Thompson Ahern E-News

We Are Moving!

2013-04-30T14:18:00.002-07:00

Effective May 1, 2013, our blog is moving to the Thompson Ahern server at the following location.

Thompson Ahern International Trade News

Please update your bookmarks/links accordingly.

Battle Over Peace Bridge Stokes Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Tension

2013-04-30T13:42:00.001-07:00

(Randy Boswell – Postmedia News)

Three U.S. lawmakers have launched a bid to scrap the “dysfunctional” binational agency that has overseen operation of the Peace Bridge between Ontario and New York for nearly a century, part of the escalating fallout from a dispute over planned improvements to the U.S. approach to the crossing that has pitted Canadian board members against their American counterparts.

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority — commonly known as the Peace Bridge Authority — and the key international link it has administered since 1923 have been hailed as symbols of the enduring friendship between the U.S. and Canada after the War of 1812, the key battles of which were fought near the present site of the Niagara River bridge that connects Fort Erie, Ont., and Buffalo, N.Y Read more here.

Feds Contributing Thousands Toward Upgrades at Port of Halifax

2013-04-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

(Canadian Transportation & Logistics)

The federal government will be splitting the cost of a new technology development at the Port of Halifax. The Government of Canada and the Port of Halifax will each contribute $330,000 towards an integrated port logistics system and an air gap system. The total cost of the two Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is estimated at $660,000.

“A strong and efficient transportation sector is critical to Canada’s future economic growth. I am proud that our government has supported these two Intelligent Transportation Systems projects, which will improve the efficiency of the supply chain, reduce costs, and increase the satisfaction of customers moving goods through Atlantic ports,” said Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay. “Ultimately, these will increase safe, efficient and reliable traffic flows while reducing environmental impacts.” Read more here.

Loblaw Sending Reps to Collapsed Bangladesh Factory Where Some Joe Fresh Products Made

2013-04-29T11:55:00.003-07:00

(The Canadian Press)

Canadian clothing line Joe Fresh, sold in Loblaw stores, was among the customers of the factories operating in the building and has faced fierce customer backlash this week.

Loblaw Inc. will also be one of several major Canadian retailers to take part in an “urgent” meeting Monday with the Retail Council of Canada.

The retail council’s president and CEO wouldn’t confirm what other companies will be involved in the meeting, other than to say it will be a strong representation of retailers across the country, including those who usually participate in the council’s responsible trade committee. Read more here.

Billions Proposed for New Border Security. Where Would the Money Go?

2013-04-29T11:54:00.002-07:00

(Philly.com)

Federal spending on border security is at an all-time high—and it would get even higher under the Gang of Eight’s new plan. The Senate immigration proposal, released last week, would allocate $4.5 billion in the next five years to tighten control of U.S. borders.

The U.S. spent nearly $18 billion dollars on immigration enforcement agencies last fiscal year, more than all other law enforcement agencies combined.

Where would another $4.5 billion go? Here’s a closer look at what is being proposed, and how the government has spent (and often wasted) border money in recent years. Read more here.

Food Safety Standard for Packaging Materials Goes Global

2013-04-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

(Larry Dworkin – Packaging Digest)

The global demand for food safety from consumers, governments and food retailers has put unprecedented scrutiny on the international food supply chain.

As packaging is a key component, the IFS PACsecure food safety standard for individual packaging materials is being rolled out globally as companies from the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Chile and Europe are being trained and audited to its criteria. The standard is also expected to receive recognition from the Paris-based Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) by the end of spring.

Developed by PAC-The Packaging Assn., in conjunction with IFS Management GmbH, more than 70 U.S. and Canadian firms recently completed a one-day training course to help them to become compliant with the standard. Several have already been audited to its requirements and their names are being submitted to the GFSI as part of the benchmarking process. Read more here.

China Shipping Container Lines to Order 5 Triple-E Mega Container Ships

2013-04-29T10:37:00.001-07:00

(Dow Jones Newswires)

China Shipping Container Lines plans to order five triple-E container ships, becoming the second operator after market leader A.P. Moller-Maesk A/S to add the huge new fuel-efficient vessels to its fleet.

In a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange Saturday, CSCL said it needs the new ships to “raise its core competitiveness.” The ships, the biggest of their kind, can carry up to 18,000 containers. Read more here.

American Airlines Cargo Named ‘Best Of Americas’ By Customers

2013-04-29T10:36:00.001-07:00

(PR Newswire)

American Airlines Cargo, a division of American Airlines, has been named the Best Cargo Airline of the Americas for the sixth consecutive year by readers of Air Cargo News, the world’s leading air cargo industry publication.

The award, which is considered one of the most important honors in the industry, is based on the voting results of more than 25,000 supply-chain professionals. Participants were asked to vote on the publication’s website for the airline that provided the best overall customer experience. The results for the 30th annual competition were audited by the U.K.-based British International Freight Association. Read more here.

Proposed U.S.-Canada Border Fee ‘Not Going to Happen,’ says U.S. Congressman

2013-04-29T10:33:00.002-07:00

(The Canadian Press)

A U.S. congressman says Canadians should not be overly concerned about a proposed border crossing fee, saying it just isn’t going to happen.

Democratic representative Brian Higgins, who is from the border city of Buffalo, N.Y., told CTV’s Question Period on Sunday that he has a lot of allies in the U.S. Congress who will stop any legislation that includes a fee.

Higgins, who is a member of the Homeland security committee, has been a vocal critic of a proposed feasibility study on a border fee since it was spotted last week buried deep in the department’s 2014 budget. New York Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat, has also spoken out in opposition. Read more here.

NEW on Health Canada’s Consumer Product Safety Website

2013-04-29T10:29:00.002-07:00

(Health Canada)

Information for Manufacturers, Importers, Distributors and Retailers of Products Containing Small, Powerful Magnets

Canada’s Trade Talks with Japan Focus on Car Plants

2013-04-28T20:02:00.001-07:00

(Globe & Mail)

The federal government is putting a hard sell on Japanese auto makers to boost investment here as Canada and Japan open sweeping free-trade negotiations.

Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and Christian Paradis, Industry Minister, met Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp. officials earlier this month amid free-trade talks that will address Japan’s desire to eliminate a key Canadian automotive trade policy – a 6.1-per-cent tariff that Canada levies on vehicles imported from outside North America.

One question for the two ministers is whether they can trade that tariff for a new assembly plant or expanded factories and potentially thousands of jobs or settle for increased access to Japan for other Canadian products or some other less visible trade-off. Read more here.

FDA: Third Party Audits to Play a Bigger Role in Food Safety

2013-04-28T20:01:00.001-07:00

(Food Poisoning Bulletin)

During a budget hearing before a House subcommittee Friday, FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said that food inspections were just one of many activities that will comprise the agency’s strategy to protect the nation’s food supply in the next budget cycle. But one element that she described as being “very, very important to our program” will give some in the food safety world pause: third party audits.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses third party audits of food manufacturing facilities and farms to supplement the inspections it performs. But, as two high-profile food poisoning outbreaks have illustrated, there are serious problems with the way the third-party inspection system works. Read more here.

The Bangladesh Building Collapse: This is what Race-to-the-Bottom Global Trade Looks Like

2013-04-26T17:01:00.001-07:00

(Jake Maxwell Watts – Quartz)

In Bangladesh, grief over a collapsed factory has swiftly turned to anger. Rescue workers are still pulling bodies out of the ruins in the outskirts of Dhaka, the death toll has topped 275, and garment factory workers blockaded highways and attacked factories for refusing to give workers a day off to mourn.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters, who numbered in the tens of thousands.

Sadly, the history of the garment industry in Bangladesh suggests that little is likely to change. Garment workers are caught in a trap—work cheaply, at significant risk to your life, or don’t work at all.

In the wake of the tragedy, politicians were quick to promise action. “Whoever might be the culprits, and even if they belong to our party, they won’t go scot-free,” said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. But who exactly is to blame? Is it the regulatory framework that let a building with no permit be constructed? The factory owner who forced his employees to work even after cracks in the foundation were found? Or the Western clothing manufacturers that enabled Bangladesh to become the world’s second-largest exporter of cheap clothing? Read more here.

Related: Big Brands Rejected Bangladesh Factory Safety Plan (AP)

Trinidad PM Urges Fresh Effort in Trade Talks Between Canada, Caricom

2013-04-26T17:00:00.001-07:00

(Janet McFarland – Globe & Mail)

Talks on a free trade agreement between Canada and a group of 15 Caribbean countries appear to have stalled and need to be reinvigorated to meet a year-end deadline to conclude a deal, says Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. [...]

Canada and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) nations have been discussing a new free trade deal since 2007, but there is growing urgency to complete a deal by year-end because the existing trade deal, known as the Caribbean-Canada Trade Agreement (Caribcan), cannot be renewed due to World Trade Organization opposition. The WTO has ruled its preferential duty-free access is incompatible with WTO rules. Read more here.

Expiry Review No.: RR-2013-002 – Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Plate

2013-04-26T16:58:00.001-07:00

(CBSA)

On April 24, 2013, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, pursuant to subsection 76.03(3) of the Special Import Measures Act, initiated an expiry review of its order made on January 8, 2009, in Expiry Review No. RR 2008 002, continuing, without amendment, its finding made on January 9, 2004 in Inquiry No. NQ-2003-002 concerning certain hot rolled carbon steel plate and high-strength low-alloy steel plate originating in or exported from the Republic of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania.

As a result, the President of the Canada Border Services Agency initiated an investigation on April 25, 2013 to determine whether the expiry of the order is likely to result in the continuation or resumption of dumping of the goods.

Questions relating to the expiry review should be addressed to:
Sanjivan Sandhu
Telephone: 613-946-4857
Facsimile: 613-948-4844
E-mail: Sanjivan.Sandhu@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca

Hong Kong Port Strike Continues

2013-04-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

(Journal of Commerce)

Li Ka-shing a Chinese billionaire with investments in container port facilities around the world, including in Hong Kong, has moved to end a four-week strike affecting operations at Hongkong International Terminals in Hong Kong by hiring new workers to handle ships and demanding protesters leave his building in the city’s Central District, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Read more here.

Related: Shipping Industry Hit Hard by Dock Strike (South China Morning Post)

Information Collection on Seed Imports from Canada Under Review

2013-04-26T16:55:00.001-07:00

(STR Trade Report)

The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is accepting comments through June 25 on the proposed extension of an information collection associated with the regulations for the importation of seed and screenings from Canada. U.S. companies that import seed for cleaning or processing may enter into compliance agreements with APHIS that eliminate the need for sampling shipments of Canadian-origin seed at the border and allow these importers to clean the seed without direct supervision of an APHIS inspector.

This program involves the use of information collection activities, including a declaration for importation, container labeling, notification of seed location, a seed return request, seed identity maintenance, documentation for U.S.-origin exported seed returned to the United States, written appeal for cancellation of a compliance agreement and request for a hearing, and associated recordkeeping. In addition, two forms that are required are PPQ Form 925, the Seed Analysis Certificate (for Canadian-grown seed destined for the U.S.) and PPQ Form 519, the PPQ Compliance Agreement.

News from Thompson Ahern: Weekly Updates

2013-04-26T15:06:00.001-07:00

An updated list of recently published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending April 26, 2013 is now available on our website here.

Why are Interprovincial Trade Barriers a Problem?

2013-04-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

(Richard Blackwell – Globe & Mail)

In an era focused on international free trade, it seems incongruous that Canada has so many internal barriers that impede movement of goods, services and people between provinces. That’s a situation that has to change if the country is going to stay competitive in a global marketplace, says Perrin Beatty, a former Conservative cabinet minister who is now president of The Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Businesses are operating today in an intensely competitive global economy. It is important for them to have a market at home in which they can build their scale. We are a comparatively small economy to begin with, and if we Balkanize our economy and turn it into 13 regional ones, then it is much more difficult for Canadian companies to get the scale that they need to be able to be globally competitive.
Also, from the perspective of Canadian consumers and customers of businesses, it limits choice and drives up costs. Read more here.

The Two Rabbits of International Trade

2013-04-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

(Taeho Bark – Business Today)

If you chase two rabbits at once, the old saying goes, both will escape. And yet this is precisely what many governments are required to do: pursue both growth and distributional fairness. The two objectives, though not incompatible, are entirely different from one another, and few policy tools can simultaneously help to achieve both.

This idea matters a lot in trade policy. Much theoretical and empirical research demonstrates that opening trade can spur a country’s GDP growth. But increasing a pie’s size does not guarantee that it will be shared fairly. Read more here.

A Trans-Atlantic Trade Pact for the World

2013-04-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

(Carla A. Hills – NYT)

The opening of global markets — starting in 1947 with the first round of trade negotiations among 23 nations and the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), through the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995 — caused international trade to explode and standards of living for nations rich and poor to soar.

Economic studies show that the opening of global markets since the end of World War II has added about $9,000 of additional wealth for the average American household. Developing nations have also gained from global trade. On average, poor countries that opened their markets to trade and investment have grown more than three times faster than those that kept their markets closed. No country has prospered by sealing itself off from global economy. Read more here.

Shippers and Carriers Move a Step Closer to Legally Binding Contracts

2013-04-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

(Gavin van Marle – The Loadstar)

Big box shippers are increasingly looking at developing more formal contractual arrangements with container shipping lines, delegates at this year’s Multimodal show in Birmingham have learnt.

The era of gentlemen’s agreements between carriers and shippers is likely to draw to a close, said Matthew Gore, senior associate at law firm Holman Fenwick Willan, as increasing numbers of both parties look to develop legally binding ocean shipping contracts as a way of developing partnerships.
“Legally binding contracts give a framework to manage the relationship between the two sides – this fosters greater understanding and means that once the question of rates has been settled, the conversation can then move away from price and on to service.” Read more here.

WTO Stakeholder Panel Outlines Future Trade Challenges

2013-04-25T12:47:00.001-07:00

(Bridges Weekly)

Governments are facing a series of “convergence challenges” on the future of the international trading system, according to a report issued on Wednesday by a 12-member panel convened by WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy.

The report – which was issued under the Director-General’s own responsibility – marked the conclusion of a process that was announced at the global trade body’s 2011 ministerial conference. The panel that prepared the report was made up of 12 members from the business sector and civil society, and had been tasked with identifying 21st century trade challenges. […]

The report – which takes a medium to long-term view of the trading system’s challenges – provides “food for thought” for both WTO members and other stakeholders, the Director-General told a packed conference room at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva. Read more here.

Proposed Food Safety Rules for Foreign and Domestic Facilities Get Longer Comment Period

2013-04-25T12:41:00.003-07:00

(STR Trade Report)

The Food and Drug Administration has extended through Sept. 16 the period for public comments on two proposed rules issued in January under the Food Safety Modernization Act.

The first rule would establish science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption. The second rule would apply to human food and require domestic and foreign facilities that are required to register under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to have written plans that identify hazards, specify the steps that will be put in place to minimize or prevent those hazards, monitor results, and act to correct problems that arise.

The FDA states that these are the first of five proposed rules that, once finalized, will establish the foundation of, and central framework for, the modern food safety system envisioned by Congress in the Food Safety Modernization Act. The other three proposed rules on preventive controls for animal food, the Foreign Supplier Verification Program and accreditation of third-party auditors are under review.

Canada-EU Trade Deal Nearly Done: Top European Official

2013-04-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

(CGFI)

Results published today by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) indicate that the Total Cost of ground transportation for Canadian Shippers increased by 2.4 % in February when compared with January results.

The Base Rate Index, which excludes the impact of Accessorial Charges assessed by carriers, increased by 1.9 % when compared to January 2013.

Average Fuel Surcharges assessed by Carriers have seen an increase from 20.36 % of Base Rates in January to 21.53 % in February.

“Cross border Truckload continued to drive the increase combined with fuel being at the highest level since May 2012.” said Doug Payne, President & COO, Nulogx. Read more here.