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C U S T O M S
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T R A D E ◊
T R A N S P O R T A T I O N
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S E C U R I T Y |
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Customs May Require Earlier
Import Data
Customs
and Border Protection is considering requiring importers to file entry
data much earlier than they currently do in order to improve targeting
for risky shipments, according to Chris Koch, the chief executive of
the container line trade group World Shipping Council. Also, he said,
a regulation requiring high security container seals on all imported
containers "is in the final review process."
more...
IBM,
Maersk Team Up on
Ship Tracking
Government cargo
inspectors would be able to get real-time data about the contents and
whereabouts of shipping vessels around the world under a new tracking
service being introduced by International Business Machines Corp. and
the Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S.
more...
Bolt
Seals Required
Effective October 1,
2005, all laden boxes or containers either arriving or discharging all
ocean terminals in India
will
require bottle or bolt seals. Indian Customs will refuse to load or
discharge containers without an affixed bolt or bottle seal. In
addition Indian Customs will require the seal number to be documented
on the
manifest.
more...
U.S. Ready to Drop all Trade Barriers
President Bush told a
U.N. summit that the United States is prepared to drop all trade
tariffs, subsidies and other barriers if other nations did the same.
more... |
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insured? |
Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA)
Rethinks on Fuel Costs
September 23, 2005
Runaway
fuel costs have prompted members of the trans-Pacific Stabilization
Agreement (TSA) to review current calculation formulas and existing
contracts. The TSA said that bunker fuel at the nine
loading points used by most lines in the trans-Pacific trade lane has
risen from $198 per ton at the beginning of 2005 to $344 per ton at
present.
In
addition, TSA said inland fuel hikes are also being passed along to
ship lines by rail and truck carriers. Solutions to last year's
West Coast congestion problems only exacerbated the fuel price problem
as all-water Panama Canal routes with smaller, less fuel efficient
ships and re-routing to Pacific Northwest ports have added distance
and greater fuel costs. The convergence of rapidly escalating fuel
costs, and the passing through of those costs by rail, truck and other
vendors, is creating an unsustainable situation that ocean carriers
must address even before a new round of contract talks for 2006-07
begin. |
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 UCC
and Incoterms
UCC and Incoterms use
identical shipping terms (FOB, FAS, and CIF), but their
meanings are entirely different. This has caused some difficulty and
conflict since shipping domestically generally used terms provided for
under UCC, but shipping internationally used shipping terms as defined
under Incoterms. In what might be described as surrender to the
dynamic nature of international commerce, shipping and delivery terms
are being written out of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) because
they are inconsistent with contemporary business practices. The final UCC draft was completed by the American Law Institute and the National
Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws last year and
awaits approval by each state legislature.
INCOTERMS 2000 (abbreviation for “international commercial terms”)
are not a
direct UCC replacement since they are not embedded in law, but they
do provide a logical replacement. Incoterms can be readily adapted to
domestic trade, provide generally accepted definitions and are already
used by many businesses involved in foreign trade. Most important,
they follow trade practice rather than attempt to direct it. Since
they are not law, they can be revised as needed to address significant
changes of contemporary business practices. Incoterms come with a
68-year history of use and revision from the International Chamber of
Commerce -
www.iccwbo.org.
An advantage:
Incoterms do not speak to ownership, but focus on delivery.
The former UCC terms
addressed ownership "by default" if it wasn't specifically covered
elsewhere in the sales contract. With Incoterms, title to the
contract goods may be covered anywhere in the sales contract
except by the Incoterm. Future sales contracts can easily
link title to more practical considerations such as payment for the
contract goods.
U.S. businesses may continue
to use the old UCC terms-or any terms that the buyer and seller agree
to as long as they are clearly spelled out. However, as the law
changes, users of the old UCC terms will lose the benefit of having
generally accepted definitions. Usage will become increasingly vague,
inviting misunderstanding, controversy, and worse. |
CHINA will be having its 7 day public holiday in observance of its
" NATIONAL HOLIDAY"
OCT 01-
OCT 07, 2005
The Anniversary of the
Founding of the
People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
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SEMINARS |
WEBSITES |
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Trade Symposium: November 2- 4, 2005
Gov. Jim Doyle's Trade Mission
To Central Europe
Czech Republic and Poland
November 8-16, 2005
http://www.commerce.state.wi.us/IE/IE-CentralEuropeMission.html
Innovations in Trade Services
October 19, 2005
The University Club,
New York City
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WTO website launches improved information on disputes
The WTO has inaugurated a powerful
facility to easily obtain detailed and up-to-date information on
dispute-settlement cases.
With the new “Find
dispute cases” page, readers may easily obtain a list of cases
meeting criteria they specify.
In addition, the website now provides
improved lists of disputes by
country,
subject and
date.
Searches for documents resulting from the
dispute settlement process are now made easier through the “Find
dispute documents” page.
On the WTO
dispute settlement gateway, one can also find recent dispute
documents (e.g. in the last ten days), a regular update of all WTO
dispute settlement cases, and summaries of Dispute Settlement Body
meetings.
Happynews.com
Because we could all
probably use it -
a site devoted to happy news.
And speaking of happy news -
read below. |
Seized
Items Going to Hurricane Victims
By Larry
Margasak Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Yves St.
Laurent and Tommy Hilfiger labels may be phony, but the thousands of
Hurricane Katrina victims getting knockoff items seized by federal Customs
officials probably don't mind.
Displaced survivors in the
Houston Astrodome can choose from counterfeit and abandoned clothing,
toys, and even dog food.
More than 100,000 items were
quickly taken from warehouses and more will follow, said Kristi Clemens,
spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border
Protection division.
The agency has some 1 million
items stored, and Customs officials are going through their inventory to
see what else would be useful. While the initial shipment went to Texas,
officials are looking toward a wider distribution, Clemens said.
For humans, virtually anything
that you can wear is available: underwear, jeans, baseball caps, T-shirts,
shoes and socks. For dogs: much needed food. For children, toys. For
everyone: clean sheets and blankets.
Clemens said officials are
looking for locations to deliver items in Louisiana and Mississippi, and
then will scout for shelters in other states.
American businesses lose up to
$250 billion annually from knockoffs, according to figures released in a
Senate hearing. Federal officials seized $138 million in counterfeited
goods last year, up from $94 million in 2003.
Counterfeit clothing currently
accounts for about 18 percent of seized items.
Law enforcement officials and
other experts have testified that counterfeit clothing and other goods
have been traced to supporters of terror organizations.
Most counterfeit items come from
China, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Russia, according to Customs
officials.
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