(World Trade
Interactive)
The Court of
International Trade ruled May 4 in Graphite Sales v. U.S. that electric
heating resistors, also known as hot surface igniters, are properly classified
as other electric heating resistors under HTSUS 8516.80.80 (duty-free). U.S.
Customs and Border Protection had initially classified these resistors as
lighter parts under HTSUS 9613.90.40 but claimed during litigation that they
are classifiable as complete lighters under HTSUS 9613.80.20 (3.9% duty).
According to
the court, electric heating resistors are used in gas-powered stoves, clothes
dryers, water heaters and furnaces to convert electric energy into heat energy.
Read more here.
Friday, May 6, 2011
News from TAHOCO: Weekly Updates
An updated list of recently published US government
memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending May 6, 2011 is now available on our
website here.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Ottawa, Washington Moving to Tighten Border Security: Napolitano
(Vancouver Sun/Postmedia News – Sheldon Alberts)
The Harper government and the Obama administration are in talks to integrate radar and sensor feeds along the Canada-U.S. border as part of a future perimeter security deal, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday.
Discussing behind-the-scenes negotiations that were launched in February, Napolitano said greater sharing of information between the two countries will allow the U.S. to get a better picture of illicit activity along the border.
“Our partnership with Canada has really evolved over the past months so that you had Prime Minister Harper and President Obama themselves announcing a joint vision for a perimeter,” Napolitano told the Senate Homeland Security committee.
“That is going extraordinarily well. For example, we are looking at being able to integrate their own sensor and radar feeds into our system as well.” Read more here.
The Harper government and the Obama administration are in talks to integrate radar and sensor feeds along the Canada-U.S. border as part of a future perimeter security deal, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday.
Discussing behind-the-scenes negotiations that were launched in February, Napolitano said greater sharing of information between the two countries will allow the U.S. to get a better picture of illicit activity along the border.
“Our partnership with Canada has really evolved over the past months so that you had Prime Minister Harper and President Obama themselves announcing a joint vision for a perimeter,” Napolitano told the Senate Homeland Security committee.
“That is going extraordinarily well. For example, we are looking at being able to integrate their own sensor and radar feeds into our system as well.” Read more here.
Industry Doubt Adds Pressure to U.S. Deadline for Air Cargo Screening
(ifw – Mike King)
Lobby groups say December is too soon to ratify foreign security regimes
In the face of stiff industry pressure, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration is still undecided about whether a deadline of 31 December for the screening of all inbound cargo on passenger aircraft is feasible.
A TSA spokesman told IFW the organisation was still reviewing industry input “before determining whether to move forward with this date”, which is two years earlier than originally announced.
Leading figures in the industry have raised concerns that not enough effort has been put in by U.S. government agencies to enable foreign security regimes to be certified under the TSA’s National Cargo Security Programme.
Others have complained that forcing the system through prematurely could cause supply chain chaos. Read more here.
Lobby groups say December is too soon to ratify foreign security regimes
In the face of stiff industry pressure, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration is still undecided about whether a deadline of 31 December for the screening of all inbound cargo on passenger aircraft is feasible.
A TSA spokesman told IFW the organisation was still reviewing industry input “before determining whether to move forward with this date”, which is two years earlier than originally announced.
Leading figures in the industry have raised concerns that not enough effort has been put in by U.S. government agencies to enable foreign security regimes to be certified under the TSA’s National Cargo Security Programme.
Others have complained that forcing the system through prematurely could cause supply chain chaos. Read more here.
FDA Issues First New Rules Under Food Safety Modernization Act
(FDA)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced two new regulations that will help ensure the safety and security of foods in the United States. The rules are the first to be issued by the FDA under the new authorities granted the agency by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law by President Obama in January. Both rules will take effect July 3, 2011.
The first rule strengthens FDA’s ability to prevent potentially unsafe food from entering commerce. It allows the FDA to administratively detain food the agency believes has been produced under insanitary or unsafe conditions. Previously, the FDA’s ability to detain food products applied only when the agency had credible evidence that a food product presented was contaminated or mislabeled in a way that presented a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.
Beginning in July, the FDA will be able to detain food products that it has reason to believe are adulterated or misbranded for up to 30 days, if needed, to ensure they are kept out of the marketplace. The products will be kept out of the marketplace while the agency determines whether an enforcement action such as seizure or federal injunction against distribution of the product in commerce is necessary.
Before this new rule, the FDA would often work with state agencies to embargo a food product under the state’s legal authority until federal enforcement action could be initiated in federal court. In keeping with other provisions in the FSMA, FDA will continue to work with state agencies on food safety and build stronger ties with those agencies.
“This authority strengthens significantly the FDA’s ability to keep potentially harmful food from reaching U.S. consumers,” said FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Mike Taylor. “It is a prime example of how the new food safety law allows FDA to build prevention into our food safety system.”
The second rule requires anyone importing food into the United States to inform the FDA if any country has refused entry to the same product, including food for animals.
This new requirement will provide the agency with more information about foods that are being imported, which improves the FDA’s ability to target foods that may pose a significant risk to public health.
This new reporting requirement will be administered through the FDA’s prior notice system for incoming shipments of imported food established under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.
With prior notice, in the event of a credible threat for a specific product or a specific manufacturer or processor, the FDA is able to mobilize and assist in the detention and removal of products that may pose a serious health threat to humans or animals. “The new information on imports can help the FDA make better informed decisions in managing the potential risks of imported food entering the United States,” Taylor said. “These rules will be followed later this year and next year by a series of proposed rules for both domestic and imported food that will help the FDA continue building the new food safety system called for by Congress.”
The issuance of these rules is the latest accomplishment of FDA in implementing the new food safety law. In April, the FDA launched a consumer-friendly web search engine for recall information and issued the first annual report to Congress describing FDA’s activities in protecting the U.S. food supply. FDA also released a guidance document to the seafood industry on ways to reduce or eliminate food safety hazards.
In addition, since the law was signed, the FDA has held two large public meetings with industry and consumer groups on the import and preventive control provisions of the law, and reached out extensively to partners in other federal, state, and foreign governments.
For more information:
• Food Safety Modernization Act
• Federal Register Notice for Interim Final Rule on Criteria Used to Order Administrative Detention of Food for Human or Animal Consumption
• Federal Register Notice for Interim Final Rule on Information Required in Prior Notice of Imported Food
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced two new regulations that will help ensure the safety and security of foods in the United States. The rules are the first to be issued by the FDA under the new authorities granted the agency by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law by President Obama in January. Both rules will take effect July 3, 2011.
The first rule strengthens FDA’s ability to prevent potentially unsafe food from entering commerce. It allows the FDA to administratively detain food the agency believes has been produced under insanitary or unsafe conditions. Previously, the FDA’s ability to detain food products applied only when the agency had credible evidence that a food product presented was contaminated or mislabeled in a way that presented a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.
Beginning in July, the FDA will be able to detain food products that it has reason to believe are adulterated or misbranded for up to 30 days, if needed, to ensure they are kept out of the marketplace. The products will be kept out of the marketplace while the agency determines whether an enforcement action such as seizure or federal injunction against distribution of the product in commerce is necessary.
Before this new rule, the FDA would often work with state agencies to embargo a food product under the state’s legal authority until federal enforcement action could be initiated in federal court. In keeping with other provisions in the FSMA, FDA will continue to work with state agencies on food safety and build stronger ties with those agencies.
“This authority strengthens significantly the FDA’s ability to keep potentially harmful food from reaching U.S. consumers,” said FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Mike Taylor. “It is a prime example of how the new food safety law allows FDA to build prevention into our food safety system.”
The second rule requires anyone importing food into the United States to inform the FDA if any country has refused entry to the same product, including food for animals.
This new requirement will provide the agency with more information about foods that are being imported, which improves the FDA’s ability to target foods that may pose a significant risk to public health.
This new reporting requirement will be administered through the FDA’s prior notice system for incoming shipments of imported food established under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.
With prior notice, in the event of a credible threat for a specific product or a specific manufacturer or processor, the FDA is able to mobilize and assist in the detention and removal of products that may pose a serious health threat to humans or animals. “The new information on imports can help the FDA make better informed decisions in managing the potential risks of imported food entering the United States,” Taylor said. “These rules will be followed later this year and next year by a series of proposed rules for both domestic and imported food that will help the FDA continue building the new food safety system called for by Congress.”
The issuance of these rules is the latest accomplishment of FDA in implementing the new food safety law. In April, the FDA launched a consumer-friendly web search engine for recall information and issued the first annual report to Congress describing FDA’s activities in protecting the U.S. food supply. FDA also released a guidance document to the seafood industry on ways to reduce or eliminate food safety hazards.
In addition, since the law was signed, the FDA has held two large public meetings with industry and consumer groups on the import and preventive control provisions of the law, and reached out extensively to partners in other federal, state, and foreign governments.
For more information:
• Food Safety Modernization Act
• Federal Register Notice for Interim Final Rule on Criteria Used to Order Administrative Detention of Food for Human or Animal Consumption
• Federal Register Notice for Interim Final Rule on Information Required in Prior Notice of Imported Food
Requirement to Manifest and Enter Containers with Cargo Residue Could Begin in 2012
(World Trade
Interactive)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicated this week that a delayed requirement for containers with any amount of cargo residue to be manifested and entered could take effect in 2012. CBP postponed enforcement of this requirement in 2009 but encouraged importers to take steps to comply at their earliest opportunity.
In July 2009 CBP issued ruling HQ H026715 to modify ruling HQ 113129, in which it had held that a steel container qualifying as an instrument of international traffic and filled with a chemical when exported could be entered as empty when imported back into the U.S. even if a residue of that chemical remained in the container. Under the new ruling, which modifies all other contrary rulings as well (i.e., those affecting containers made of any material that have residues of any type of cargo), re-imported containers with cargo residues may not be entered or manifested as empty and the cargo residue contained, regardless of the amount, will have to be classified, entered and manifested. CBP explained that this change was designed to address risks to national security and the health and safety of CBP officers and to facilitate the agency’s revenue collection function. Read more here.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicated this week that a delayed requirement for containers with any amount of cargo residue to be manifested and entered could take effect in 2012. CBP postponed enforcement of this requirement in 2009 but encouraged importers to take steps to comply at their earliest opportunity.
In July 2009 CBP issued ruling HQ H026715 to modify ruling HQ 113129, in which it had held that a steel container qualifying as an instrument of international traffic and filled with a chemical when exported could be entered as empty when imported back into the U.S. even if a residue of that chemical remained in the container. Under the new ruling, which modifies all other contrary rulings as well (i.e., those affecting containers made of any material that have residues of any type of cargo), re-imported containers with cargo residues may not be entered or manifested as empty and the cargo residue contained, regardless of the amount, will have to be classified, entered and manifested. CBP explained that this change was designed to address risks to national security and the health and safety of CBP officers and to facilitate the agency’s revenue collection function. Read more here.
China Rules U.S Car Makers Guilty of Dumping
(CTV - The Globe and Mail)
China has found some
U.S.-made passenger cars benefited from unfair subsidies, damaging its car
makers, although Beijing side-stepped a
potential trade row with the United States by not hitting them
with duties.
That decision could ease fractious U.S.-China relations, already strained by tensions over the appreciation of the yuan and criticisms from the United States that Beijing is favouring giant state-owned enterprises by keeping borrowing costs low.
China’s Commerce Ministry launched the investigation in November, 2009, in an attempt to defend Chinese car makers against U.S. competitors. U.S. exports of new and used passenger cars to China tripled to $3.4 billion in 2010 over 2009’s figures. Read more here.
That decision could ease fractious U.S.-China relations, already strained by tensions over the appreciation of the yuan and criticisms from the United States that Beijing is favouring giant state-owned enterprises by keeping borrowing costs low.
China’s Commerce Ministry launched the investigation in November, 2009, in an attempt to defend Chinese car makers against U.S. competitors. U.S. exports of new and used passenger cars to China tripled to $3.4 billion in 2010 over 2009’s figures. Read more here.
FDA Issues Two Rules to Bolster Safety of Imported Food
(World Trade
Interactive)
The Food and Drug Administration has recently issued two regulations pursuant to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that are intended to increase the safety of human and animal food imported into the U.S. One rule will increase the likelihood of administrative detentions of potentially adulterated or misbranded food, while the other will require importers to report the name of any country that has previously denied entry to an article of food.
New Criteria for Administrative Detention
Effective July 3, FDA is changing the criteria for ordering administrative detention of human or animal food. Under the new criteria, which were specified in the FSMA, FDA will be able to order administrative detention of any article of food that is found during an inspection, examination or investigation if it has reason to believe that the article of food is adulterated or misbranded. Currently, under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, FDA can only order administrative detention if it finds during an inspection, examination or investigation credible evidence or information indicating that the article of food presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. Read more here.
The Food and Drug Administration has recently issued two regulations pursuant to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that are intended to increase the safety of human and animal food imported into the U.S. One rule will increase the likelihood of administrative detentions of potentially adulterated or misbranded food, while the other will require importers to report the name of any country that has previously denied entry to an article of food.
New Criteria for Administrative Detention
Effective July 3, FDA is changing the criteria for ordering administrative detention of human or animal food. Under the new criteria, which were specified in the FSMA, FDA will be able to order administrative detention of any article of food that is found during an inspection, examination or investigation if it has reason to believe that the article of food is adulterated or misbranded. Currently, under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, FDA can only order administrative detention if it finds during an inspection, examination or investigation credible evidence or information indicating that the article of food presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. Read more here.
China Yuan Up Late On Export Settlements, Dollar Weakness
(Wall Street Journal)
China’s yuan rose against the U.S. dollar late Wednesday because of demand for the local currency as exporters repatriated their earnings and weakness in the dollar against other major currencies.
The U.S. also stepped up its criticism of China’s currency policy ahead of next week’s China-U.S. economic dialogue by calling for a faster rise in the yuan, which some dealers said may pressure Beijing to let the yuan rise more this week.
On the over-the-counter market, the dollar was at CNY6.4933 around 0830 GMT, down from CNY6.4968 late Tuesday. It traded between CNY6.4912 and CNY6.4996. At CNY6.4933 to the dollar, the yuan is up 5.1% against the U.S. currency since June, when China unpegged the yuan from the dollar. Read more here.
China’s yuan rose against the U.S. dollar late Wednesday because of demand for the local currency as exporters repatriated their earnings and weakness in the dollar against other major currencies.
The U.S. also stepped up its criticism of China’s currency policy ahead of next week’s China-U.S. economic dialogue by calling for a faster rise in the yuan, which some dealers said may pressure Beijing to let the yuan rise more this week.
On the over-the-counter market, the dollar was at CNY6.4933 around 0830 GMT, down from CNY6.4968 late Tuesday. It traded between CNY6.4912 and CNY6.4996. At CNY6.4933 to the dollar, the yuan is up 5.1% against the U.S. currency since June, when China unpegged the yuan from the dollar. Read more here.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The U.S. and Canada – Singing in Harmony?
(Luiza Ch.
Savage — Macleans)
U.S. and Canadian business groups are urging their governments to coordinate rules and ease restrictions
As Target Corp., the mass retailer of trendy housewares and clothing, prepares to open hundreds of stores across Canada in its first non-U.S. expansion, it has started to grapple with the realities of doing business across the border. In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, dated April 18, two Target executives bemoan conflicting regulations between the U.S. and Canada in areas such as product standards, testing facilities, customs procedures and documentation. “For example, the safety requirements and test methods applicable to camping tents are markedly different between the U.S. and Canada, making it difficult and cost prohibitive to provide the same product in each country,” wrote the vice-president for government affairs, Matt Zabel, and vice-president for compliance, Canada, Anthony Heredia. “These differences may result in higher consumer costs, or reduced selection.” They called on the Obama administration to focus on “greater regulatory coherence” with Canada that would “increase cross-border investment.” Read more here.
U.S. and Canadian business groups are urging their governments to coordinate rules and ease restrictions
As Target Corp., the mass retailer of trendy housewares and clothing, prepares to open hundreds of stores across Canada in its first non-U.S. expansion, it has started to grapple with the realities of doing business across the border. In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, dated April 18, two Target executives bemoan conflicting regulations between the U.S. and Canada in areas such as product standards, testing facilities, customs procedures and documentation. “For example, the safety requirements and test methods applicable to camping tents are markedly different between the U.S. and Canada, making it difficult and cost prohibitive to provide the same product in each country,” wrote the vice-president for government affairs, Matt Zabel, and vice-president for compliance, Canada, Anthony Heredia. “These differences may result in higher consumer costs, or reduced selection.” They called on the Obama administration to focus on “greater regulatory coherence” with Canada that would “increase cross-border investment.” Read more here.
Canada Still in Copyright “Hall of Shame” According to the US
(Nate Anderson
— Ars Technica)
Sorry, Canada—negotiating the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) wasn't enough to show your commitment to “strong” intellectual property rights. If you want out of the American copyright “hall of shame,” you're just going to have to pass a major copyright overhaul that makes US rightsholders happy.
The US Trade Representative yesterday released its annual “Special 301” report (PDF) naming and shaming countries with IP policies the US doesn't like. The report contains a “Watch List” and a smaller “Priority Watch List”—and Canada is once again on the Priority Watch List along with China, Russia, and India. Read more here.
Sorry, Canada—negotiating the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) wasn't enough to show your commitment to “strong” intellectual property rights. If you want out of the American copyright “hall of shame,” you're just going to have to pass a major copyright overhaul that makes US rightsholders happy.
The US Trade Representative yesterday released its annual “Special 301” report (PDF) naming and shaming countries with IP policies the US doesn't like. The report contains a “Watch List” and a smaller “Priority Watch List”—and Canada is once again on the Priority Watch List along with China, Russia, and India. Read more here.
DHS Announces $4m for Border Security
(Security
Director News)
In the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on May. 3 it has awarded $4 million to improve security along the Canadian border, reported the Detroit Free Press.
While federal law enforcement and security agencies were on heightened alert across the nation starting on Monday, public threat levels would not be raised unless the government learns of credible terrorist threats. Read more here.
In the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on May. 3 it has awarded $4 million to improve security along the Canadian border, reported the Detroit Free Press.
While federal law enforcement and security agencies were on heightened alert across the nation starting on Monday, public threat levels would not be raised unless the government learns of credible terrorist threats. Read more here.
Idle Box Fleet Declines to Pre-Recession Levels
(Journal of Commerce Online – Peter T Leach)
Unemployed container ships reach 30-month low of 71 vessels
The number of idle container ships is at a 30-month low, with only 71 ships recorded as unemployed, according to a survey of the container fleet by Alphaliner last week.
The survey said the total unemployed capacity currently stands at 134,000 20-foot equivalent units of containers, or 0.9% of the overall cellular fleet, which represents the lowest idle capacity level recorded since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008. Read more here.
Unemployed container ships reach 30-month low of 71 vessels
The number of idle container ships is at a 30-month low, with only 71 ships recorded as unemployed, according to a survey of the container fleet by Alphaliner last week.
The survey said the total unemployed capacity currently stands at 134,000 20-foot equivalent units of containers, or 0.9% of the overall cellular fleet, which represents the lowest idle capacity level recorded since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008. Read more here.
Market Conditions in China “Excellent” but Discriminatory Industrial Policies a Concern
(AMCHAM)
The American Chamber of Commerce in China released this week its annual White Paper on the State of American in Business in China, which outlines key developments and challenges across a wide range of industries in which U.S. member companies operate in China. This year’s report finds that current market conditions in China are “excellent” and that Am-Cham China member companies are enjoying strong revenue growth and good profit margins. At the same time, the report urges China to reconsider discriminatory industrial policies that impede fair competition.
Like similar studies from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Am-Cham China report draws attention to an emerging pattern of Chinese industrial policies that favor domestic companies at the expense of their foreign counterparts. These include regulations related to indigenous innovation, licensing, standards, government procurement, competition law and intellectual property rights enforcement. The 2011 white paper includes for the first time a section on market access and industrial policy that focuses on these regulatory barriers, with new chapters on innovation policy and on standards, certification and licensing. It also notes that foreign companies remain partly or completely barred from participating in major industries such as banking, securities, telecommunications, legal services and insurance.
The white paper, which can be accessed here, also includes sections on China’s economic restructuring and business environment, industrial policy and market access (e.g., competition law, government procurement, IPR), cross-sector issues (e.g., business sustainability, customs, food and product safety, high-tech trade promotion and export controls), industry-specific issues, and provincial and city issues.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China released this week its annual White Paper on the State of American in Business in China, which outlines key developments and challenges across a wide range of industries in which U.S. member companies operate in China. This year’s report finds that current market conditions in China are “excellent” and that Am-Cham China member companies are enjoying strong revenue growth and good profit margins. At the same time, the report urges China to reconsider discriminatory industrial policies that impede fair competition.
Like similar studies from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Am-Cham China report draws attention to an emerging pattern of Chinese industrial policies that favor domestic companies at the expense of their foreign counterparts. These include regulations related to indigenous innovation, licensing, standards, government procurement, competition law and intellectual property rights enforcement. The 2011 white paper includes for the first time a section on market access and industrial policy that focuses on these regulatory barriers, with new chapters on innovation policy and on standards, certification and licensing. It also notes that foreign companies remain partly or completely barred from participating in major industries such as banking, securities, telecommunications, legal services and insurance.
The white paper, which can be accessed here, also includes sections on China’s economic restructuring and business environment, industrial policy and market access (e.g., competition law, government procurement, IPR), cross-sector issues (e.g., business sustainability, customs, food and product safety, high-tech trade promotion and export controls), industry-specific issues, and provincial and city issues.
NAFTA Trade Jumped 11.8% in February
(Journal of Commerce Online – Joseph Bonney)
Trade carried by surface transportation totaled $66.5 billion
Surface transportation trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico was 11.8% higher in value in February than a year earlier, the Transportation Department reported.
The value of cross-border trade with the United States’ partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement totaled $66.5 billion. Trade with Canada rose 10.1% to $40 billion. Shipments to and from Mexico rose 14.5% to $26.6 billion. Read more here.
Trade carried by surface transportation totaled $66.5 billion
Surface transportation trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico was 11.8% higher in value in February than a year earlier, the Transportation Department reported.
The value of cross-border trade with the United States’ partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement totaled $66.5 billion. Trade with Canada rose 10.1% to $40 billion. Shipments to and from Mexico rose 14.5% to $26.6 billion. Read more here.
Monday, May 2, 2011
U.S. Customs to Test Automated Manifests
(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)
New system to converting manifest filing from ACS to ACE
U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday will begin pilot-testing automated ocean and rail manifest systems designed for the Automated Commercial Environment.
A handful of ocean carriers and railroads will begin filing cargo manifests into ACE instead of the Automated Commercial System that ACE will replace, Cindy Allen, executive director of Customs’ ACE business office, said. Pilot testing will continue through the end of August, and then the manifest systems will become more widely available on a port-by-port basis.
“The pilot won’t end per se. Those early adopters will be allowed to continue to transmit in ACE,” Allen said. The new ACE manifest systems should be available everywhere by next January. Read more here.
New system to converting manifest filing from ACS to ACE
U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday will begin pilot-testing automated ocean and rail manifest systems designed for the Automated Commercial Environment.
A handful of ocean carriers and railroads will begin filing cargo manifests into ACE instead of the Automated Commercial System that ACE will replace, Cindy Allen, executive director of Customs’ ACE business office, said. Pilot testing will continue through the end of August, and then the manifest systems will become more widely available on a port-by-port basis.
“The pilot won’t end per se. Those early adopters will be allowed to continue to transmit in ACE,” Allen said. The new ACE manifest systems should be available everywhere by next January. Read more here.
Appreciating China: The Implications of a Stronger Renminbi
(International Affairs Review – Steven J. Woodard)
The economic relationship between the U.S. and China has become more complex than most people could have envisioned a decade ago.
The dispute over China’s currency, the renminbi (RMB), is a perfect example of the interdependence between the two countries. In practice, every change in the value of a currency always has positive and negative effects on different groups of people. For example, China’s cheap RMB has helped bring jobs to huge numbers of laborers in China, and supplied U.S. consumers with cheaper products. On the other hand, less-skilled American laborers in import-competing industries have been replaced by their less-expensive Chinese counterparts, and Chinese consumers have had to pay higher prices as some of their country’s supply is going to exports.
If we reverse this, a rise in the RMB’s value will hurt Chinese labor and U.S. consumers that buy Chinese-made goods, but would benefit American low-skilled labor and Chinese consumers. Therefore, arguments can be made for both indefinitely maintaining the RMB’s current value, and for its continued gradual appreciation. Today, however, there is increasing pressure to let the RMB appreciate as concerns like inflation in China and huge trade deficits in the U.S. weigh heavily on decision-makers on both sides of the Pacific. Read more here.
The economic relationship between the U.S. and China has become more complex than most people could have envisioned a decade ago.
The dispute over China’s currency, the renminbi (RMB), is a perfect example of the interdependence between the two countries. In practice, every change in the value of a currency always has positive and negative effects on different groups of people. For example, China’s cheap RMB has helped bring jobs to huge numbers of laborers in China, and supplied U.S. consumers with cheaper products. On the other hand, less-skilled American laborers in import-competing industries have been replaced by their less-expensive Chinese counterparts, and Chinese consumers have had to pay higher prices as some of their country’s supply is going to exports.
If we reverse this, a rise in the RMB’s value will hurt Chinese labor and U.S. consumers that buy Chinese-made goods, but would benefit American low-skilled labor and Chinese consumers. Therefore, arguments can be made for both indefinitely maintaining the RMB’s current value, and for its continued gradual appreciation. Today, however, there is increasing pressure to let the RMB appreciate as concerns like inflation in China and huge trade deficits in the U.S. weigh heavily on decision-makers on both sides of the Pacific. Read more here.
Many Japanese Factories Recover After Quake
(New York Times – Andrew Pollack)
When the ground shook violently on the afternoon of March 11, the ceiling collapsed in part of the huge Ricoh copier factory here, exposing the vents and wires above.
The ceiling is still not fixed. But employees are back at their posts, working under temporary lighting and wearing hard hats to protect themselves in case debris falls.
The factory may be a case study for the can-do recovery of Japan’s manufacturing industry. Only seven weeks after the huge earthquake in northeastern Japan collapsed the ceiling, toppled a huge water tank and upended assembly line equipment, the Ricoh factory here is nearly back to full production. And so, for the most part, is all of Ricoh, a nearly $25 billion company that makes copiers and other office equipment.
“The influence of this disaster is not as large as the world thinks,” Shiro Kondo, Ricoh’s president, said in an interview at the company headquarters in Tokyo. Read more here.
When the ground shook violently on the afternoon of March 11, the ceiling collapsed in part of the huge Ricoh copier factory here, exposing the vents and wires above.
The ceiling is still not fixed. But employees are back at their posts, working under temporary lighting and wearing hard hats to protect themselves in case debris falls.
The factory may be a case study for the can-do recovery of Japan’s manufacturing industry. Only seven weeks after the huge earthquake in northeastern Japan collapsed the ceiling, toppled a huge water tank and upended assembly line equipment, the Ricoh factory here is nearly back to full production. And so, for the most part, is all of Ricoh, a nearly $25 billion company that makes copiers and other office equipment.
“The influence of this disaster is not as large as the world thinks,” Shiro Kondo, Ricoh’s president, said in an interview at the company headquarters in Tokyo. Read more here.
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