Canadian Ports Refute U.S. Allegations of Unfair Subsidies

(Cargonews Asia)

Canadian port authorities are calling on the US government not to impose penalties on the country’s container ports, reported Canwest News Service.

The Federal Maritime Commission in the US decided late last year to launch a study into possible unfair practices by Ottawa for its container ports, raising fears of a damaging trade war.

Richard Lidinsky, the chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), said he would be proposing a study on whether Canadian and Mexican ports are benefiting from unfair subsidisation, following a request for an investigation by two US senators from Washington state.

They wanted an investigation of “diversions” of US-bound, Asia-origin cargo through Canada, brought into United States via Canadian rail services.

Some of the issues to be investigated include the Harbour Maintenance Tax, which isn’t in place in Canada, as well as rail service rates and infrastructure funding. Read more here.

U.S. Calls for Global Co-Operation on Supply Chain Security

(International Freighting Weekly)

US Secretary Napolitano says DHS is committed to protecting transport systems from attack and disruption

US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has issued a new call for global co-operation on supply chain security.

Discussing the new National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, she said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was committed to protecting transport systems from attacks and disruptions, and increasing the resilience of global supply chains.

“We must continue to strengthen global supply chains to ensure that they operate effectively in time of crisis, recover quickly from disruptions and facilitate international trade,” she said. Read more here.

News from TAHOCO: Weekly Updates

An updated list of recently published US government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending February 3, 2011 is now available on our website here.

African Union Aims for Continental Free Trade Area by 2017

(Bridges Trade Weekly)

Plans to establish a pan-African trade pact are well underway, as part of a broader effort to increase intra-regional trade within the continent. However, these plans also hit an early roadblock during a week-long meeting of African leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after various participants questioned such an agreement’s feasibility.

Leaders at the African Union Summit, which took place from 23 to 30 January 2012 under the theme ‘boosting intra-African trade’, endorsed a plan to set up a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) by 2017. The proposed CFTA would be a key component of the AU’s strategy to boost trade within the region by at least 25-30% in the next decade.

The “Declaration on boosting intra-African trade and the establishment of a continental free trade area” calls on member states, regional economic communities (RECs), and development partners to adopt the necessary measures toward the effective implementation of an Action Plan – a document produced during the AU trade ministers’ meeting in December 2011 detailing priority action clusters to address obstacles to increasing intra-African trade. Read more here.

China Rare Earths Safe from WTO Ruling on Export Curbs

(Reuters – David Stanway)

A World Trade Organisation ruling against China’s restrictions on raw material exports could force changes to some of its rare earth policies but is unlikely to yield the boost in exports of the metals that consumers want to see.

A WTO panel decided on Monday that China had violated global trading rules by curbing exports of raw materials like bauxite, coke, magnesium, manganese and zinc, which inflated prices and gave domestic Chinese firms an unfair competitive advantage.

Rare earth metals were not part of Monday’s ruling, but users of the crucial group of 17 elements used in the renewable and high-tech sectors hope China will also scrap export limits on these commodities, leading to higher volume and lower prices.

They are likely to be disappointed.  "It is still too early to say what the impact will be but I can’t see it having a big impact on prices – the main issue will still be supply and demand," said Vivian Pang, an analyst with the Asian Metal consultancy in Beijing.   The reason, say analysts, is that even if China removes export quotas, it is unlikely to lift its production limits, which are meant to limit environmental damage from rare earths mining and keep prices – and profits – high. Read more here.

NAFTA Surface Trade Rises 12.7%

(Transport Topics)

Surface trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 12.7% in November from a year ago, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

Trade among the North American Free Trade Agreement partners rose to $76.7 billion, DOT’s Bureau of Trade Statistics said in its monthly report. Month-to-month trade, which is affected by seasonal factors, slipped% from October, BTS said.

U.S.-Canada trade rose 12.2% to $44.3 billion, while U.S.-Mexico trade improved 13.3% to $32.4 billion.

Truck imports to the United States rose 10.7% year-over-year to $26.3 billion. Exports rose 10.9% to $27.3 billion.  Rail imports rose 12.6% to $8.1 billion, while exports increased 23.6% to $4.8 billion. Pipeline imports increased 26.5% to $5.6 billion and exports jumped 48.2% to $714 million.

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. About 90% of U.S. trade among NAFTA partners moves by land.

CBP Textile and Quota Newsletter

(CBP)

Attached please find the first issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Textile/Quota Newsletter to CBP and the Trade.  Please feel free to share this newsletter with your members and colleagues. Read more here. 

Little Information So Far on Perimeter Plan Progress

(Embassy – Carl Meyer)

The first deadlines have passed, but neither Canadian nor US governments have announced yet what has been accomplished

The first batch of dozens of deadlines in the Canada-United States perimeter security plan has come and gone, with neither government responding to questions of progress by press time.

The border action plan announced in December notes that by Jan. 31 the two governments would "determine the way ahead" on how to share intelligence related to national security.  It is the first milestone in the multi-year Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan that will, among many other things, harmonize much of how Canada and the US share information and evidence between their police forces and intelligence agencies.

The plan, which lays out a series of deadlines over the next few years, notes that bureaucrats should already be hammering away at a new inventory that will show where Prime Minister Stephen Harper and US President Barack Obama need to plug security holes in order to begin building an impenetrable fortress.  But by press time neither the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade nor the US Department of Homeland Security were able to answer any questions about progress, or whether the government had met its deadline. Read more here.

Two Projects Underway to Modernize Role of U.S. Customs Brokers

(ST&R Trade Report)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted to its Web site recently information on the following two projects it is conducting on modernizing the role of customs brokers.

Broker Pre-Certification    
Brokers who apply and are accepted into the Importer Self-Assessment Pre-Certification Program will perform the comprehensive review of the ISA applicant’s package and evaluate the applicant’s readiness to self-govern and participate in the ISA program. The accredited broker will draft a final report on the applicant’s ISA readiness and submit it to the Partnership Programs Branch for processing and validation. If there are no anomalies, the report will be scheduled for ISA Review Board approval/certification.

Broker Regulation Redesign 
Current broker regulations have not kept up with advancements in technology and CBP’s facilitation goals. CBP is attempting to address this through amendments to the regulations that will (a) clarify brokers’ responsibilities related to importer validation and provide greater visibility of importers; (b) modernize the regulations to align with current electronic capabilities and business practices, which could result in decreased administrative costs for both CBP and customs brokers; and (c) reinforce the broker’s responsibility to exercise due diligence in conducting business and to “professionalize” the customs broker by introducing a continuing education requirement.

China Raw Material Exports Broke Trade Rules, WTO Says

(Industry Week – Agence France-Presse)

Ruling affects bauxite, coking coal, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus and zinc

The World Trade Organization on Jan 30. upheld its ruling that Chinese restrictions on key raw material exports broke trade rules following an appeal by Beijing. China must bring its duty and export quota measures on elements including magnesium and zinc into line with its WTO obligations, an appeal body said.

The WTO found in favor of the United States, European Union and Mexico in July following a complaint that China had failed to meet the promises it made when joining the body.

The ruling applies to bauxite, coking coal, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus and zinc – many of them vital to the chemical and metal industries for producing things like medicines, fridges and juice cans. Read more here.

Related: WTO Appellate Body Report

Ron Kirk: U.S. to Tackle Hefty Trade Agenda

(The Hill – Vicki Needham)

U.S. trade officials are expecting to cut a wide swath through a broad trade agenda this year, all probably before Congress leaves town in August.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has three major issues on his agenda — implementing the three free-trade agreements passed last fall, opening up the Russian market to U.S. goods and services and wrapping up negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Russia’s ascension to the World Trade Organization (WTO) is topping the agenda for the Obama administration and business groups.  “It’s our top trade legislative priority for the year,” Chris Wenk, senior director for International Policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told The Hill on Friday.  The Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade — a group of businesses pushing for the changes needed to move forward — is “starting an aggressive ramp up reaching out to the Hill,” he said. Read more here.

Public Support Grows for New Detroit-Canada Bridge

(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)

Support hurt, however, by $6 million negative advertising campaign

Public support for a new bridge between Canada and the U.S. at Detroit is growing, but a $6 million negative advertising campaign against the New International Trade Crossing has taken its toll, according to published reports.

The poll, sponsored by the Detroit Free Press and a local television station, found that opponents had a 9 point advantage, but only a few months ago opponents outnumbered supporters 2-1. Support for the new bridge is strongest in the three counties that comprise the Detroit metropolitan area. Read more here.

Harmonized System Update 1201 – Changes to the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule

(CBP)

Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1201 was created on January 23, 2012 and contains 9,350 ABI records and 2,155 harmonized tariff records.

Amendments include Modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States under Section 1206 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. USITC Publication 4276 (Annex to Presidential Proclamation) signed December 29, 2011, can be found here (126 pages). Adjustments required by the authentication of the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are also included.

The modified records are currently available to all ABI participants and can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. For further information about this process, please contact your client representative. For all other questions regarding this message, please contact Jennifer Keeling via email at Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov.

Michigan to Build Ambassador Bridge Ramp Within Months

(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)

Latest development in battle between MDOT, bridge owner

The Michigan Department of Transportation said it will build an off-ramp connecting the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest U.S.-Canada crossing, to two interstate highways within the next few months.
 
MDOT received the federal go-ahead after Detroit International Bridge Co., the owner of the bridge, deeded the property to the department. MDOT and DIBC have battled over who should have to build the bridge for two years, with the fight most recently leading to the brief jailing of bridge owner, Manuel “Matty” Moroun. Read more here.

WEF Davos: Governments And Business Must Collaborate To Reduce Supply Chain Risk

(Transport Intelligence – John Manners-Bell)

At the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the issue of supply chain risk took a high profile, with senior government figures and industry leaders seeking to develop ways in which economic damage caused by disrupted supply chains could be mitigated.

As part of the initiative, a new report was launched at the event. The report, New Models for Addressing Supply Chain and Transport Risks produced in collaboration with Accenture, highlighted the urgent need to review risk management practices. Read more here.

News from TAHOCO: Weekly Updates

An updated list of recently published US government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending January 27, 2011 is now available on our website here.