being put into place by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The goal of the single window is to reduce the time needed to process import and export documents, allowing businesses to operate more efficiently. ASEAN also said it expects the program to b...

Thursday, May 10, 2012

   As part of a multipronged effort to streamline compliance requirements, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open two more industry-focused units aimed at centralizing the import process for trusted shippers, one for automotive and aerospace in Detroit and one for petroleum, natural gas and minerals in Houston.    Customs officials made the announcement Thursday in Long Beach, Calif., during the agency's annual Trade Symposium, which is being held on the West Coast for fir...

Thursday, May 10, 2012

   U.S. and European Union customs officials have finalized an agreement to treat qualified shippers in their respective supply chain security programs as equivalent to their own, but a wide range of technical details must still be worked out before low-risk companies can enjoy reduced fees and inspection levels for ocean freight.    Under the agreement signed last Friday, Customs and Border Protection will recognize voluntary participants in the EU's Authorized Ec...

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

   Retailers on Tuesday advised the House Committee on Natural Resources' subcommittee on fisheries, wildlife oceans and insular affairs that several significant compliance challenges have emerged from the 2008 Lacey Act Amendment that deserve attention from Congress.    The law requires importers to provide to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service details such as the genus, species and country of harvest for products that include wood m...

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

   The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday said Direct Resource Inc. has agreed to pay the government $450,000 to resolve allegations that it falsely claimed payment in violation of the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), which prohibits the sale of products to federal agencies from countries that do not have a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States.     The Columbus, Ohio-based company allegedly knowingly sold products from China, a country that does not have such an agr...

Monday, May 07, 2012

   A group of House lawmakers told President Obama not to compromise on the country’s “Buy American” procurement policies during Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement talks.    Under the proposed TPP framework, individual states and the federal government would be required to bring existing and future domestic policies into compliance with the agreement. One of the 26 TPP chapters specifically covers government procurement policy.    “Failure to conform our...

Monday, May 07, 2012

   China’s new five-year plan for its solar industry threatens to further incapacitate U.S. domestic and world market share, an industry group warned.    "The Chinese government launched a trade war against the U.S. domestic industry, took over the leadership of the largest American industry trade association and began driving U.S. solar manufacturing pioneers out of business," said Gordon Brinser, president of SolarWorld Industries America, the largest U.S. solar manu...

Monday, May 07, 2012

   The FBI last week made arrests in what it said was “the largest takedown in U.S. history involving cargo theft."    Eleven people were indicted.    John V. Gillies, special agent in charge for FBI Miami, said the theft involved more than $100 million, including $80 million worth of pharmaceuticals and "dealt a major blow to this Miami-based criminal organization."    Operation Southern Hospitality, as the investigation was dubbed, targeted individuals invol...

Thursday, May 03, 2012

   Amber Road, formerly Management Dynamics and a provider of global trade management systems, has released a study on U.S.-based mid-market companies' export compliance challenges and found they are increasingly at risk of violating federal regulations.    Of the 150 companies surveyed, 23 percent do not screen for restricted parties prior to engaging overseas customers. For those that did perform this screening, 30 percent make checks manually using sp...

Thursday, May 03, 2012

   Seven chief executives from the solar power industry on Wednesday announced the formation of an association to expand global trade in their companies' products.    Global Solar Council members will engage policymakers worldwide to demonstrate the importance of a supportive policy and trade environment, which will enable the ongoing development of competitively‐priced solar energy, driving job creation and economic growth.    “Through its members, the Global Solar Council ...

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

   Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Apparel Coalition on Tuesday lauded a group of 15 U.S. senators who sent a letter to President Obama urging him to push for modern and flexible rules in the TPP, a multilateral trade agreement being negotiated among a cadre of Pacific nations.    The senators asked the administration to abandon a push for the so-called “yarn-forward” rule of origin, saying it restricts textile and apparel trade among TPP partners.    The bipartisan...

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

   Zepol Corp., a trade intelligence company based in Edina, Minn., has released its newest trade data tool, ComplianceIQ, to help U.S. importers comply with government import regulations.    The tool bridges multiple import-compliance datasets in a unified interface in hopes of bringing as much information to the customer as possible for specific Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes.    Zepol said users can view product classifications, search by binding rulings...

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

   More than a dozen industry associations has asked the Obama administration to include sugar as part of the comprehensive free trade negotiations between the country members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.    “We believe that for purposes of the TPP, all products and subject areas should be on the negotiating table regardless of any less-than-comprehensive free trade agreements that may already exist among two or more of the parties. In particular, sugar should not be excluded fro...

Monday, April 30, 2012

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank on Friday announced a three-year renewal of its Short-Term Africa Initiative (STAI) that provides export-credit insurance for U.S. exporters selling to 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, up to a program limit of $100 million.    The initiative is renewed through March 31, 2015.    The bank also anticipates expanding the availability of its export financing in three sub-Saharan African countries: Cameroon, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Ex-Im Bank's b...

Monday, April 30, 2012

   The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security will add 16 persons - four individuals and 12 companies in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates - to its Entity List for providing materials used to produce improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and used against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.    The persons who were added to the Entity List have been determined by the federal government as a threat to U.S. national security or foreign p...

Friday, April 27, 2012

   The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said this week that a Colorado-based medical equipment manufacturer will pay $126,000 to settle charges that it knowingly shipped medical devices to Iran through the United Arab Emirates.    The company has also been charged with failing to provide documents in response to two subpoenas from the office during its initial investigation.    According to the OFAC statement, the matter was not voluntarily disc...

Friday, April 27, 2012

   The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on Thursday said Ping Cheng and Prime Technology Corp., both of New York state, agreed to $125,000 fines and two-year denial of export privileges for each to settle allegations that they conspired to violate Export Administration Regulations (EAR).    The two-year denial period will be suspended as long as neither commits additional export control violations during the two year period, BIS said. The violations involve ...

Thursday, April 26, 2012

   U.S. citizens applying to become customs brokers should be able to obtain their licenses in a quarter of the time it now takes once U.S. Customs completes a nationwide rollout of a new system for processing their applications.    Licenses are being approved in less than three months compared to the normal nine to 12 months under a pilot program underway at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare airport, Brenda Brockman Smith, the agenc...

Thursday, April 26, 2012

   Two Taiwanese nationals were charged Wednesday with allegedly seeking to export sensitive U.S. military technology to China, including drone aircraft, spy planes and stealth technology related to F-22 fighter planes.    The plot was uncovered when federal agents investigating the smuggling of counterfeit goods such as cigarettes, boots and handbags, also discovered plots to smuggle drugs into and sensitive defense articles out of the United States.    Hui Sheng Shen,...

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

   The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Japan and three of its U.S. subsidiaries for knowingly misrepresenting the country of origin on import documents presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.    The suit alleges that Toyo misrepresented Japan and Mexico as the countries of origin for its colorant carbazole violet pigment No. 23 (CVP-23) imports to avoid paying U.S. antidumping a...

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

   The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released its Global Engagement Report, detailing the many activities and strategies the agency is currently using to transform itself from a domestic to a global public health agency.    Specifically, the report describes steps FDA is taking to ensure that imports of food, drugs, medical devices, and other regulated products meet the same rigorous standards for safety and quality as those manufactured domestically.    “As our wor...

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as “mad cow” disease, in a dairy cow from central California.    “The carcass of the animal is being held under state authority at a rendering facility in California and will be destroyed,” said USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford in a statement. “It was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or...

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

   foodcareplus, an Antwerp-based logistics services provider specializing in food products, has joined with Nova Fresh Logistics to deliver an all-in-one logistics offering for the seafood industry.    Nova Fresh Logistics is involved in the food supply chain and part of Belgium-based Nova Natie Group.    The companies said the joint service will cover shipping, handling, and distribution of seafood, while offering complete cost control and regulatory compliance. ...

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

   Significant theft of metals in the United States has increased by 254 percent, from 13 thefts in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 46 incidents in the first quarter of 2012, according to a report from FreightWatch International, a logistics security company.    Freightwatch says there were more metal thefts in the first quarter than all of 2010 and over half of all metal thefts recorded in 2011.    "Theft of copper and other metals is not unique to the United S...

Monday, April 23, 2012

   The U.S. Department of State on Thursday announced $2.6 million in funding to help train foreign governments on investigating and prosecuting intellectual property rights crimes in Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.    Workshops and training seminars will be conducted for customs authorities, judges, prosecutors, police, and other enforcement officials in Mexico, Chile, and Colombia    A dozen projects were selected for training and technical assistance with inp...

Friday, April 20, 2012

   The U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board, operating under the U.S. Commerce Department, has approved a foreign-trade zone (FTZ) subzone for the Benicia refinery operated by Valero Refining Co. in California.    The FTZ will operate as a subzone of the Port of San Francisco’s Foreign Trade Zone No. 3. Subzones are typically areas near but not located inside an existing FTZ, so they require the FTZ Board to extend the duty-free zone to these areas individually.    Valero, based ...

Friday, April 20, 2012

   CUSTOMS Info (CI) has made a version of its CI Mobile app available to freight forwarders, allowing them to provide trade information to their clients for free.    The information sent from the app, including details on duties, taxes and denied party lists, will be branded with the forwarder’s contact information.    The app is available for the Apple iPhone and iPad, plus all Android phones and tablets.    CI and its sister company Global Data Mining...

Friday, April 20, 2012

   The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday determined that imports of certain steel nails from the United Arab Emirates have materially injured the domestic steel nail industry.    The case was brought before the ITC by Mid Continent Nail Corp., one of nine remaining domestic steel nail manufacturers. The case alleged that unfairly low-priced steel nail imports from the UAE have materially injured the U.S. industry.    Prior to Thursday’s vote, the Commerce...

Friday, April 20, 2012

   The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on Thursday added Mahan Air General Trading of the United Arab Emirates, as well as Skyco (UK) Ltd. and Equipco (UK) Ltd. of the United Kingdom, to a “temporary denial order” (TDO) issued to halt the illegal transfer and operation of aircraft subject to BIS regulation by Iran-based Mahan Air.    The order expands the TDO to include three additional parties, all related to Mahan Air. Under the order, these three parties...

Friday, April 20, 2012

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending its regulations to allow the import of Chile-grown pomegranates into the United States, effective May 17.    The agency said these imports are subject to the “systems approach.” Under this approach, the fruit must be grown at a site that is registered with Chile’s national plant protection organization and certified as having a low prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis. The fruit must also un...

Thursday, April 19, 2012

   The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has proposed a requirement for exporters, whose overseas customers are part of the “validated end user” (VEU) program, to send a notification with shipment details to these recipients prior to export.    BIS said the purpose of this new requirement would be to “enhance the ability of VEUs to comply with the requirements of the VEU program.”    The agency emphasized that it’s “not the result of non-compliance ...

Thursday, April 19, 2012

   Stanley Okpara, who was arrested by U.K. Border Force officers as he attempted to collect £13,000 ($20,800) worth of drugs that arrived in a freight shipment from Nigeria through Manchester Airport, was sentenced to seven years in jail.    Okpara, a Sierra Leone national, attempted to smuggle peppers stuffed with cocaine in a set of 15 boxes that arrived from Nigeria via Istanbul, Turkey.    According to The Mirror and the Manchester Evening News , officials secured ...

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

   The White House announced Monday that the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement will take effect on May 15.    The announcement follows completion of work by the United States and Colombia to review each other’s laws and regulations related to the agreement's implementation, as well as Colombia’s steps to deal with labor rights. Before President Obama’s announcement, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk exchanged letters with government officials in Colombia in which each country c...

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

   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,...

Friday, April 13, 2012

   The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the country’s goods and services exports in February were up 0.1 percent from January to reach a record $181.2 billion.    In addition, record highs were seen in U.S. exports of total services ($53.2 billion), and capital goods exports ($43.2 billion).    The trade deficit narrowed by $6.5 billion from January to February, to $46.0 billion. This reflected a $6 billion decrease in the goods trade deficit and a $0...

Thursday, April 12, 2012

   The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday that it has seized more than $896,000 in proceeds from the distribution of counterfeit sports apparel and jerseys sold online and seized seven domain names engaged in the sale of fake goods.     The investigation of the fraudulent sales is part of Operation In Our Sites, led by the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which targets online retailers of counterfeit goods. Since June 2010, 758 d...

Thursday, April 12, 2012

   The Sweetener Users Association has continued its campaign to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture to increase the country’s tariff-rate quota for raw and refined sugar imports.    “World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates sharply illustrate the need for a substantial and immediate increase in the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for raw and refined sugar, as well as a reallocation of existing TRQs and other steps, in order to assure adequate supplies at reasonable prices during t...

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

   The law firm Venable LLP said Tuesday that Kelly Herman, a senior attorney advisor at the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection, has joined the firm as Of Counsel in its international trade practice.    Herman has served at CBP for the past 10 years, where she was responsible for all aspects of customs and trade policy formulation, administration and trade negotiations, engaging extensively with other federal agencies, foreign governments and internat...

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

   On Monday, the United States sent a letter to Brazil stating that it will recognize Cachaça as a distinctive product of Brazil, while Brazil said in a letter it will designate Bourbon Whiskey and Tennessee Whiskey as distinctive products of the United States.    “Cachaça and Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey are among the United States’ and Brazil’s most unique and well-recognized products,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement. “This exchange of letters represents a...

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

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 ...

Monday, April 09, 2012

   Federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration searched a Walgreens distribution center in Jupiter, Fla., and six of its drug stores in central Florida to see if the company or its employees had sold or distributed an excessive numbers of pain pills, authorities said Friday.    Walgreens is the latest to come under scrutiny over the sale of prescription drugs as DEA named Florida the biggest source of narcotic pain pills in the Southeast.    ...

Friday, April 06, 2012

  A report released this week by a committee of the Institute of Medicine  urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and its overseas counterparts from the top industrialized nations to work together to help developing countries improve their regulatory systems for food and drug oversight.   The discovery of a counterfeit version of the cancer drug Avastin earlier this year further underscored the challenges for U.S. regulators as imports increasingly dominate the American mar...

Friday, April 06, 2012

  The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has posted an online tool this week to help exporters determine if they are eligible and in compliance with the License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA).   The tool can be found in the "On-Line Training Room" of the new BIS Website . It can also be located on the Export Control Reform Website  underneath the left sidebar item “For Exporters.”   “This tool is purely voluntary and ser...

Friday, April 06, 2012

   The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade is starting work on the modernization of the European Union’s trade defense operations — mainly antidumping and countervailing duties, safeguards, and similar protections — and seeks input from importers, producers, and other companies that deal with cross-border trade.    Trade defense instruments in this case are largely the means that governments and companies use to address what they feel as unfair international tradi...

Friday, April 06, 2012

  Four employees of the transportation and trade law firm Rodriguez O'Donnell Gonzalez & Williams are joining the Washington office of Husch Blackwell.   Attorney Carlos Rodriguez, who entered private practice in 1977, is a well known expert in the field of ocean freight transportation. He successfully gave his boutique law firm a national presence.   Rodriguez said being part of Husch Blackwell will give his clients access to a firm with a broader group of ex...

Friday, April 06, 2012

   Customs and Border Protection has agreed to continue inspections at the Red Hook Container Terminal in Brooklyn through Jan. 8, 2017.    Customs has recently consolidated its examinations in the Port of New York and New Jersey.    Yesterday's announcement means cargo will not have to be trucked to sites in New Jersey or on Staten Island to undergo examination, but will be looked at in Brooklyn. There were concerns that trucking cargo to and from distant examination sites ...

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

   A group of 13 members of Congress from New York and New Jersey are calling on the federal government to approve a $14.48 million grant application to expand a barge system that is used to float cargo rail cars across New York harbor from Jersey City to Brooklyn.    Their letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood supports the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's application for a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery IV (TIGER) grant. &...

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

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...

Monday, April 02, 2012

   The United States on Friday asked the World Trade Organization to set up a compliance panel to address the European Union’s failure to remove WTO-inconsistent subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Airbus.    “We refuse to stand by while American businesses and workers are disadvantaged,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement. “The European Union’s aircraft subsidies have cost American aerospace companies tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue, which has cost Am...

Monday, April 02, 2012

   DeOrchis & Partners, one of the country's best known admiralty and maritime law firms, has merged with the Philadelphia-based Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads.    In a note to clients and readers of its "Client Alert" newsletter, the firm said it is joining the New York offices of Montgomery McCracken, which also announced last month that attorneys from New York-based Kurzman Karelsen & Frank had joined its firm    Vincent M. DeOrchis, senior pa...

Monday, April 02, 2012

   The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a $216,582 grant to El Salvador's Comisión Ejecutiva Portuaria Autónoma (CEPA) to support a program for vessel traffic improvements at the Port of La Unión.    CEPA, the Salvadoran government entity responsible for developing and managing the nation's transportation infrastructure, intends to expand operations at the port under a public-private partnership.    In specific, USTDA’s grant will help CEPA facilitate the safe pass...

Thursday, March 29, 2012

   U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson promoted partnerships between U.S. and Indian businesses as he discussed the U.S.-India trade relationship during meetings with several Indian government officials in New Delhi Tuesday during a five-day trade mission to India.    “It’s clear that if American and Indian businesses work together, we can build India’s infrastructure in a way that brings inclusive growth, greater prosperity, and job creation in both countries,” Bryson said. “U.S. co...

Thursday, March 29, 2012

   A group of sweetner users asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday to “take immediate action on April 1 to increase the tariff rate quota (TRQ) for sugar, and simultaneously work with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to reallocate known shortfalls under the current quota.”    “The U.S. market needs substantial additional supplies of sugar, and a TRQ increase is the only way to provide adequate supplies at reasonable prices,” said the Sweetner Users Associat...

Thursday, March 29, 2012

   Los Angeles-based Less Software, a supply chain management service provider, has joined Avalara’s list of certified original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and will now integrate Avalara’s Software-as-a-Service platform for sales tax management into its own applications.    Avalara said that its OEM partners, which in this case are software publishers and providers, typically offer the Avalara tax service under their own names.     Less Software Chief Execu...

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

   A Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation found that counterfeit military parts remain readily available from Chinese companies for use in U.S. weapons systems.    The congressional watchdog agency set up a fake Internet company as part of a sting operation against counterfeit goods. Chinese sources represented 84 percent of the bids the fake company received. GAO said the findings conclude that China is not pursuing counterfeit...