M.E. DEY JOINS TRADE
MISSION TO JAPAN AND CHINA
M.E. Dey
President Robert Gardenier, and Executive Vice President Sandi Siegel,
will join Governor Doyle's trade mission to China departing Milwaukee
September 10th. While in China, they
will meet with our branch partner offices in Ningbo, Shanghai and
Beijing as well as visiting the various shipping ports. If you are
currently having any challenges with your cargo moving in or out of
China, please contact our office so we can help you manage your
imports and exports to China.
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C U S T O M S
/ S E C U R I T Y |
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CBP Offers Online Fee Payment for
Border-Crossing Program
Friday, August 17, 2007
Washington
– U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today that southern
border crossers may now utilize a Web tool to apply for and
administer their participation in CBP’s Secure Electronic Network
for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) program.
more...
 CBP
Launches Online Application for Cross-Border Travel Program
New Nexus Online Application Unveiled for
Travel Program Members
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Washington,
D.C. — U.S. Customs and
Border Protection announced today that cross-border travelers
wishing to apply for Nexus privileges are now able to do so
through a new, online application system.
Nexus is a
popular, joint frequent traveler program with Canada where
applicants voluntarily undergo a background check, in-person
interview and fingerprinting, and pay a $50 five-year membership
fee. Under the new system, individuals may submit an online
application and pay the membership fee at
www.cbp.gov.
Apply Online for NEXUS and SENTRI
more... |
CBP to Sponsor Information
Exchange on Automated Trade Processing System in Atlanta
Tuesday, August 21,
2007
ATLANTA
– U.S. Customs and Border Protection has scheduled an event where
the trade community to participate can speak openly, learn about
and provide input on the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE),
the trade processing system for the United States. Registration is
now open for the free event to be held Oct. 15-17 in Atlanta.
more...
Blaine, Wash. CBP Agriculture
Specialists Intercept Scales Insect; Prevents Entry of Serious
Threat to U.S. Agriculture Industry
Friday, August 24, 2007
Blaine,
Wash.— Recently at the
Peace Arch port of entry in Blaine, Wash., a Customs and Border
Protection agriculture specialist intercepted a species of scales
insect never seen in the United States that could have caused
serious damage to American agriculture.
more...
Most border crossings now
have
armed guards
31 July 2007, CSCB
Almost all of
Ontario's major border crossings with the United States now have
at least one armed guard on duty as the federal government rolls
out a 10-year program that will eventually see all the country's
land and sea boundary officers carry guns.
more... |
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S H I P P I N
G / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N |
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Maersk
BAF increases for MED/U.S.
Effective Oct. 1, this steamship line
will increase the Bunker Adjustment Factor between Mediterranean
ports and the United States/Canada. The new surcharges will
increase to $525 from $453 per 20-foot container, and $1,050 from
$906 per 40-foot container.
TACA, Transatlantic Conference agreement
www.tacaconf.com
(members are
ACL, Maersk, Med Shipping, NYK and OOCL) whose member carriers
serve the trade between the USA and North Europe, United Kingdom
and Ireland, Scandinavia and Baltic Ports. The latest monitoring
of fuel prices continue to show escalating increases since TACA's
previous adjustment in June of this year. Accordingly, an
adjustment of TACA's BAF has been triggered with effect from
September 16th, 2007 to the following levels:
Traffic to/from and via:
Atlantic/Gulf Coast Ports
Pacific Coast Ports
$607 per 20ft container $911
per 20ft container
$1214 per 40/45ft container $1822 per 40/45ft container |
New CSI Port in Balboa, Panama
Becomes Operational
Monday, August 27, 2007
Washington
— U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today that the Port
of Balboa became the 52nd operational Container Security
Initiative port to target and pre-screen maritime cargo containers
destined for U.S. ports.
CBP joined the
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security
Administration and the government of Panama in signing a
Declaration of Principles February 12 to help prevent smuggling of
nuclear and other radioactive material through implementation of
the Container Security Initiative and Nuclear Security
Administration’s Megaports Initiative.
more...
Tracking The Elusive Shipping
Container
August 27, 2007
The world is a
very different place out beyond the horizon. Even as you read
this, there are some 40,000 large cargo ships plying the world's
waterways and oceans, not to mention innumerable smaller merchant
craft, all pulling in and out of ports, loading, unloading,
changing out crews and cargos, and steaming from one location to
the next.
In what can be
a very murky world of shadowy ship registry offices, lengthy
manifests, and dockhands who change out faster than Barbosa's
crew, how all these ships come by their cargo, how that cargo is
loaded, by what polyglot seamen and in what untamed ports, can be
an amazingly scrambled and trackless story rivaling the Pirates of
the Caribbean.
more... |
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Statement by USTR Susan C. Schwab
on monthly trade deficit numbers
08/14/2007
“June trade
data, released this morning, show that the U.S. trade deficit has
fallen by 7.7% so far this year, compared to the same period of
2006. American exports are up by 11%, more than twice as fast as
the 4.4% increase in U.S. imports. Highlighting the importance of
exports, other recently released data on the economy showed that
export expansion has accounted for 40% of U.S. economic growth
over the last year. Good trade agreements remove barriers, expand
trade and help support incomes and better paying jobs in America.
Consumers, workers, companies, farmers and ranchers benefit from
agreements to further open global markets to U.S. exports.”
US asks WTO to rule in piracy
dispute with China
Tuesday , August 14, 2007
The Bush
administration asked the World Trade Organization to rule in a
complaint against China over piracy of copyrighted movies, music,
software and books, escalating a dispute that has roiled
commercial relations.
The US Trade
Representative's office took the formal step of asking the
Geneva-based arbiter to decree that China's laws fall short of
international agreements after consultations failed to resolve
differences over what the US argues are weak Chinese laws to
safeguard patents and copyrights.
more...
Under Secretary Mancuso Travels to
Israel for Discussions on Enhancing Bilateral High-Tech Trade
WASHINGTON - The Commerce
Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today announced
that Mario Mancuso, Under Secretary for Industry and Security,
will travel to Israel, visiting Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem,
from August 27-30, 2007. Under Secretary Mancuso will meet with
senior government officials and business leaders to discuss
dual-use export control cooperation, high-technology trade and
investment issues.
"The United
States and Israel have a unique strategic partnership and share a
mutual interest in enhancing secure high technology trade and
investment," said Under Secretary Mancuso. "A robust export
control and high technology dialogue will help advance the
economic and security interests of our two nations, and I look
forward to working with my colleagues from the Government of
Israel on these important issues."
Under Secretary
Mancuso also commended the Israelis for the significant progress
they have made towards implementing a comprehensive export control
program.
Under Secretary
Mancuso will participate in meetings with the Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Labor, the Ministry of Defense, and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He will also meet with Israeli and
U.S. business leaders to discuss ways to promote secure high
technology trade and investment. |
U.S. begins arbitration
process over lumber deal
08 August 2007, CSCB
The U.S.
government has launched arbitration proceedings in what will be
the first major test of the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber agreement.
It claims
Canada is violating terms of the year-old treaty by pushing too
much B.C. and Alberta lumber into the U.S. market and by
forest-industry support programs offered by Ontario and Quebec.
more...
The Office of the United States Trade
Representative
Joint Statement on 2007 NAFTA
Commission Meeting
08/14/2007
2007 NAFTA
Commission Meeting
Vancouver, Canada – August 14, 2007
Joint Statement
The Honourable
David Emerson, Canada’s Minister of International Trade; Eduardo
Sojo, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy; and Ambassador Susan C.
Schwab, United States Trade Representative, are pleased to release
the following Joint Statement, which outlines the overall results
of the August 14th, 2007, meeting of the NAFTA Free Trade
Commission (FTC), in Vancouver, Canada. The three Ministers noted
that the work accomplished at this meeting would help lay the
foundation for the upcoming North American Leaders Summit in
Montebello from August 20-21, 2007.
more...
Tonga becomes the 151st
member of WTO
The WTO, on 27
July 2007 welcomed the Kingdom of Tonga as its newest member.
Tonga applied for accession to the WTO in June 1995, but
negotiations effectively started in April 2001.The terms of
membership, which include the Report of the Working Party for the
Accession of Tonga, the Protocol of Accession, and the Schedules
of Tonga’s commitments on Market Access for Goods and Services,
were adopted by the WTO at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in
December 2005.
Tonga ratified
its accession package on 27 June 2007 which was the final step in
the accession process before Tonga could officially join the WTO.
Under WTO rules, a country becomes a member 30 days after national
ratification.
“I am very
pleased to welcome Tonga as a new member. It is important for the
WTO to continue facilitating fuller integration into the world
economy of small developing countries such as Tonga” said Director
General Pascal Lamy.
Tonga is one of
the world's smallest economies with a population of approximately
116,000 and an area of 748 sq km. Trade accounts for 54% of GDP.
Its annual growth reached 1.9% in 2006 and its major Industries
are agriculture (41% of GDP) and fisheries (20% of exports).
Tonga's main trading partners are Japan, the United States, New
Zealand and Australia. |
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Amid another
recall, China defends
its exports
03 August 2007,
CSCB
China on
Thursday again defended its products after Mattel Inc. said it was
recalling 1.5 million Chinese-made toys worldwide because their
paint may contain too much lead.
The recalled
toys made for Mattel's Fisher-Price unit include popular preschool
characters such as Elmo and Big Bird and dozens of other items.
The case is the latest in a deluge of product safety scares that
have tainted the "made in China" brand.
Vice Commerce
Minister Gao Hucheng reiterated that Chinese products were
overwhelmingly safe, and called on foreign media not to hype the
problems of a small minority of goods or companies, Reuters
reported. "When problems occur, we never shirk, have always sought
truth from the facts and responsibly deal with them," Gao said in
a statement on his ministry's Web site.
more...
China to ban tobacco promotion by
2011
www.chinaview.cn
2007-08-29
BEIJING, Aug.
29 -- China, the world's largest tobacco producer and consumer,
will ban all forms of tobacco promotion by January 2011.
A ban on
tobacco advertising has been in place since 1996, but firms have
managed to sidestep the rules and promote their brands in other
more subtle ways such as sponsoring sporting events, or using
their logos without mentioning "cigarettes" on television, radio
and in newspapers and magazines.
more... |
New US scanning law will hit Asia
hardest: shippers
August 16, 2007
A new US law
aimed at 100 per cent scanning of US-destined containers in
foreign ports by 2012 will hit Asia the hardest, resulting in
'gridlock', according to the Asian Shippers' Council.
Gorgeous night landscapes in China
www.chinaview.cn
2007-08-29
The night landscape of
Shanghai.(Source: Xinhuanet Forum)
The night landscape of
Dongguan. (Source: Xinhuanet Forum) |
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U P C O M I N
G E V E N T S
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ICE Meeting:
September 18, 2007
A Full Day With CHRIS KUEHL at Boerner
Botanical Gardens, Hales Corners WI
"IT'S NOT ENTIRELY ABOUT GLOBAL
WARMING & THE SUB-PRIME MARKET: A SOMEWHAT LESS HYSTERICAL LOOK AT
PROSPECTS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY"
Chris is the Co-founder of Armada Corporate
Intelligence and the Editor and publisher of Strategic Global
Intelligence. The publication provides information on political and
economic trends that affect business decisions and is distributed
through World Trade Centers globally.
NEXT MEETING - 11/13/07
Frank Reynolds Presents INCOTERMS 2000
Experts Speak on
the Chinese Currency: Trajectory, Policies, and Strategies for U.S.
Business
Date: Monday,
September 24, 2007 Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Location: Fluno Center for Executive Education, Rm. 201, UW-Madison
Registration is
required for this event.
Time: 5:30 - 6:30 PM: Registration, Networking, and Hors
d’oeuvres
6:30 – 8:00 PM: Presentations, Discussion, and Dinner
Location: Fluno Center for Executive Education, Room 201
601 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53715-1035
An Opportunity to Learn Chinese
Online
Course Fees as
of July 1, 2007:
$843 for Wisconsin
residents $1,041 for Minnesota residents
$2,592 for non-residents
Classes begin
September 4; all courses are taught online, there is no need to visit
the Madison campus.
The
Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business is partnering
with the UW-Madison Language on this innovative initiative.
October 4, 2007 -
MWTA October Program
The Wisconsin Club,
900 W. Wisconsin
Avenue Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Event Schedule:
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4-5:30 p.m. |
Program I :
International Trade Compliance
Introduction, Classification & Country of Origin
The global market offers exciting opportunities
for Wisconsin companies to expand and grow. While benefiting
from the expansion of world trade, businesses must be aware of
the regulations in place that govern the movement of goods and
services across borders. This session will introduce the broad
topic of International Trade Compliance and more importantly,
explain what Trade Compliance means to local exporters and
importers. In addition, two key compliance elements,
Classification and Country of Origin, will be addressed.
Ulice Payne Jr. is the President of Addison-Clifton, LLC.
Mr. Payne will provide an overview of how your company can
manage its Trade Compliance responsibilities. |
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5-6 p.m. |
Networking
( in the Deutcher Room) |
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6-8:00 p.m. |
Program II
Dinner and Program II:
Transatlantic Trade: The US and UK
Biography: Brendan Doyle Regional Director UK Trade & Investment
(North - Chicago)
Brendan Doyle, UKTI USA Regional Director (North) based at the
British Consulate General in Chicago, took up his post in August
2006. Brendan is responsible for the operations of UK Trade &
Investment, the UK Government’s international business
development organization, in the Northern US states. |
for more information:
http://www.mwta.com/Events.asp
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