Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Supply chains will soon feel the federal budget sequestration’s impact on Customs and Border Protection, a trade attorney warned the JOC’s 13th annual TPM Conference.

Lebanon has joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

A group of Mexican tomato growers and the U.S. Department of Commerce have signed a new agreement that will govern the import of fresh Mexican-grown tomatoes into the U.S.

Eleven national organizations representing dairy farmers and dairy industry workers have sent a letter to eight members of Congress urging them not to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal without considering the impact on dairy farms and workers.

The U.S. Council for International Business has named Robert J. Mulligan as senior vice president for policy and government affairs.

Merchandise trade showed “moderate growth” in the major economies during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Trade Statistics report.

U.S. importers face severe delays in getting their cargo cleared at major seaports and at the Canadian and Mexican borders because federal sequestration will reduce Customs and Border Protection manpower.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced its preliminary affirmative countervailing duty determination in the investigation of imports of hardwood and decorative plywood from China.

Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product will expand by 1.8 percent in 2013 and by 2.8 percent in 2014, according to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation’s Quarterly Economic Forecast...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bill Shuster and Barbara Boxer — the respective chairs of the House and Senate’s major transportation infrastructure committees — told state transportation officials Thursday that their efforts to educate the public and Congress on the nation’s infrastructure needs are essential to passing key legislation.

India’s Ministry of Finance has increased the customs duty on imported luxury goods, such as high-end motor vehicles, motorcycles, yachts and similar vehicles.

Trade barriers between the European Union and Peru will be lifted as of March 1, 2013, when the EU’s trade agreement with Peru and Colombia, signed in 2012, will be provisionally applied with Peru.

The European Union will co-finance more than €2.5 million (about US$3.3 million) from the TEN-T Programme to improve the maritime infrastructure in Lake Mälaren in Sweden to accommodate larger vessels.

A World Trade Organization dispute panel found that China’s anti-dumping duties on imports of X-ray security inspection equipment from the European Union were in breach of WTO anti-dumping rules.

China’s manufacturing growth and new orders both fell sharply in February. HSBC’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped from 52.3 in January to 50.4 this month, taking most analysts by surprise.

Sen. John Davison “Jay” Rockefeller, D-W.V., Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agricultural specialists at the Laredo, Texas, port of entry have intercepted a first-in-the-nation pest not previously encountered by Customs.

Matthew S. Davies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Chicago-area port director, was sworn into office during a Customs’ Chicago field operations change of command ceremony last week.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has applauded the House of Delegate and State Senate passage of a long-term transportation funding reform package.

The Republic of Albania has implemented the international ATA Carnet system, which allows for the temporary duty- and tax-free export or import of goods for up to one year. Albania is the 72nd country to join the system.

China Dredging Group, through its subsidiary Fujian Xing Gang Port Service; Merchant Supreme, through its subsidiary Fujian Provincial Pingtan County Ocean Fishing Group; and China Growth Equity Investment have approved...

Global trade of softwood lumber fell by about 2.5 percent in 2012, with practically all of the major lumber-consuming countries reducing important, following two years of increased trade...

Gregory So, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, and Boonsong Teriyapirom, Thailand’s Minister of Commerce, today signed a cooperation agreement in Hong Kong to strengthen trade...

The U.S. Lumber Coalition is concerned by British Columbia’s recent log export policy changes, particularly a 20 percent increase in the “fee in lieu of domestic manufacturing” applied to many log exports that will take effect on...

Shippers hoping for an extra three months of breathing room before new hours-of-service rules take effect — potentially reducing truck capacity — will be dismayed after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rejected the American Trucking Associations’ delay request.

The Federal Maritime Commission has issued a proposed rule that would require foreign-based unlicensed non-vessel-operating common carriers to register with the commission and...

Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department reported a trade deficit of HK$27.5 billion (approximately US$3.6 billion) in January.

The Michigan Department of Transportation has allocated about $187 million in contracts for 2013 to improve 80 miles of pavement and repair 15 bridges in the MDOT metro area...

The American Trucking Associations and NATSO have applauded the Virginia General Assembly for passing legislation ending the Virginia Department of Transportation’s plan to toll I-95.

The North European edition of the Global Port Tracker predicted that total European imports will decrease by 3.2 percent to 20.2 million 20-foot-equivalent units in 2013, while exports are forecasted to rise...

Customs, police and wildlife officers from Asia, Africa and the U.S. have launched a cross-border enforcement operation, known as “COBRA,” to crack down on wildlife crime syndicates.

Five individuals and two domestic honey-processing companies have been charged with federal crimes in connection with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations-led...

Though politically unpopular for Congress and the president, hiking the fuels tax for the first time in two decades appears to be the only way to maintain surface transportation spending in the short-term.

Paul “Chip” Jaenichen, deputy maritime administrator, urged state and local agencies to get involved in federal programs to improve infrastructure and boost U.S. exports.

Canadian business leaders are optimistic about their financial prospects in 2013, despite economic uncertainty...

The Executive Committee of Waterways Council has unanimously voted to support The Reinvesting in Vital Economic Rivers and Waterways Act of 2013, according to its sponsor, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn.