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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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| 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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| MercuryGate looks to Asian markets |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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MercuryGate International, a transportation management solutions (TMS) service provider, has announced a partnership with JFE Pfe Ltd., a supply chain services provider, to create MercuryGate Asia Pacific. MercuryGate has operated in the Pacific Rim region for some time, but said the move was to add a global face forits TMS in the region, as well as to better support existing customers there. Based in Singapore, MercuryGate Asia Pacific ...
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| LMI expands in U.S. southeast |
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Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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Government logistics services provider LMI will establish a southeast region office via its recent acquisiton of Belzon Inc., a government consultancy in Huntsville, Ala. LMI, which focuses on defense and intelligence, health care, homeland security, energy and environment, and civil government work, said the purchase was finalized, but did not disclose financial terms. Belzon has done work in logistics planning, readiness management, program ...
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| Inspectors stop bee threat at U.S. port |
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Monday, February 20, 2012
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The U.S. honeybee population is safer today after U.S. Customs officers at the Port of Norfolk in Virginia recently intercepted a red mason bee hitchhiking in a container of household goods from the United Kingdom, the agency said. It is the first known interception of the red mason bee, which is commonly found in the United Kingdom, and is not established in the United States. Inspectors found the insect within a rolled rug and called in agriculture specialists to ident...
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| Unisys seeks India port deal |
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Monday, February 20, 2012
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Unisys Corp. is in talks with India’s shipping ministry to provide security systems to domestic ports to avoid traffic congestion and piracy threats, according to a report in India’s Economic Times . The project involves drawing a port-security roadmap for threats, as well as a vessel traffic management system, with a deal possibly signed by March, according to the report.
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| Imperial, GIBS partner on supply chain program |
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Friday, February 17, 2012
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The Johannesburg, South Africa-based Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and Imperial Logistics, a logistics services provider, have launched a Supply Chain and Logistics Program to provide teaching and research in the fields of logistics, supply chain management, and transportation management. The goal of the program is to raise awareness of supply chain management systems for firms in the Southern and greater Africa regions, and also create supply chain ...
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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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| 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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| ESC bemoans 'shocking' piracy levels |
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
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The European Shippers’ Council (ESC) said the state of piracy, while improving, is still at a "shocking" level. “A year on from our last press statement on this issue, the ESC remains alarmed by the latest figures released by the ICC's International Maritime Bureau,” the council said. “Although figures show a decreasing number of piracy attacks, the damage done is still unacceptably high.” ESC referred to a reported 37 attacks in 2012, coming on the heels of 420 at...
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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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| 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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| 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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| Ryder updates onboard truck monitoring |
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
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Transportation and supply chain management company Ryder has launched the latest version of its RydeSmart onboard telematics system and now provides it as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product to make it easier to deploy and monitor. RydeSmart 3.0 offers GPS fleet location, tracking, and vehicle performance management via a hardware and software unit installed in the vehicle and connected to its existing computer and diagnostic system. RydeSmart wirelessly syncs wi...
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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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| 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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| 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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| U.S. bans import of 4 non-native snakes |
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday said it will ban, effective in late March, the import and interstate transport of four non-native python snakes because of the threat they pose to wildlife in the Florida Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems. The final rule, to be published in the Federal Register in the next few days, lists four constrictor snakes that will be prohibited in the United States to restrict their spread in the wild. They are the B...
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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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| HPH offers cargo security, asset monitoring |
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
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Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) has launched its StellarTrak, a cloud-based service providing cargo security, monitoring and asset tracking to its LoadStar customers. John Meredith, HPH's group managing director, said “Cargo theft, spoilage, and smuggling continue to be major concerns for our customers and all supply chain participants.” StellarTrak provides LoadStar (HPH’s cargo security division) customers with real-time information about cargo and...
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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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| HSBC forecasts lower freight volumes |
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Thursday, January 05, 2012
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Transportation analysts at HSBC have cut their shipment flow forecasts in the face of a weakening global economy. “The outlook for volumes remains weak. Growth, industrial production and exports from China are likely to remain weak this year, and this will dampen demand for freight. We now forecast that containers, airfreight box and parcel volumes will contract in 2012,” the bank said in a research report published Wednesday. HSBC said i...
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| Pharmaceuticals seek supply chain standards |
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Thursday, January 05, 2012
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Being hit by counterfeit medicines, patent violations, security issues, and improper handling of medicines, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is beginning a campaign to develop supply chain visibility best practices for that industry. The main goal for the USP is to ensure that medicines can be traced back to their original manufacturer and ensure they arrive at their intended destination without tampering or damage, all while verifying that they are not adulterated or cou...
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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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| Maritime cyber security report warns threats |
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
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The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) said it has published its first report ever on maritime cyber security challenges and threats. The report covers key insights, existing initiatives, precautions and recommendations, and a baseline for cyber security. ENISA said all sectors that deploy information and communication technologies (ICT) are vulnerable to threats. The body noted there have been recent, deliberate disruptions to automati...
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| U.S., Canada to implement trade facilitation plans |
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Thursday, December 15, 2011
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U.S. and Canadian officials last week outlined priorities for coordinating customs and cargo security processes, enhancing border infrastructure and harmonizing regulations to increase the efficiency of trade across the border and boost their respective economies. A Beyond-the-Border action plan as well as new focus areas for a Regulatory Cooperation Council were the primary outcomes of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to the White House. Th...
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| Antwerp tackles illicit goods in cars |
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
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Belgium’s Port of Antwerp will step up efforts to prevent importers from using second-hand cars to bring illicit wastes into the country. The Antwerp Port Authority board on Tuesday approved the new measures, effective Jan. 1. Sharper checks will be carried out not only on the vehicles themselves but also on accompanying freight. With these new regulations the port hopes to make clear what can and cannot be shipped. Antwerp is one of Europe’s largest port...
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| Tips to combat holiday cargo theft |
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
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CargoNet, an organization formed in 2009 by the ISO and the National Insurance Crime Bureau to create a national information-sharing system to combat cargo theft has issued a caution to shippers about cargo theft during the holiday season. "Historical cargo theft data shows that the rate of cargo theft increases over holiday weekends," CargoNet said. It offered a list of ten steps that companies can use to prevent theft as well as recover stolen c...
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| TT Club survey on container weighing |
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
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Insurance company TT Club has published the results of a survey it conducted in July on the subject of overweight containers and proposals that containers be weighed. TT Club noted the issue was discussed by a subcommittee of the International Maritime Organization in September 2011 "and it has been left with the World Shipping Council to lead an informal correspondence group in order to identify what specific legal change is required and develop practical guidance as to h...
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| New global TAPA truck crime standard |
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011
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The Transportation Asset Protection Association has released a new global security standard to protect high-value consumer goods traveling on international. According to the association, cargo crime levels involving attacks on vehicles are estimated to cost in excess of $10 billion a year. The updated and enhanced Trucking Security Requirements 2012 replaces the 2008 version and takes effect from Jan. 1. TSR has proven to be extremely effective for TAPA...
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| Conflict mineral certification launched |
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011
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The U.S. government, along with a coalition of private sector and humanitarian organizations, on Monday announced the formation of the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade to help the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African governments deny violent militias from using extorted mining proceeds to support their activities. The State Department and the U.S. agency for International Development are trying to help establish a system of responsible ...
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| NCBFAA seeks clearer FDA agent designation |
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Thursday, November 03, 2011
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The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to revise its process for designating a U.S. agent before implementing foreign facility re-inspection fees under the Food Safety Modernization Act. U.S. agents designated under FDA’s current process, which was developed under the Bioterrorist Act (BTA), serve for the limited purpose of notification, the Washington-based organization said in a Nov. 1 letter to...
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| Ford learns importance of supply chain oversight |
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
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One of the hard lessons resulting from the triple disaster in Japan last spring is that companies did not have as diverse a supply base for components as they thought, Jenny Lin, senior economist for Ford Motor Co., said Wednesday. Car makers temporarily idled assembly plants in Japan, the United States and Europe when key components became scarce due to damage, power outages and transportation interruptions associated with the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. &nbs...
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| FDA attacks illicit Internet medicine sales |
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Friday, September 30, 2011
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory and international partners this week completed the International Internet Week of Action (IIWA), a cooperative effort to curb online sales and distribution of counterfeit and illegal medical products. The IIWA is a coordinated effort by INTERPOL, World Customs Organization, Permanent Forum of International Pharmaceutical Crime, Heads of Medicines Agencies Working Group of Enforcement Officers, as well as national health...
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| CBP makes headway on simplified entry |
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Thursday, September 29, 2011
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U.S. Customs and industry representatives on Monday outlined how a simplified process for filing import declarations would look and said a trial program will start soon to demonstrate how fewer documentation requirements could benefit the government and importers alike. The goal is to give trusted traders a more streamlined process to get goods released by linking security and admissibility data requirements. A simplified customs entry would resemble the Importer Security Filin...
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| Shipowners: Piracy could lead to alternate routing |
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Wednesday, September 28, 2011
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The International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80 percent of the world merchant fleet, warned that in the face of the inability to control Somali pirates "the shipping industry will be forced to look at all possible options, including alternative routes, which could have a very dramatic effect on transport costs and delivery times." ICS said the principal concern of the shipping industry with piracy is humanitarian, adding "there is an urgent need for governments to do m...
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| Northeastern taps Flynn for homeland security institute |
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
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Flynn Renowned homeland security expert Stephen Flynn is giving up the presidency of the Center for National Policy in Washington to be the founding co-director of the George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security at Northeastern University in Boston. Flynn will join with Peter Boynton, the former commissioner for homeland security and emergency preparedness for Connecticut, in standing up the institute, which will be housed in a new 70,000-square-foot secure facili...
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| Senate approves GSP bill |
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Friday, September 23, 2011
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The U.S. Senate Thursday voted 70-27 to renew the Generalized System of Preferences and Trade Adjustment Assistance programs that had expired within the past year. The trade package now heads to the House for final approval and opens the door for trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and Korea to be considered. GSP promotes economic growth in 129 developing countries and territories by providing duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products. The legislation retroactively ...
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| Cordero: Demurrage fees deserve FMC attention |
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
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The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission could help shippers find a solution for demurrage charges associated with containers held at the dock for Customs inspections, Mario Cordero, the independent agency’s newest member, said Monday. Terminal operators typically assess fees on containers that are not picked up within several days of being unloaded from a vessel, but shippers complain that they can’t send a truck to pick up the cargo when U.S. Customs and Border Protection detains t...
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| St. Louis forwarder settles export violations |
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
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The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said Ram International, a St. Louis-based freight forwarder, has agreed to pay a $40,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it committed two violations of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). BIS alleges that on two occasions in 2006, Ram’s Elk Grove Village, Ill., office “aided and abetted” the unlicensed export of salvage scrap electrolytic tin plate steel to Allied Trading Company in Karachi, Pakistan,...
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| DHL takes control of LifeConEx |
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
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DHL Global Forwarding has bought out Lufthansa Cargo’s half of LifeConEx, the joint venture started in 2005 to provide life sciences companies a cold-chain transportation manager with stringent controls for temperature-sensitive products. The logistics company’s value proposition is that it integrates the operating standards of the airline, ground handling, packing, technology and freight forwarder service providers to ensure there are no breakdowns in the chain of custody. It ...
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| E-waste firm indicted over exports |
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Monday, September 19, 2011
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Electronic waste firm Executive Recycling Inc., its owner and a former executive were indicted by a federal grand last week in Denver. Executive Recycling; Brandon Richter, the owner and chief executive officer; and Tor Olson, former vice president of operations, were indicted on charges of wire and mail fraud, environmental crimes in connection with the failure to file a notification to export hazardous waste, exportation contrary to law, and destruction, alteration or falsifi...
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| Nordana reintroduces Libya calls |
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Friday, September 16, 2011
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Nordana said it will reintroduce regular service into Libya. The carrier said it operated the only regular direct roll-on/roll-off service from the U.S. Gulf and East coasts into Libya until unrest forced the temporary suspension of services in February. The company said the lifting of sanctions and improved security in the region permits it to resume service. "The increasing stabilization in the eastern part of Libya has now reached a stage where we have fou...
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| FAA, highway funding crisis averted |
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Friday, September 16, 2011
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The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation to extend funding to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Highway Administration for four and six months, respectively, after the House approved the measure earlier this week. Without action, the FAA would have been forced to shut down non-essential programs and services at midnight on Friday, when its six-week emergency authorization is scheduled to expire. Operations were terminated, contracts suspended and thousan...
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| Industry wants Hirschhorn’s Senate confirmation |
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Friday, September 16, 2011
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A group of industry associations urged the Senate in a letter Thursday to promptly confirm Eric L. Hirschhorn as the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for export administration. Hirschhorn Hirschhorn has been serving in this role through a recess appointment since March 2010, even though his nomination has twice been approved unanimously by the Senate Banking Committee. “In that time, he has established an impressive record of accomplishment, taking a leading role in ...
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| Descartes profit climbs |
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Friday, September 16, 2011
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Descartes Systems Group had second quarter net profit of $2.6 million, 30 percent more than the $2 million earned in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was $28.8 million in the quarter ending July 31, up 14 percent from $25.2 million in the second quarter last year. The Waterloo, Ontario-based logistics platform company acquired Telargo in June, a provider of telematics services that help customers monitor and manage trucks and other mobile assets and help fle...
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| Judge cites ILWU for contempt |
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Friday, September 16, 2011
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A federal judge in Tacoma, Wash., on Thursday found the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and two of its locals in contempt of a temporary restraining order it had issued earlier this month. Judge Ronald B. Leighton said he would decide the remedy for the finding at a hearing on Sept. 30. The judge made his finding following demonstrations at the EGT Development grain terminal in Longview grain terminal. On Sept. 7, protesters blocked trains bringing grai...
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| Study gauges ash impact on jet engines |
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Thursday, September 15, 2011
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The University of Leicester in the United Kingdom is studying the impact of volcanic ash on jet engines to better advise the airline industry on whether it is safe to fly following an explosive volcanic eruption. The study, led jointly by Hongbiao Dong of the Department of Engineering and Mike Branney of the Department of Geology, will use thermal analysis and X-ray computed tomography to analyze the temperature at which volcanic ash solidifies and melts. The blade...
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| Ex-CBP chiefs: Congress misguided on border security |
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Thursday, September 15, 2011
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Two former U.S. Customs commissioners, now out of government and free to speak their minds, unloaded on Congress for making their jobs more complicated by forcing the Department of Homeland Security to implement ineffective security measures. Bersin But Alan Bersin, the current commissioner, said the way to prevent politicians from overreacting to perceived threats at the border is to address security gaps and other problems before they rise to a critical level. Th...
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| Bill seeks national ballast water policy |
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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Congress has introduced legislation that would impose a national policy for regulating discharges of ballast water to prevent the introduction of invasive species. The bill, H.R. 2840, also aims to regulate incidental "gray water" discharges from ships ranging from oily water separator effluent and refrigeration and air condensate effluent. Reps. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., John Mica, R-Fla., and Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, introduced the bill last week. It would amend the Clean Water Act to set a...
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| FAA approves Envirotainer unit |
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has approved certification of Envirotainer’s RKN e1 electrical heating and compressor cooling air cargo container. Envirotainer, pioneer of the world’s first active temperature-controlled container in 1995, has experienced significantly increased demand for its RKN e1 since it was first approved by the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) in June 2005. However, although it is regularly used on U.S. routes by international airlines, FAA appr...
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| House passes FAA, highway program extensions |
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday in two separate votes approved extensions to Federal Aviation Administration and surface transportation programs that were due to expire in the coming days. The FAA bill will keep aviation programs running through the end of January while authorization for highway and transit programs is extended through March 31 at current funding levels. “While this legislation signifies a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to move forward, ...
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| Asia-Pacific seeks cleaner transport |
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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Transportation and energy ministers from 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States, on Tuesday agreed to continue initiatives for cleaner and more energy-efficient transportation in the region. The announcement came during the first-ever joint Transportation and Energy Ministerial Conference held in San Francisco by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the principal economic organization for the region. “Our roadways, runways, ra...
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| Congress paves way to extend FAA, highway program |
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Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Congress is poised to pass bills providing short-term extensions for aviation and surface transportation programs without which funding for non-essential services would expire. Congressional leaders reached a deal on both measures late Friday. According to Politico.com, the agreement would provide the Federal Aviation Administration $5.4 billion to keep the agency running through the end of January, while surface transportation projects would get about $20 billion for six...
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| U.S. promotes medicines trade |
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Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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On Monday at Round 8 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in Chicago, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a white paper outlining a new USTR strategic initiative, Trade Enhancing Access to Medicines (TEAM). TEAM offers trade policy tools to promote trade and reduce obstacles to access to both new and generic medicines, while supporting innovation for developing new medicines, USTR said. The white paper describes how, under t...
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| College hosts auto supply chain competition |
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Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Wayne State University’s School of Business Administration, with support from General Motors, is bringing in logistics students from across the country to Detroit on Sept. 22-25 for an in-depth look at the supply chain systems that support the automotive industry and its high-tech vehicles. The General Motors-Wayne State University Supply Chain Case Competitio , featuring the Chevrolet Volt, will bring 16 university groups. The program will introduce st...
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| Senators request FMC cargo diversion probe |
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Monday, September 12, 2011
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Washington State’s two U.S. senators have asked the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to investigate the extent to which the federal Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) and "other factors" are causing U.S.-bound cargo to be routed through ports in Canada and Mexico. In a l etter to FMC Chairman Richard A. Lidinsky Jr. , Sens. Patty Murray Sen. Maria Cantwell say "shippers can avoid paying the HMT by routing cargo through non-U.S. seaports. Although the HMT has existed since 1986, it has become a mo...
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