TAHOCO Logistics Inc. E-News

News from TAHOCO: Weekly Updates

2012-01-20T12:34:00.000-08:00

An updated list of recently published US government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending January 20, 2011 is now available on our website here.

Changing Pallet Rules to Add Costs of Shipping to Canada

2012-01-20T12:24:00.000-08:00

(The Packer – Tom Karst)

The U.S. and Canada are expected to change the requirements for wood pallets transporting goods between the two countries. Industry officials said the change will add costs for shippers and may stress supplies for shippers in both countries not already using heat-treated ISPM15 compliant pallets.

The proposed regulation on the requirements for wood packaging materials imported from Canada was published in December 2010, but the final rule has not yet been issued. The proposed rule eliminates an exemption allowing wood packaging material from Canada to enter the U.S. without first meeting the treatment and marking requirements required of wood packaging from all other countries. According to the proposal, removing the exemption is necessary to prevent invasive pests from entering the U.S.

“It was supposed to start last year, but the regulation did not get published and that’s why everything is on hold,” said Edgar Deomano, technical director for the National Wood Pallet and Container Association. Deomano said Canada is ready to enforce the regulation but is waiting for an agreement with the U.S. so the two countries can begin enforcement at the same time, he said. Read more here.

Argentina Prepares List of Capital Goods Subject to Higher Import Tariffs

2012-01-20T12:10:00.000-08:00

(MercoPress)

The Argentine government has began a round of consultations with the manufacturing sector to determine which capital goods from non Mercosur members can be listed for a higher common external tariff as was recently agreed by the trade block.

The Ministry of Industry contacted the Argentine Chamber of Industry Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers requesting they supply a list of products they consider a priority to be incorporated into the one hundred tariff positions to which Argentina will apply a higher common external tariff, in accordance with the latest Mercosur summit.

Capital goods manufacturers must also identify those products which they consider must be added to the non automatic import licence system or should be protected against dumping practices. Read more here.

OMB Tasks 11 Agencies with Documenting Duplication

2012-01-18T09:42:00.000-08:00

(GovExec.com – Charles S. Clark)

Fresh off President Obama’s announcement of a bid to streamline the business and trade agencies, the Office of Management and Budget on Friday directed 11 agencies to participate in a pilot program to inventory trade, export and competitiveness functions with the goal of weeding out duplication.

In a Jan. 13 memorandum, Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients asked the chief operating officers of 11 agencies to appoint a “senior accountable official” by Feb. 1 to coordinate efforts to centralize information on possibly duplicative functions.

“Duplicative programs make government less effective, waste taxpayer dollars and make it harder for the American people to navigate government services,” Zients wrote. “Critical information on the government’s programs has not been centralized in one place, making it difficult to access information on programs working to achieve similar objectives.” Read more here.

CBP Provides Additional Information on New Centers of Excellence and Expertise

2012-01-18T05:33:00.000-08:00

(World Trade Interactive)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted to its Web site additional information about the centers it is establishing to speed the processing of imported goods. The first two – the Center of Excellence and Expertise – Electronics in Los Angeles and the Center of Excellence and Expertise – Pharmaceuticals in New York – were created last October, and others are anticipated in 2012. Each CEE will seek to increase the uniformity of practices across ports of entry, facilitate the timely resolution of trade compliance issues nationwide and further strengthen CBP knowledge on key industry practices. Read more here.

Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Relating to Customs Duties

2012-01-17T05:18:00.000-08:00

(World Trade Interactive)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has updated its quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties. For the quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2012, the interest rates for overpayments are 2% for corporations and 3% for non-corporations, and the interest rate for underpayments is 3%. These rates are unchanged from the previous quarter.

Mega Brands to Battle Lego in U.S. Court in California Over Trademark

2012-01-17T05:14:00.000-08:00

(Ross Marowits – The Canadian Press)

The world’s two largest construction toy companies could soon face off in a California court as Mega Brands seeks to invalidate Lego’s trademark for its plastic blocks.

The Montreal-based toy company is seeking a temporary restraining order to keep its products flowing into the United States.

Mega Brands (TSX:MB) said U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to restrict the importation of some products sold in the world’s largest toy market for more than 20 years. Read more here.

U.S.-Canada Border Crossings Increase 5%

2012-01-17T03:48:00.000-08:00

(Detroit Free Press)

Border crossings increased about 5% in 2011 over the previous year at 11 U.S.-Canada crossing sites, but the modest increase will do little to end debate on the need for a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor.

In all, some 37.1 million cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles crossed the border at the 11 sites among Michigan and upstate New York. Passenger car traffic rose 6.6% to 30.3 million crossings, while commercial truck traffic was flat from the year before at 6.7 million crossings.

The Ambassador Bridge remained the busiest crossing by far, accounting for 4.6 million passenger car crossings and 2.6 million truck crossings. Read more here.

Cross-border Drayage and US Security

2012-01-17T03:46:00.000-08:00

(Jim Giermanski – HS Today)

It’s well documented that commercial truck traffic entering the United States from Mexico as is currently practiced poses a serious threat to America’s security.

There are many weaknesses in the system designed and controlled by Mexican citizens with the blessing of the US government, but the most serious flaw may be the resultant drayage, or transfer system, of crossing commercial cargo. The drayage system is just one of the many related security risks.

The risks also include drop lots, or pensiones as they are called in Mexico, that are monopolized by Mexican customs brokers on the border, and the less-than-truck load (LTL) motor carrier crossings that are reliant upon the drayage system. Read more here.

FDA Misses Deadline For Produce Regulations

2012-01-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

(The Packer)

The Food and Drug Administration missed a Jan. 4 deadline to issue produce safety regulations, as mandated by sweeping changes to food safety laws. The date marks the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s signing the Food Safety Modernization Act into law. Congress set the deadline for the FDA to issue updated good agricultural practices.

Despite some rumors that the FDA would make a big splash and introduce several regulations that day, the deadline came and went, although the agency released an update on food safety act work done in the last year. “Once Jan. 4 passed, every day could be (that day),” said Kathy Means, vice president of government relations and public affairs for Newark, Del.-based Produce Marketing Association. Read more here.

USDA Cuts Budget by Closing 259 Domestic Offices

2012-01-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

(Food & Drink Digital – Sasha Orman)

“We have to get our fiscal house in order,” U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters today in a conference call. “That’s going to involve tough calls.” One of those tough calls includes the USDA’s plan to shut down 259 offices throughout the United States and seven more overseas. While the plan could save the government $150 million and the USDA claims that it will have no impact on the department’s ability to efficiently uphold food safety standards, not everyone is satisfied with the decision. […]

According to Vilsack, the move is still necessary to compensate for the $3 billion budget cut handed down to the USDA from congress in 2010. But while he has told the press that he does not see “significant disruptions to service” in the USDA’s future, agencies are already being taken to task for their responsibilities to ensuring food safety. It is difficult to imagine that the USDA will be able to do even more when equipped with even less. Read more here.

Beijing Introduces New Rare Earths Export Quota

2012-01-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

(Bridges Trade Weekly)

The start of the new year has brought increased uncertainty regarding the 2012 global rare earths supply. Rare earths are used in essentially every area of high-tech production, including pharmaceuticals, military equipment, green energy technology, and information technologies.

In late December, Beijing announced its new export quota on the precious materials, which seem to suggest that the market could see a slight increase in exports throughout 2012. However, China has also introduced a new approach to allocating the quotas that could indeed reduce supply of the most precious materials.

As of 2012, Beijing will distinguish between the fairly accessible light rare earths and the most precious heavy rare earths, allocating only about 15% of the quota to the latter category. Read more here.

U.S. Manufacturers Expect Modest Growth in First Half

2012-01-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

(Journal of Commerce Online – William B. Cassidy)

Manufacturing growth won't be as robust as it was in 2011, MAPI says

U.S. manufacturing is expected to continue growing but at a more moderate pace during the first half of 2012, according to a quarterly survey by the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation.

The survey’s composite index slipped to 66 in December from 67 in the previous report in September but remained above 50, the threshold between contraction and expansion, for the ninth consecutive quarter. The index, conducted quarterly since 1991, peaked at 81 in June 2010. Read more here.

President Proposes to Consolidate Six Federal Trade Agencies

2012-01-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

(World Trade Interactive)

President Obama announced Jan. 13 a proposal to consolidate six federal trade agencies into one department whose function will be to “promote competitiveness, exports and American business.” The agencies affected are the Department of Commerce (core business and trade functions), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the Small Business Administration, along with “other related programs.” The current multi-agency structure is “redundant and inefficient,” a White House fact sheet said, and has resulted in business owners “confused about where to go for assistance and often … unaware of services that would help them, particularly those trying to break into the export market for the first time.” Instead, the president is proposing to establish “one department where entrepreneurs can go from the day they come up with an idea and need a patent, to the day they start building a product and need a warehouse, to the day they are ready to export and need help breaking into new markets overseas.”

Initial reaction to the proposal included a healthy dose of skepticism. Former trade officials disapproved of the idea of combining USTR and DOC because of their different roles in trade policy, and Inside US Trade noted that key lawmakers such as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp have come out against such a move. Other observers noted that the proposal could harm international trade negotiations by demoting the U.S. trade representative from a Cabinet-level official with ambassadorial rank. The Washington Post cited one former official as saying the president’s proposal does not include many other agencies also involved in trade policy and that those agencies that are included “aren’t high on the list of ones that businesses typically complain about as inefficient or a source of burdensome regulation.”

The president said he would also ask Congress to reinstate authority given to past presidents to reorganize and consolidate the federal government, which he said he would only use “for reforms that result in more efficiency, better service and a leaner government.” The White House added that this proposal “would initiate new accountability by mandating that any plan must reduce the number of government agencies or save taxpayer dollars.”

News from TAHOCO: Weekly Updates

2012-01-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

An updated list of recently published US government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending January 13, 2011 is now available on our website here.

Jailing Not Likely to Sway Opponents of a New Bridge

2012-01-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

(Detroit Free Press – Dawson Bell)

Billionaire Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun had a bad day Thursday. But he probably doesn’t have to worry that being jailed for contempt of court improves the chance Gov. Rick Snyder will persuade the Legislature to approve construction of a publicly owned bridge a few miles downriver from Moroun’s crossing.

Opponents of the public bridge project, which is languishing in the state Senate after it was rejected in committee last fall, said Moroun’s incarceration was irrelevant to their concerns about Snyder’s proposal.

“How Matty Moroun conducts his business is not a major concern with our members,” said Ari Adler, a spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall. “Our concerns are about the proposed new bridge, the need for it” and the potential that taxpayers could end up on the hook if it can’t pay for itself.

Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, who sponsored the bridge bill, said it was unlikely the views of lawmakers on either side of the issue would shift because Moroun and Detroit International Bridge Co. President Dan Stamper were jailed for contempt. Read more here.

U.S. Trade Gap Expands

2012-01-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

(Wall Street Journal)

The U.S. trade deficit widened for the first time in five months in November, as rising oil prices lifted imports and exports to the euro area slumped.

The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services jumped 10.4%, the biggest gain since May, to $47.75 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. The October trade gap was revised down modestly to $43.27 billion from an initial estimate of $43.47 billion.

The trade gap was much higher than forecast. Read more here.

U.S. Chamber’s Donohue Sees 2012 Growth of Less Than 3%

2012-01-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

(Bloomberg)

The U.S. economy will slow early this year from the pace at the end of 2011, then accelerate and finish with annual growth of less than 3 percent, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said as the nation’s largest business group offered its forecast for 2012.

“America’s most pressing economic challenge is the lack of sufficient growth to create jobs, expand incomes, reduce government deficits, and fund essential programs,” Donohue said today in Washington during his annual speech on the state of U.S. business. [...]

Increased trade could provide more opportunities for growth, Donohue said. The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement with eight other nations can be completed this year, and free-trade accords are possible with Brazil, Egypt, India and Indonesia, he said.

U.S. businesses also will benefit from Russia being granted permanent normal trade relations after meeting conditions to join the World Trade Organization. Read more here.

Canada-U.S. Bridge: With Work Undone, Billionaire and Aide Jailed

2012-01-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

(LA Times)

The United States and Canada peacefully share the world’s longest border, but a bridge linking the two countries has prompted legal fireworks -- including the jailing of an 84-year-old billionaire and one of his top business aides.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Prentis Edwards on Thursday ordered Manuel “Matty” Moroun, 84, and Dan Stamper, an executive with Detroit International Bridge Co., to jail for failing to comply with deadlines to build freeway connections to the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

Both men were taken out of a Detroit courtroom and sent to jail until they comply with the judge’s order that they complete their contract with the state to build the connecting ramps. Read more here.

$680,000 Penalty on Chinese Manufacturers for Importing Uncertified Recreational Vehicles

2012-01-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

(World Trade Interactive)

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Jan. 11 a settlement with three Chinese manufacturers to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act related to the importation of 7,115 uncertified recreational vehicles. According to an agency press release, two of these companies allegedly held certificates of conformity that were voided by the EPA following an investigation of a California-based certification services consulting firm that allegedly used false or incomplete information to certify vehicles under the CAA for four of its clients. These certificates allowed the importation and sale of more than 24,000 recreational vehicles that did not meet CAA standards, more than 7,000 of which were manufactured by the third company at issue.

The CAA prohibits any vehicle or engine from being imported and sold in the U.S. unless it is covered by a valid EPA-issued certificate of conformity indicating that the vehicle or engine meets applicable federal emission standards. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that all imported vehicles and equipment comply with CAA requirements.

Canada Export Sector To Benefit From Improving US Economy: EDC

2012-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

(Dow Jones Newswires-WSJ)

Canada’s export sector is expected to remain resilient in 2012 in large part due to increased momentum in the U.S. economy, which is set to power global economic growth and offset weakness in Europe and emerging markets, says the country’s export-credit agency.

Export Development Canada, in an update to its fall forecast, said risks still abound - from Europe’s financial strains, which would “scar” global growth, to increased geopolitical turmoil linked to Iran - and, as a result, has downgraded its global outlook. Nevertheless, recent momentum in the U.S. economy looks sustainable and will provide a jolt the global economy needs, said EDC’s chief economist, Peter Hall.

“Our real point is the U.S. is taking the clear lead here, breaking away from what’s happening in other economies,” Hall said in an interview. “The U.S. has the wherewithal to go it alone and charge ahead.”

EDC forecasts global growth to hit 3.7% in 2012, down from its previous forecast of 4.3% issued in October. This is due in large part due to a ratcheting down of growth prospects in Europe, to a meagre 0.4% expansion from its previous call for 1.6% growth. Canada is set to post 2% economic growth, from the original 2.3% projection. Read more here.

FDA Halts Orange Juice Shipments to Test For Fungicide

2012-01-12T11:19:00.000-08:00

(CNN Money)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it has halted shipments of imported orange juice from all over the world and will test each one for traces of fungicide.

The decision to test orange juice and orange juice concentrate shipments, which was announced Tuesday, came after an unnamed juice company alerted the FDA last month that it found low levels of the fungicide, carbendazim, in products imported from Brazil.

The FDA said it will examine all container shipments of orange juice that arrive at U.S. ports. The agency will sample contents from multiple parts of each shipment; the subsequent testing could take between five and ten business days.

Shipments that test negative for “detectable levels” of carbendazim will be allowed to enter the country. Read more here.

Berkshire Company Halts Exports to Canada Over Prison Labour Issue

2012-01-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

(Bloomberg-Vancouver Sun)

A Berkshire Hathaway Inc. building-materials unit said it voluntarily stopped shipping some flooring products to Canada after discovering the nation doesn’t allow importation of goods made with prison labor.

Shaw Industries Group Inc., based in Dalton, Georgia, learned in December that the hardwood-floor products can’t legally be imported to Canada, according to an e-mailed statement from Scott Sandlin, a company vice president. Shaw contacted Canadian authorities and halted the shipments to the country, he said. Read more here.

Anderson Stops Shipping Prison-Labor Produced Products to Canada

2012-01-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

(Hardwood Floors)

Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C.) has stopped shipping wood flooring produced using prison labor into Canada, according to a memorandum from Melmart Distributors Inc. addressed to dealers of Anderson's Appalachian, Virginia Vintage, Biltmore and eponymous brands.

Anderson has not indicated which flooring lines are affected by the stoppage; however, Melmart wrote in its memorandum that the following lines are not manufactured using prison labor and are, therefore, still available in Canada: Brevard; Bryson/Smoky Mountain; Casitablanca; Coastal Range; Jack's Creek/Eagleton; Southern Vista; Urban Pioneer.

Under Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) Memorandum D9-1-6, "Goods Manufactured or Produced Wholly or in Part by Prison Labour," the importation of goods manufactured or produced wholly or in part by prison labor is prohibited. Read more here.

Is the Trans Pacific Partnership a Re-writing of NAFTA?

2012-01-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

(Peter Clark – iPolitics)

When Prime Minister Noda announced that Japan intended to join the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, a grim reality set in. Canada knew it needed to be at the table. This was decided even before President Obama invited Prime Minister Harper to join at the APEC Summit last November.

Canada cannot allow Japan, its fourth most important merchandise export market, to become another Korea, with the US inside the tent enjoying discriminatory preferences and eroding Canada’s market position.

Canada exports a lot of resources and raw materials to Japan. It is also an important market for Canada’s farmers and ranchers. In 2010, Japan accounted for 21.6% of Canada’s meat exports. Read more here.