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 T R A D E  N E W S

House passes Bahrain FTA
9 Dec 2005, JOC Online

The House of Representatives passed the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement by a vote of 327 to 95

The agreement, which was signed between the two governments in September 2004, now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to be approved.

Under the agreement, all bilateral trade in consumer and industrial goods will immediately become duty free. Bahrain also will provide duty-free access to 98 percent of U.S. agriculture exports. Perhaps more significantly, the deal also commits Bahrain, a regional center of financial services, to open all its markets for services and telecommunications, and protect U.S. patents and copyrights.

Bahrain, an oil export and refining center located off the coast of Saudi Arabia, has a population of only 688,000. In 2003 the United States exported $509 million in aircraft, vehicles, pharmaceuticals and other goods to Bahrain and imported $378 million from the island. Two-way direct investment was about $195 million.

The Bush administration has promoted the free-trade agreement with Bahrain as part of its policy of promoting democracy and economic stability in the region and establishing a Middle East free trade area by 2013.

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U.S., Peru in trade pact
8 Dec 2005, JOC Online

The United States and Peru have completed a bilateral free-trade agreement.

The comprehensive trade agreement, announced Wednesday, will eliminate tariffs and other barriers to goods and services and expand trade between the two countries. To broaden the impact of the agreement, the United States will also continue to negotiate free-trade pacts with Colombia and Ecuador, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said.

In addition to eliminating tariffs, Peru will remove barriers to trade in services, provide a secure, predictable legal framework for U.S. investors operating in Peru, provide for effective enforcement of labor and environmental laws, protect intellectual property, and provide an effective system to settle disputes. Portman added, "Since many products from Peru already enter the U.S. market duty-free under the Andean Trade Preference Act, this free trade agreement...will level the playing field and make duty-free treatment a two-way street. Consistent with the ATPA's intent, this FTA will strengthen Peru's development prospects and its ability to effectively counter narco-terrorism."

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US May Accept Duty-Free, Quota-Free Initiative for LDCs
7 Dec 2005, ST&R

US Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman said for the first time on December 3 that the US is “going to be able to embrace the concept” of duty-free and quota-free treatment for imports from least-developed countries (LDCs). Portman indicated that should such treatment be approved by WTO members, the US would put it into effect by expanding programs like the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). He noted that US officials have not yet decided whether such treatment would be given to all LDC products, or whether there would be exclusions for items such as textiles and apparel, footwear, leather goods, etc. There is speculation that the US may be willing to accept universal coverage if it is also allowed to take action against import surges in sensitive categories. Duty- and quota-free treatment for LDCs is one of several measures that WTO members are considering for inclusion in a development package that is expected to be agreed at the upcoming Hong Kong ministerial meeting. Another potentially significant measure would make rules of origin more flexible, although there is apparently not the same level of convergence yet on this issue. Negotiators are also considering how to compensate LDCs for the erosion of their tariff preferences that would accompany duty- and quota-free treatment.

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U.S. groups oppose EU trade plan
7 Dec 2005, JOC Online

Industry groups in the U.S. are calling on the Bush Administration to reject an EU proposal calling for unrestricted textile and apparel exports from poor nations such as Bangladesh and Cambodia.

The American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition and the National Council of Textile Organizations announced Wednesday that the co-chairs of the House Textile Caucus, Reps. Howard Coble, R-N.C. and John Spratt, D-S.C., will send President Bush a letter calling for the United States to oppose the EU-led initiative.

Lloyd Wood, AMTAC's director of membership and media outreach, said that the EU initiative would hurt other countries that already have trade deals with the U.S. "People who have preferential agreements with the U.S., such as CAFTA, NAFTA and AGOA, would see those agreements diluted." He added that under the terms of the EU initiative, the Least Developed Countries could enjoy benefits not currently afforded to countries involved in preferential trade agreements with the U.S.

The groups want separate treatment for textiles and apparel as part of any agreement that comes out of next week's World Trade Organization summit in Hong Kong.

Wood said that U.S. interests fear that the EU initiative might even enable China to increase its presence in the American market. "Does the EU agreement even have Rules of Origin?" he asked. "Could the LDCs use Chinese fabric to ship duty-free to the U.S.? If so, the EU agreement might provide a loophole that the Chinese can use to increase their exports more to the U.S. "

An alliance of groups from the U.S., Africa, Mexico and Central and South America is opposing the EU proposal.

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BILATERAL AND REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS LIST

In recent years there  have been so many bilateral and regional trade agreements that it can be hard to keep up with them. If you want to read up on these agreements, go to the Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements list, a page at Michigan State University's Globaledge site. You'll find a comprehensive list of links to agreements, explanations, documents, forms, and histories that could affect your business

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 I M P O R T

US Wipes Out Actions On Import Safeguard Petitions
9 Dec 2005 Carson Int'l

The US government has suspended action on some 24 import safeguard petitions covering 42 categories of Chinese imports of textiles and apparel and released products that were embargoed earlier this year. The products had been held in bonded warehouses because they exceeded permissible quota levels.

The actions were taken to clear the slate for a new set of quotas on Chinese imports that will go into effect January 1. The release of the embargoed goods was part of the comprehensive agreement between the United States and China, placing quotas on some 32 textile and apparel product categories. The embargoed goods now can be delivered to US importers for sale to consumers. Products released from the embargo include cotton and man-made fiber trousers, cotton and man-made fiber knit shirts, brassieres and underwear.

The released product categories are included in the comprehensive agreement covering imports from January 1, 2006 through 2008, as well as other products. That agreement provides for import restraints on 32 of the most sensitive product categories. While growth rates vary somewhat from category to category, the general growth rates for apparel categories are set at 10 percent in 2006, 12.5 percent in 2007 and 15 percent in 2008. For textile products, the growth rates are 12.5 percent in 2006 and 2007 and15 percent in 2008.

While the agreement covers all of the product categories US manufacturers consider the most sensitive at this time, they reserve the right to petition the government to impose safeguard quotas on additional product categories should the need arise and can be justified. Importers, however, say they are opposed to future use of the safeguard mechanism, which they have opposed from the outset.

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Benefits for Tier-3 C-TPAT Members
2 Dec 2005, JOC Online

US Customs and Border Protection’s Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) has proposed 12 benefits that US Customs can offer importers who qualify as “Tier 3” members of C-TPAT. These importers already exceed the minimum requirements for C-TPAT, and are seeking enhanced benefits from Customs that recognize their commitment and investment to the program.

These steps would not require changes in law or regulations. The proposals are for:

    • permission to remotely file selected quota, warehouse and foreign trade zone entries

    • allowance of paperless entries, unless a paper document is required by another government agency

    • expedited drawback claims

    • new formulas for calculating transaction and continuous bonds

    • zero security inspections, unless there is a specific reason to check security

    • expedited response to rulings requests

    • updated mitigation guidelines

    • multiple suffixes to nine-digit IRS numbers

    • expedited background checks

    • requests for further information to be cleared by national account manager

    • no penalties for late duty payments (only interest would accrue)

    • opportunity to take corrective action or disclose errors before seizures, fines or penalties

    • Customs and Border Protection will consider these suggestions; doubtless there are concerns with proposals affecting revenue collection.

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DOC Notes Foreign Regulatory Changes That Could Affect US Exports
7 Dec 2005, ST&R

According to the DOC’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the WTO has been notified by the following countries of proposed regulatory changes that may affect US exports of the products indicated. • Costa Rica - Clinical thermometers • Thailand - Solvent  • Thailand - Conformity assessment

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Confidence was aplenty at the Australian Customs Service...

when the Integrated Cargo System was launched in October. It was and is a mess. In the days after launch, as cargo piled up at airports and docks around Australia, Customs maintained its system was not causing the problems. The agency stuck with its initial strategy of blaming users for inputting incorrect information. Customs admits a secret internal report warned that its mainframe capacity was insufficient to run the new software, but had scheduled a post-launch increase to handle the demand. While internal emails and sources have said the system was losing messages, the agency denies this. Problem number one, according to sources, was that Customs was not heeding industry advice on system design. Problem number two was that Customs was under political pressure to move to the new system, and was approaching a deadline to shift from its old Unisys mainframe. The biggest problem was the amount of detail the new system required. Dots, dashes and spaces all had to be in the same place, causing big problems for the industry.

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WI exporters look to China

The U.S. Department of Commerce Commercial Service Milwaukee U.S. Export Assistance Center released data citing Wisconsin small and medium-sized enterprises
exporting to China increased... more...

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Chinese Boat Buying Delegation Visits State

A Boat Buyer delegation from China had a successful visit to Wisconsin in November. The delegation was composed of marina developers, boat/yacht manufacturers, potential agents and China Boat Association representatives. more...

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C-TPAT program improvements are in the pipeline,
CBP official say
6 Dec 2005, American Shipper

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has begun to meet industry demands to speed up the validation process for companies participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism.

The agency has completed 1,300 security audits, or 23 percent of the 5,600 companies that have been accepted into the voluntary supply chain security program compared with 400 companies, or 8 percent of certified companies, in January, said Todd Owen, acting executive director for cargo and security conveyance. Another 2,460 companies, or 44 percent of the membership, are in some stage of having their supply chain practices reviewed by CBP specialists.

Importers determined to have supply networks at highest risk of terrorist infiltration are validated first, but in a program update to the Department of Homeland Security's Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, Owen said the agency is also beginning to examine low-risk supply chains.

"We are looking at ways to increase the frequency of lower risk validations as well, because we do recognize that to give Tier 2 and Tier 3 benefits we need to do validations," he said.

So far the C-TPAT office has designated 136 companies for Tier 3 status, making them eligible for inspection-free customs clearance and other benefits.

Owen said a C-TPAT "best practices" catalog, which had been scheduled for distribution during CBP's Trade Symposium in Washington Nov. 1-3, has been completed and will be distributed in January.

CBP will hold another C-TPAT seminar March 1-3 in Costa Mesa, Calif., that will focus on educating importers, carriers and transportation intermediaries on best practices for meeting the program's security criteria. And the agency will publish several comprehensive case studies showing how some companies have managed C-TPAT compliance and how the program has helped them.

Meanwhile, Owen and his staff have started discussions with ocean and surface transportation carriers to update C-TPAT minimum security criteria for those sectors. The timetable for updating the criteria has slipped during the second half of the year because Owen was diverted to Hurricane Katrina response and for other unexplained factors. CBP tightened security criteria for importers last March.

CBP staff met separately in November with ocean industry representatives, as well as with the American Trucking Associations and highway carrier groups from Mexico and Canada, and gave them draft copies of the criteria to circulate among their members for comment. Once the new criteria are agreed upon, CBP will phase in implementation as it did for the importers. Owen said the phase-in periods could differ from the past depending on the criteria.

Two COAC members asked Owen to circulate the draft carrier criteria among COAC to get a broader view and so the group can make sure those parts of importer and carrier criteria that are not unique to mode or industry are consistent. An issue of particular importance is the chain of custody for container and trailer seals, said Sandra Fallgatter, a J.C. Penney customs compliance manager. Importers and carriers both have criteria related to recording who, when and where seals are attached or removed from the shipping box.

CBP is also responding to complaints from the trade community that C-TPAT lacks quantifiable performance measures by which companies can judge the effectiveness of the program, Owen said.

The agency is designing a survey in conjunction with outside academic and business experts that will be sent to all C-TPAT member companies asking them to quantify the costs they've incurred to implement security measures, as well as the benefits they've received, he said. The survey will seek to identify direct benefits such as reduced inspections, average exam wait times and costs at major sea and airports so companies have an idea where delays are occurring, as well as indirect benefits from greater supply chain efficiency and visibility.

The data collection project is designed to help companies evaluate their return on investment from participating in C-TPAT, and is scheduled to be completed by March.

Last year, the American Association of Exporters and Importers briefly tried to collect data on how customs exams are impacting businesses.  AAEI quickly abandoned the effort, however, after imbalanced responses from various industries skewed the results and left an unclear picture of CBP's performance.

One of the premises of C-TPAT is that participating companies will receive a reduction in the frequency of security and trade compliance exams that delay the release off their containers. But COAC member Mary Jo Muoio, a senior vice president at Philadelphia-based customs brokerage and logistics provider Barthco International, said that one of her customers received a message from CBP indicating that compliance exams will increase by 2 percent this fiscal year. 

Owen said he was unaware of the notice and asked to see a copy, but added that CBP's sampling size for conducting statistically based random exams will be increased across the board.

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First Electronic Truck Manifest Filed on Southern Border
Thursday, December 15, 2005

Washington, D.C. — The southern border had its first electronic manifest (e-Manifest) for trucks filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on December 7, 2005 in Nogales, Arizona and processing can begin even before the truck arrives at the gate, minimizing wait times at the border and resulting in faster delivery times and increased profits.

The ACE e-Manifest enables truck carriers to submit electronic manifests to CBP prior to a truck’s arrival at a United States land border crossing. The automated manifest provides CBP officers with cargo information prior to a shipment arriving at the gate. Comprehensive data such as information on the driver and passengers; a description of the conveyance and any applicable equipment like a trailer; and details regarding the shipment are included.

“This is an important milestone for adoption of the e-Manifest capability, which is already enhancing security and expediting trade along the northern border,” said CBP Modernization Office Executive Director Louis Samenfink. “With ACE e-Manifest submissions now bridging north and south, we are on target to eventually mandate use of the e-Manifest feature. The faster carriers adopt e-Manifests, the faster the border crossing process speeds up for everyone.”

Time Saving System

The new ACE e-Manifest for trucks was introduced as part of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the next generation of technology designed to enhance national border security and expedite lawful trade. ACE e-manifest for trucks is a powerful, time saving tool. Truck carriers can submit an e-Manifest through the web-based ACE Secure Data Portal or via CBP approved Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) procedures. The portal is essentially a computer screen similar to a Web site home page that connects CBP and the trade community by providing a single, integrated, on-line access point for communications and information. With a one-screen system, filing is easy and for unchanging daily shipments, data can be stored and reused requiring less data entry time for truck carriers.

How it works

When a truck approaches the primary booth, transponder technology similar to that of a toll-paying device may be used to signal the truck’s arrival. The e-Manifest is automatically retrieved along with the matching pre-filed entries, in-bond requests and other release declarations for the CBP officer to view and process. In addition, by establishing and using an ACE portal account, carriers can track the status of their trips and generate a wide variety of reports. This enables carriers to identify trends to plan future courses of action and achieve better results for their company.

Reap e-manifest advantages now and later

The e-Manifest capability is available at ACE ports and eventually will be coming to all ports. Nearly 40 companies are certified to submit e-Manifests through EDI, and numerous companies are using the ACE Secure Data Portal for submission.  More than 1,000 e-Manifests have been filed to date, most along the northern border.

There are currently 31 ACE ports in the states of Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and Washington. The schedule for deployments of ACE to additional ports continues in January, beginning with selected ports in Texas in early 2006.  CBP encourages truck carriers to establish ACE truck carrier accounts now to ensure smooth border operations when electronic manifests are eventually mandated at all ports.  Carriers may also contact a broker or service provider to discuss how e-Manifests can be filed.

For information about how to establish an ACE account, e-mail CBP at acenow@dhs.gov. Also, check for the latest updates for ACE application information on the CBP Web site at www.cbp.gov/modernization/.

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U.S. Joins Revised World Customs Organization Convention

Thursday, December 22, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Acting Commissioner Deborah Spero announces that the United States is now officially a contracting party to the Protocol of Amendment to the World Customs Organization (WCO) Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures, which will go into effect on February 3, 2006. This Protocol of Amendment was the result of a five-year extensive review of the original 1973 Convention.

The Protocol of Amendment to the 1973 Convention represents a blueprint for modernized, efficient and transparent customs administrations in the 21^st century.  It is based on the principles of standardized and simplified procedures, improved customs control, risk management, maximum use of information technology and stronger partnerships between Customs and industry.  Unlike the original 1973 Convention, the Revised Convention contains a body and General Annex with standards that are binding on all Parties.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection, along with U.S. industry, took a lead role in this revision, which also included input from WCO member customs administrations, relevant government agencies in WCO member countries, international organizations and global industry,” said Acting Commissioner Spero.  “The Revised Customs Convention will not only facilitate trade.  Its role in advancing global security is even more significant today than ever envisioned in the pre-9/11 world in which it was drafted.”

Effective customs controls and risk management techniques embodied in this Convention complement U.S. homeland security initiatives and also serve as a foundation for the WCO Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade.  Adopted unanimously by the WCO Members in June 2005, the WCO Framework of Standards provides global standards for supply chain security for implementation by the public and private sector that will secure international trade supply chains and facilitate the movement of goods globally. 

The United States joins 40 other contracting states to the Revised WCO Convention.  CBP will represent the U.S. at the first meeting of the Convention’s Management Committee on March 6-7, 2006, in Brussels, Belgium.

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Textiles and Quotas

As a result of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), a full integration of textiles and textile apparel manufactured in countries that are WTO members will commence on 1 January 2005. This is the fourth and final phase of the integration. In recognition of the inevitable end of the quota system, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched a new web page "to provide information to CBP field personnel and the trade relating to the final phase of the integration". The new web site will include items such as Quota Bulletin Transmittals (QBT), Textile Bulletin Transmittals (TBT), and Federal Register notices related to the elimination of quotas. The page also will include a list of frequently asked questions. It is located at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/.

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Customs Update: Textile enforcement problems
5 Dec 2005, JOC Online

The issues faced by Customs and industry regarding textiles are far from over.

Some of the contentiousness ended on Nov. 8, 2005 with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and China establishing quotas on selected categories of textile goods. Another element of the new agreement involves re-establishing ELVIS, the electronic visa system. So, after figuring out whether or not your goods are covered by a category under quota starting in 2006, the very next thing every textile trader is focused on is how China will allocate quota and how quickly it will again start to be traded.

A sort of response was received Nov. 28 through a posting on the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's Web site that bidding for quota will take place Dec. 6-8, at www.ec.com.cn. The rules and bidding process are further explained but only in Chinese.

In the text of the memorandum, the categories again subject to quota in 2006 are listed in Annex I. Annex II lists those products excluded from quotas but exclusion is based on manufacturing process or tariff classification only.

After recovering from the news that an agreement was finally reached, the importing community quickly began wondering when goods embargoed in 2005 due to safeguards would be released, a condition in the memorandum. That answer came when the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) announced on Nov. 22 that goods falling into specific quota categories and imported between May 2005 (the exact date differs by quota category) and Dec. 31, 2005 were to be released and not subject to quantitative limits. The period which applies to socks is somewhat different, but the result is the same.

Another question on everyone's mind: What happens to those goods that were the subject of safeguard petitions which fell into quota categories not mentioned in the memorandum? That answer came on Nov. 23 when CITA announced it was ceasing further consideration of all pending safeguard petitions.

On Nov. 25, Customs announced the procedures for release of embargoed goods for categories 338/339, 347/348, 352/652, 638/639 and 647/648, limiting their release to the five-day window between Nov. 28, 2005 and Dec. 2, 2005. In the process, Customs reminded the trade community that only goods entered into bonded status before Nov. 8, 2005 were eligible. Customs also confirmed that any goods exported from China prior to Jan. 1, 2006 are not subject to quotas.

Socks were the subject of a separate agreement which predated by a few days the overall memorandum and so release of overshipped socks was covered by a different period which began on Nov. 29, 2005 and ends on Dec. 28, 2005. However, the export period is Oct. 29, 2004 through Oct. 28, 2005.

So, what's left? Well, there remains the issue of transshipped goods, a perennial problem, but there is much more. While all World Trade Organization member countries except China are no longer worried about their textiles being subjected to quota, Customs continues to find problems with textile entries. For example, in fiscal year 2004, 24 percent of all textile entries involved a free trade agreement claim. Customs performed a limited review of those entries and found 50 percent were wrong. There is currently pending at one Customs port a $25 million penalty arising from NAFTA claims by one company which could not be supported. On top of that, the company is also defending a $16 million record keeping penalty!

Customs took a snapshot of other entries and found even more non-compliance. Customs looked at entries filed between January 2004 and July 2005, which were classified in tariff provisions in Chapters 50-63. The total entered value was $84 million. Twenty-two percent of that value, or $18.5 million, showed obvious mismatches between the country of origin and exportation and the manufacturer's origin. Over $1 million showed obvious admissibility problems.

Returning to free trade agreements, in a different sample pool, Customs found a 48 percent error rate. NAFTA accounted for over 50 percent of the discrepancies. One hundred percent of the TPL claims in the sample pool were wrong. One notorious example were entries filed claiming Hong Kong as the country of origin when all the documents clearly stated the origin was China. In that instance, the customs broker was penalized, but so was the importer. Why the importer? For failing to exercise reasonable care. It's one thing for the broker to make the error (intentional or otherwise), but the importer failed to detect or correct it.

Where are the greatest number of errors found? Well, obviously with free trade agreement claims, but more specifically with incorrect countries of origin, merchandise descriptions, classifications and using trading house information to incorrectly determine origin.

The situation has gotten dicer with the elimination of the textile declaration. Instead of the manufacturer providing a declaration stating which process occurred where and the origin of the labor and materials, the rules have now changed. While originally to take effect on Oct. 5, 2005, Customs delayed enforcement action until Nov. 18. What is different? When the filer now submits the entry, the manufacturer must still be identified, but it may not be the exporter or seller. The filer must now identify the name and address of the entity which performed the origin-conferring operation! Enforcement was delayed so the importing community had time to put reasonable care processes in place. Just how do you deal with a supplier who refuses to give you information? How are you supposed to do to identify wrong information?

So, what will happen in the future? We have already seen Canada receive an inquiry into safeguard protection from its domestic furniture industry, so safeguards are not just for textile goods any more! At the same time, the Global Alliance for Fair Textile Trade continues to beat the drum for a new international agreement under the guise of the market access talks which are part of the WTO's Doha Development Round.

Trade in textiles just keeps getting more complicated. Stay tuned -- the story is far from over.

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Newly-merged port to start operations January 1

THE newly-merged Ningbo-Zhoushan Port officially came into operation on January 1, creating the third largest port in the world in years to come. The two two deep-water ports, Ningbo Port and Zhoushan Port in the east Zhejiang Province, were merged on December 20 and renamed "Ningbo-Zhoushan Port", according to Xinhua. Vice Minister of Communications, Xu Zuyuanand, said: "The ports integration in Zhejiang will accelerate China's endeavour of building a strong country in the field of sea shipping." Official statistics show that the cargo handling capacity of Ningbo Port is expected to exceed 270 million tonnes in 2005, ranking second in China; while Zhoushan Port is expected to handle over 80 million tons of cargo. The report explained that the two ports, although located in the same sea area and sharing the same navigation channel, have been operating under different administrations, which has greatly undermined their competitiveness. It is estimated that over 100 billion yuan (US$12.6 billion) is to be injected to develop the new port, which is expected to become the third largest port in the world by 2010. The new port will be an integral part of the Shanghai International Shipping Center, as well as an important logistic and industrial base, said Lu Zushan, Governor of Zhejiang Province, Xinhua said. Currently, the three biggest ports in the world are Shanghai, Singapore and Rotterdam.

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Chinese Lunar New Year holiday schedule

Jan 28 ~ Feb 2 in Taiwan       Jan 28 ~ 31 in Hong Kong      Jan 29 ~ Feb 4 in China

Wisconsin Credit Association   2006 SCHEDULE OF EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS

Check out the wide variety of offerings throughout the year from the WCA

ICE meeting   JANUARY 24, 2006 MEETING:

EXPORT COMPLIANCE:  Opportunities, Challenges and Resources

MWTA Winter Social! Thursday, January 19, 2006 Flannery’s Bar and Restaurant - EAST BAR

February Program   http://www.mwta.com/Events2.asp  Thursday, February 2, 2006

4:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Radisson Hotel Milwaukee West 2303 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, WI Read more

January 11 - 13, 2006 - Jacksonville, Florida - AAPA Facilities Engineering Seminar. Contact: (703) 684-5700 or visit http://www.aapa-ports.org

January 30 - 31, 2005 - Washington, D.C. - MarineLog Maritime and Port Security 2006 Conference and Expo.  http://www.marinelog.com

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Advance Electronic Cargo FAQ- Updated December 15, 2005

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/ace/ace_faq.xml

U.S. CBP Initiative under the Trade Act 2002: Frequently Asked Questions about Advance Cargo Reporting

The Best of 2005

http://www.fimoculous.com/year-review-2005.cfm

Lists of the best of 2005 in just about any category you can imagine