U.S. Customs
and Homeland Security
Customs agenda eyes ag, textile
imports
19
Jan 2006,
JOC Online
LOS ANGELES -- U.S. Customs and
Border Protection's commercial agenda this year will emphasize
inspections of agricultural and textile imports, according to a top
manager.
Kevin Weeks, director of field
operations in Los Angeles-Long Beach, said the agency's commercial
emphasis will be to prevent agricultural pests from entering the
country. Also, with the implementation Jan. 1 of safeguard quotas on
the importation of textiles and apparel from China, Customs will
scrutinize imports for infractions such as illegal transshipment of
textiles through third countries and mis-descriptions of cargo.
Weeks' comments Wednesday were
delivered to the Southern California business community, but they have
national implications as they reflect directives from Customs
headquarters in Washington.
With incidents of bird flu reported
in some regions of the world that trade with the U.S., Customs is
stepping up its efforts to prevent the spread of the disease by
intensively inspecting imports of pet birds and poultry from high-risk
countries.
Customs and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture also have a program in place to ensure that pallets and
packaging materials are treated to kill pests.
Customs' efforts to date have been
carried out under an informed compliance mandate in which importers
are notified of potential violations, although Customs does not take
punitive action. Beginning Feb. 1, it will move to enforced compliance
and require that shipments that have not been properly fumigated must
immediately be re-exported so they do not enter the U.S.
In the past, Chinese exporters and
U.S. importers attempted to evade quotas by intentionally mis-describing
the shipments, or by transshipping the textiles and apparel through
ports outside of China and declaring those nations to be the country
of origin. Weeks said Customs has stepped up its surveillance of
textile and apparel imports to catch these and other infractions.
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Front Page
CBP Issues Clarification on MID
Requirements for Textiles and Apparel
2
Jan 2006, ST&R
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
recently issued a directive making the following clarifications
regarding compliance with the Manufacturer Identification Code (MID)
requirement for textile and apparel imports that was announced on
October 5.
• The MID is required for all entries
in which a CBP Form 3461 and CBP Form 7501 must be submitted to CBP to
make entry. This applies to both formal and informal entries. For
textile merchandise identified in 19 CFR 102.21 (b)(5), this MID must
be calculated from the manufacturer that performs the
origin-conferring process. If an importer cannot provide the name of
this manufacturer, the goods can be excluded when there are
admissibility concerns; i.e. if the importer cannot provide the name
when the goods are subject to quota/visa admissibility issues.
• If CBP determines that an MID is
calculated from a party that did not produce the goods, the importer
and broker may be subject to penalties. Importers can show that they
exercised reasonable care by providing the broker with a statement
naming the producer of the merchandise or including this information
on the invoice. The importer should obtain a statement from its agent
providing the name and address of the factory that produced the
merchandise.
DHS Completes Foundation of
Biometric Entry System
4
Jan 2006,
Department
of Homeland Security
Department of Homeland Security's
(DHS) US-VISIT program has completed installation of biometric entry
capabilities at 104 land border ports, as mandated by Congress.
Biometric entry capabilities are now deployed at all fixed ports of
entry open to US-VISIT travelers.
“The U.S. Government's efforts to
strengthen our nation's immigration and border management system have
taken a giant leap with the deployment of US-VISIT entry capabilities
at all our ports and visa-issuing posts abroad,” said DHS Secretary
Michael Chertoff.
“US-VISIT is making America safer by
enhancing our border management system with next-generation
technologies and processes to address the emerging threats, challenges
and opportunities of our 21st century world.”
US-VISIT installed biometric entry
procedures at the 50 busiest land border ports along the U.S.-Canada
and U.S.-Mexico land borders as of December 29, 2004; meeting the
December 31, 2004 deadline. The deployment of biometric entry
procedures to each of the remaining 104 land border ports of entry is
also ahead of the congressional deadline of December 31, 2005.
US-VISIT is a continuum of security
measures that collect biometric and biographic information from
visitors at U.S. visa-issuing posts upon their arrival and departure
from U.S. air, sea and land border ports. The program enhances
security by verifying each visitor's identity and by comparing their
biometric and biographical information against watch lists of
terrorists, criminals and immigration violators.
Since January 2004, US-VISIT has
processed more than 44 million visitors, which makes the program the
largest-scale application of biometrics in the world. Biometrics have
enabled US-VISIT to intercept, at U.S. ports of entry, more than 970
people with histories of criminal or immigration violations, including
federal penitentiary escapees, convicted rapists, drug traffickers,
individuals convicted of murder and numerous immigration violators.
Additionally, the State Department's
BioVisa program, which is fully integrated with US-VISIT, has resulted
in over 14,000 hits on individuals applying for visas to travel to the
United States.
At many land border ports of entry,
US-VISIT has decreased processing time in secondary inspection as a
result of the automation of Form I-94 issuance process and US-VISIT's
simple, fast and clean biometric processes.
US-VISIT currently applies to all
visitors entering the United States, regardless of country of origin
or whether they are traveling on a visa, with certain exemptions.
Canadian citizens are exempt, as are most Mexican visitors who apply
for admission using a Border Crossing Card, also known as a laser visa
and travel within the border zone during the 30-day time limit.
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Front Page
US Phase II of US Customs WPM
Import implementation plan
begins February 1, 06
11 Jan 2005, CIFFA eBulletin
Phase II of Customs and Border
Protection's (CBP) wood packaging materials enforcement implementation
plan, during which Customs will begin full enforcement of the ban on
violative pallets and crates, begins on February 1, 2006. Customs has
published information on the agency's plans to implement the
enforcement of requirements for the import of wood packaging materials
into the United States from all origins (except if wood and shipment
originates in Canada). 'Operating Procedures for Trade Community
Regarding Implementation of the Wood Packaging Materials (WPM)
Regulation', provides details of the agency's three-phase enforcement
plan for WPM imports. The 'Phased Compliance' section of Customs'
implementation plan stated the following: “...
Phase II, beginning February 1, 2006,
will continue informed compliance measures on all regulated WPM except
pallets and crates. CBP will begin full enforcement of the ban on
violative pallets and crates. Beginning with Phase II, reexport of all
shipments containing violative pallets or crates will be ordered if
the Port Director determines that it is not feasible to separate
merchandise from the violative WPM. IT and T&E shipments found to
contain violative WPM will not be permitted to transit. All expenses
incurred for the services of CBP Officers and Agriculture Specialists
involved in the separation of cargo will be billed to the importer or
other party of interest.
WPM and associated merchandise will
be exported at the expense of the importer or other party of interest.
'Phase III, beginning July 5, 2006, will represent
full enforcement of the WPM ban regulated by 7 CFR § 319. CBP will no
longer conduct informed compliance at the shipment level. In Phase
III, reexport of all shipments containing violative WPM will be
ordered if the Port Director determines that it is not feasible to
separate merchandise from the violative WPM. IT and T&E shipments
found to contain violative WPM will not be permitted to transit. All
expenses incurred for the services of CBP Officers and Agriculture
Specialists involved in the separation of cargo will be billed to the
importer or other party of interest. WPM and associated merchandise
will be exported at the expense of the importer of other party of
interest'. US Customs' WPM web page can be accessed on-line at:
http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/import/commercial
enforcement/wpm/.
MILESTONE
FOR NATIONAL SECURITY CUTTER
 Shipbuilders at Northrop Grumman's Pascagoula, Miss., facility
have already erected the final grand block making up the first USCG National Security Cutter
The National Security Cutter (NSC) was designed to be the flagship
of the fleet, capable of meeting all maritime security mission
needs. It will be the largest and most technically advanced class
of cutter in the Coast Guard.
http://www.uscg.mil/deepwater/system/nsc.htm
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Front Page
CBP EXPLOSIVE DETECTOR DOG NAMED “SIRIUS”
AFTER THE ONLY CANINE TO PERISH IN WORLD TRADE CENTER IS DEPLOYED
 Washington,
D.C. — In its steadfast mission to prevent terrorists and terrorist
weapons from entering the country, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) is deploying a new canine explosive detector team to the field
that has a special connection to keeping people in the New Jersey area
safe. CBP canine “Sirius,” a Black Labrador retriever born on
September 23, 2004, at the CBP Canine Enforcement Training Center (CETC)
received her name to honor the only working dog that died in World
Trade Center attacks. Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major, is
also known as the brightest star. “CBP considers it a privilege to
have one of our explosive detector dogs in the field named after
“Sirius” the Port Authority Police canine that perished in the World
Trade Center tragedy,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Deborah J. Spero.
“New York/New Jersey Port Authority Police Department Sergeant David
Lim, and the citizens of the New York area, experienced a great loss
on 9/11. This small gesture is intended as a tribute to our shared
determination to remember and to prevent future tragedy.” The original
“Sirius” was a Golden Retriever that graduated from the Port Newark
K-9 Center on July 15, 2000, as an Explosive Detection Dog, Badge
#17. He was a member of the Port Authority Police Department. On the
morning of September 11, 2001, Sirius and his partner, Officer David
Lim, were at their Port Authority Police Station in the basement of
the World Trade Center's Tower Two. When Officer Lim heard the sound
of an explosion, he thought a bomb had gone off inside the building.
Leaving Sirius in his kennel, Officer Lim rushed off to help with the
rescue effort, promising to return and get him. Unfortunately, Officer
Lim was trapped in the falling debris of Tower One for more than five
hours and Sirius died in the collapse of Tower Two. Sirius’ body was
recovered on January 22, 2002. Keeping his promise, Officer Lim
returned to claim his beloved partner. He received full Police Honors
when his body was carried out and will always be remembered as a
valiant member of the Port Authority Police Department. “Sirius was
more than just a dog and partner to me – he was a friend and member of
my family. Along with thousands of others at the World Trade Center
he lost his life and I am deeply moved that he is being honored in a
way that continues to recognize the important work of a canine
explosive detection dog,” said Sergeant Lim.
“Naming this dog after Sirius is a
touching way to honor not only a beloved canine member of our force,
but it also pays tribute to the memory of the37 members of the Port
Authority Police Department who sacrificed all on September 11, 2001,”
said Port Authority Public Safety Director/Superintendent of Police
Samuel J. Plumeri Jr. CBP Canine Officer Walter C. Riggs and Sirius,
along with nine other additional canine teams, graduated on December
22, 2005, from the CETC in Front Royal, Virginia. The explosive
detector dog course is 15 weeks long and canine teams are trained to
search cargo, luggage, buildings, passengers, trains, aircraft, and a
myriad of land and sea conveyances for explosives. The explosive
detector canine handler also receives an additional two weeks of
essential safety training before graduation. “There is a special bond
between us, I just knew she was my dog. Sirius is a hard worker,
loyal, and very smart. She is an asset to the canine enforcement
program,” stated CBP Officer Riggs. “We will continue to train and
work hard to protect the people of this great nation, just like her
name sake and Officer Lim did before us.” The U.S. Customs and Border
Protection Canine Enforcement Program is protecting America as the
largest and most diverse law enforcement canine program in the
country. CBP’s canine program continues to diversify canine detection
capabilities needed to combat terrorism, interdict narcotics, and
other contraband while helping to facilitate and process legitimate
trade and travel.
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Front Page
EXPORT
Manitowoc Resident
Sentenced to Prison for Exporting Restricted Electronic Components
to China
The
Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin has
announced that Ning Wen (DOB: 4/12/49) was sentenced on January 18,
2006 to 60 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge
William C. Griesbach for export control and money laundering
violations. He was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and given two
years’ supervised release. He has also agreed to forfeit his interest
in his Manitowoc home and $329,000 cash. In September, a jury
convicted Ning Wen of nine counts related to his participation in a
conspiracy to illegally export more than $300,000 in electronic
components to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from 1991 to 2004.
The electronic components, primarily semi-conductor chips, had a wide
variety of applications including military radar and communications
applications, and as such, required the permission of the United
States government to export to the PRC because of national security
concerns over potential uses. Wen and his coconspirators, including
his wife, Hailin Lin, and two Chinese nationals, intentionally
disregarded the licensing requirements and shipped the items to China,
where they were distributed to entities and institutes including some
that conduct military research and development. The jury also
convicted Wen of laundering money for the purpose of promoting the
illegal exports.
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Export compliance ratchets up
28
Dec 2005, JOC Online
It has become crystal clear that the
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is focused on export compliance
in a much more serious way than most of us considered.
The areas considered to be of the
highest threat level are proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
terrorism, terrorist support and diversion of dual use items to
military uses. BIS is clearly interested in preventing illegal
exports, but is not at all shy about prosecuting those who participate
in those exports.
When you look at the various cases,
it is clear BIS is expanding enforcement to include conspirator
liability, including foreign corporations that aid in re-exports,
transporters, those who store goods and those who facilitate their
export, such as freight forwarders.
The sister agency to BIS, the Office
of Export Enforcement, continues to push Project Guardian, where
companies that ship goods high on the list of products likely to be
misused or misrouted are being visited and asked to report any unusual
orders. Evidencing the fact the various parts of the government are
doing a much better job of coordinating their efforts, OEE is now
reviewing licenses and comparing the representations made in them to
visa applications filed with the State Department. Are foreign
nationals going where they say they will and doing what is authorized?
At the same time, it appears the
anxiety over changes to the deemed export rule may be lessening.
Several BIS executives have spoken publicly and conceded the rule is
likely to remain based on country of citizenship, not birth. It also
appears BIS and OEE are working more closely with the Office of
Foreign Assets Control, especially where Cuba and Iran are concerned.
As to voluntary disclosures, they
remain an option, but their weight is has been lessened considerably.
Until recently, it was not often that a disclosure resulted in a
penalty, unless the violation was significant.
Now, it seems to be routine for the
penalty to result and the disclosure to halve the fine.
Exporters are cautioned to keep the
existing red flags in mind, but consider, too, the following
cautionary issues BIS is considering adding to its red flags list:
Requests for equipment configuration
incompatible with the stated destination;
The address of the ultimate consignee
is listed in a free trade zone;
The customer's use of an address that
is inconsistent with standard business practices, such as a post
office box;
The customer's facilities are
inappropriate for the goods ordered or the intended end-use(s);
The customer orders inappropriate
parts or there appears to be no legitimate need for those parts,
perhaps because the underlying equipment was not sold to that customer
or cannot be obtained from other legitimate sources;
The customer is suspected or is known
to deal with embargoed countries;
The transaction involves a party on
the Unverified List BIS publishes in the Federal Register;
The product into which the exported
good will be incorporated bears information indicating the final
destination is an embargoed destination or a destination other than
the one reflected on the exporter's documentation;
The customer uses different spellings
of its name for different shipments;
The requested terms of sale (for the
good or its financing) suggest an end-use or destination other than
what is claimed; and
The customer provides information or
documentation which is suspected of being false or requests false
documents from its vendor (producer or service provider).
One thing is clear, whether you call
it "Do Not Self Blind" on the export side, or "reasonable care" on the
import side, adequate internal controls and documentation that have
been followed will clearly continue to be the expected norm from all
government agencies, whether you are a Fortune 50 corporation or a
mom-and-pop operation.
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Free Trade
Agreements
US seeking to increase Bilateral
Trade Agreements
20 Jan 2006,
Emerging
Textiles.com
The US is aggressively working
through free trade negotiations with a number of countries and has
just concluded a sixth round of talks with Thailand. South Korea is
also keen to be added to the increasingly longer list of countries.
However, the path from negotiating to implementation is often long and
incorporates tight Rules of Origin for textile and apparel exporters.
Free Trade Agreements or FTA's are
tricky things requiring a whole range of meetings and negotiations
between two or more countries wishing to establish favourable trading
relationships.
US FTA
roadmap
The US has been busy over the past
five years attempting to increase the number of FTA's it has with
trading partners and the Bush administration is particularly
interested in establishing a Middle East FTA by 2013.
So far, FTA's have been concluded
with Jordan, Morocco and Bahrain with Oman not far behind.
Negotiations are currently underway
with the United Arab Emirates whilst Egypt has entered into
preliminary discussions laying the groundwork for full-blown FTA
negotiations.
Discussions with other countries in
the region are at the planning stages in Washington.
In total, the US Trade
Representative, Rob Portman, is working on FTA's with 10 countries.
South Korea has also been vying to
join the growing US FTA list and latest discussions with Seoul appear
to have made some progress towards establishing formal FTA
negotiations.
Washington is studying South Korea's
latest proposals aimed at resolving remaining issues that have
prevented progress in talks namely import barriers on films and its US
beef ban.
However, insiders have confidently
predicted formal negotiations will shortly be announced.
Thailand
disagreements
A sixth round of talks between the US
and Thailand have last week ended against the backdrop of fierce
protests against trade liberalization.
Is is still far from clear as to
whether the talks, hoped to be concluded in the spring, will
eventually be successful.
A statement Friday by Barbara Weisel
who has been leading the US negotiating team confirmed progress had
been made but much work still remains to be done.
Scrutiny of the negotiations will now
take place in Washington to analyze exactly how far the talks have
gone.
Aside from the concerns raised by
Thailand over tariff elimination, the US claims the FTA would be good
news for the Thai textile and apparel sector.
"We anticipate increased exports for
Thai producers in a wide range of products, from consumer products and
textiles and apparel to electrical machinery and medical equipment,"
Ms Weisel confirmed.
Rules of
Origin
A complicated aspect to FTA's for the
textile sector is the problematic area of Rules of Origin (RoO).
This requirement is usually thrown in
by Washington to insist that textile and apparel produce qualifying
for duty-free US access needs to contain certain threshold of locally,
regional or US made components.
This is specifically designed to
eliminate the use of material from strong exporters such as China.
The FTA with Peru, awaiting US
Congress ratification, is a good example of this.
Peruvian exports must contain only
yarn and fabric produced within either its own borders, the US or
other South American nations.
It cannot therefore use cheaper
imports from other countries such as Bangladesh or China for example
and could dampen hopes of significantly increasing exports to the US.
FTA
process
The process of the FTA from project
to legal implementation is also a long and sometimes hazardous road
and can take several years of intense negotiations before being
finalized.
The timing of which also depends on
whether proposals from one country meet resistance from another, as
with Thailand last week, and this can sometimes see talks stretched
out for a long period before compromise is reached.
After a proposal is made, comments
are invited from the general public before the real negotiations go
ahead.
If agreement is reached by both
parties, the accord is mutually signed before passing to the
respective governments for ratification.
In the case of the US, it first
passes to Congress before President Bush adds his name thus making it
law.
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President Signs Bahrain
FTA
On January 11, President Bush signed
legislation implementing the US-Bahrain FTA, although it is unclear
when the agreement will come into force. According to a White House
press release, the FTA is a significant step in furthering the
President's goal of creating a Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) by
2013. Since the President announced MEFTA in May 2003, the United
States has completed FTAs with Bahrain, Morocco, and Oman; initiated
FTA talks with the United Arab Emirates (UAE); assisted in the
accession of Saudi Arabia to the WTO; and signed six Trade and
Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs) with Middle East countries.
President Notifies
Congress of Intent to Sign Peru FTA
ST&R
On January 6, President Bush notified
Congress of its intent to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Peru,
even though FTA negotiations with the other Andean countries of
Colombia and Peru have yet to be concluded. Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) had written a letter to US Trade
Representative (USTR) Rob Portman on December 22 asking the
Administration to formally notify Congress of the Peru FTA as soon as
possible in order to “ensure timely congressional consideration” of
the agreement in 2006. Under trade promotion authority (TPA), which is
set to expire on June 30, 2007, the Administration must notify
Congress of its intention to enter into an FTA at least 90 calendar
days before doing so.
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South Asian Trade Pact;
4
Jan 2005, ST&R
South
Asian Trade Agreement Takes Effect.
The South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) became operational on
January 1, even though Pakistan has not yet ratified it. Under the
agreement, developing countries Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka have
promised to reduce duties on intraregional trade to between 0% and 5%
by 2013, while least-developed country (LDC) members Bangladesh,
Maldives, Nepal, and Bhutan have agreed to do so by 2018. The LDCs
will also receive technical assistance in areas such as capacity
building in customs procedures and trade facilitation. Expectations
for the agreement are high. Trade among SAFTA countries currently
stands at a modest $6 billion a year, but Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh predicted that number will reach $14 billion within two
years.
Caribbean Community FTA
4 Jan 2005, ST&R
Caribbean Community Moves Toward FTA.
The Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) treaty went into effect
on January 1 with Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and
Trinidad and Tobago as its first full members. Another six countries
are expected to join by the end of March. The 15-member Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) hopes the CSME treaty will help it stay
competitive in the global marketplace. With the single market now in
force, CARICOM members will work to create a single economy similar to
that of the European Union (EU) by 2008.
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The United States and
Turkey Meet Under Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement
http://www.ustr.gov/Document Library/Press Releases/2006/January/The
United States Turkey Meet Under Trade Investment Framework
Agreement.html
United States
- Oman Free Trade Agreement: FTA Supports Oman’s Labor Reforms
http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document Library/Fact Sheets/2006/asset
upload file736 8786.pdf
United States
and Oman Sign Free Trade Agreement
http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document Library/Press
Releases/2006/January/asset upload file25 8774.pdf
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CHINA
China’s Textile Trade Grew
20% in 2005.
5 Jan 2005, ST&R
Despite ongoing trade disputes
and a revaluation of the yuan, China’s textile industry grew
roughly 20% in 2005. According to the Xinhua news agency, a report
from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of
Textiles estimated that sales revenue totaled $250 billion in
2005, with profits of about $8 billion. Exports reached $116
billion, up from $97.3 billion in 2004. China’s textile exports to
the US and the European Union (EU) grew 62.7% in the first ten
months of 2005 and accounted for 34.1% of total exports, up from
25.7% a year earlier. The report attributed this growth to
increased investment in fixed assets and technological
innovations.
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China Releases Report Citing Record Trade
Surplus in 2005.
12 Jan 2006, ST&R
China’s General Administration of
Customs released a report on January 11 indicating that China’s
trade surplus tripled in 2005 to $102 billion. Exports increased
more than 28% to $762 billion, while imports rose about 18% to
$660 billion. China has become the third-largest trading nation
behind the US and Germany. Given the recent focus on China in
Congress, strong reaction to the new report in Washington is
practically assured; however, some analysts said that China’s
exports slowed down toward the end of 2005 while imports picked
up, indicating the gap between the two may be narrowing.
Antidumping rates to decline if
U.S. declares China a market economy
11 Jan 2006, American Shipper
A U.S. congressional watchdog agency
said antidumping rates on Chinese imports will likely decrease if the
Commerce Department declares China to be a market economy.
Because non-market prices are
unreliable, Commerce uses price information from "surrogate"
countries, such as India, to calculate the value of the imported
products in these cases, limiting eligibility for individual rates to
companies that show their export activities are subject to government
control….
Commerce's non-market economy
antidumping rates for Chinese goods are generally more than 20 percent
higher than those applied to imports from market economies.
"This is because average China
country-wide rates were over 60 points higher than comparable market
economy rates," the GAO report said. "Individual China company rates
were similar to those assigned to market economy companies, on
average."
Commerce could end the use of
surrogate price information and country-wide rates if it accepts China
as a market economy….
"In any case, it appears that the
actual trade impact of the NME (non-market economy) methodology will
decline as the portion of total export trade conducted by Chinese
companies assigned individual rate increases and as the country-wide
rates that largely account for the comparatively high average rates
applied to China decline in importance," the GAO report said.
Due to increased concerns about
China's trade practices, Congress' conference report on fiscal 2004
appropriations requested that the GAO review efforts by federal
agencies responsible for ensuring free and fair trade with that
country.
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Seminars
- Websites - Holidays
C-TPAT Enrollment Seminar in San Diego, California - February
14th -16th, 2006
U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is pleased to announce its
second C-TPAT Enrollment Seminar to be held in San Diego,
California from February 14-16, 2006. C-TPAT engages the trade
community in a cooperative relationship with CBP to secure the
supply chain of goods entering the U.S.
MWTA
March 2, 2006
Networking and hors d’oeuvres. Panel discussion: Asia Tripoli
Temple, Milwaukee
http://www.mwta.com/Events2.asp
Dogs Welcome
the Year of the Dog
Just a bunch of funny dog pictures
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/12/content_4042383.htm
TRADE INFORMATION CENTER
http://www.trade.gov/td/tic/
The
Trade Information Center
has links to information that U.S. (and other) exporters will find
valuable, including: country and regional trade statistics; trade
agreements; tariff and import fees by country; worldwide trade
events listings; industry- specific information on U.S. exports;
explanations of free trade agreements; exporting guides; trade
leads; and much more.
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ABYZ NEWS LINKS
http://www.abyznewslinks.com
This site has
lists of links to newspapers, news media, and news sources
worldwide, arranged by region and country. You'll get links to all
the news media from a country, with abbreviations to tell you what
type of media (newspaper, radio, etc.) it is, what language it's
in, and what its focus (alternative business, ethnic, general
interest, etc.) is. Each link will take you to the Web page for
that media outlet.
US Department of Commerce has a tollfree phone of 1-800-USA
Trad(e) that has an export desk in Washington DC that will give
you the duty rate and any fees applicable to any country. You do
need the first 6 digits of the harmonized code of product. They
also have an option for the import desk.
The
website is
www.export.gov
Chinese Lunar New Year holiday
schedule:
Jan
28 ~ Feb 2 in Taiwan Jan 28 ~ 31 in Hong Kong
Jan 29 ~ Feb 4 in China
FEB 13 , 2006 - MAKHA
BUCHA DAY |
