Transport, Trade and Regulation News

India will be the fastest growing market for U.S. exports in the future, according to a report recently released by HSBC Commercial Banking.

When the George W. Bush administration signed the Central America Free Trade Agreement in 2004, skeptics were assured the new pact would expand trade and foreign direct investment between the U.S. and six of the least industrialized countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 5.9 percent, at 1.37 million 20-equivalent units, in November...

Rijkswaterstaat, the executive arm of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, recently signed a “design, build, finance, maintain” contract with Royal Boskalis Westminster, VolkerWessels, Hochtief and DIF...

With a pro-free trade Congress and two major pacts on the horizon, Obama can get aggressive in opening up markets for U.S. importers and exporters.

Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department today reported that the region’s volume of exports of goods in September increased 13.6 percent from September 2011.

The European Commission has proposed suspending the inclusion of international aviation in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme...

The National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and USA Poultry & Egg Export Council and more than 500 other organizations under the Coalition for U.S.-Russia Trade recently called on Congress to quickly approve the enactment of permanent normal trade relations with Russia.

The Japanese economy shrank 0.9 percent in the July-September quarter from the preceding quarter, or at an annualized pace of 3.5 percent, in real terms, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report on Monday.

Canada’s unionized labor force is undergoing demographic changes and a generational shift in priorities that are changing long-established ways that transportation and waterfront employers address contract negotiations and work rules.

The appointment of a new Customs and Border Protection commissioner might be still be a year off despite President Obama’s re-election.

For the fifth straight election cycle, voters got onboard with issuing bonds or raising taxes to increase road and bridge construction, as local and state government learn to rely less on federal dollars.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection today named Pete Flores as its new director of field operations in San Diego.

The commissioners of the United States International Trade Commission determined Nov. 7, in a 6-0 vote, that the U.S. market is negatively impacted by crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules imported from China.

Malaysia and the member nations of the European Free Trade Association – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – recently began negotiations on a free trade agreement between the two sides.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy held a meeting in New Delhi today, agreeing to cooperate in renewable energy...

India’s food processing sector has been growing faster than agriculture and manufacturing, which has the potential to earn foreign exchange by export of value-added farm produce...

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security has proposed a rule that would require voluntary self-disclosures of violations of the Export Administration Regulations...

Michigan voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot initiative that could have prevented the construction of a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, according to reports.

The world economy is generating headwinds for Canada; nevertheless, the outlook is brightening, a Royal Bank of Canada economist says.

Natural gas provider Clean Energy Fuels recently reported a net loss of $16.3 million in the third quarter, compared with a net loss of $11.4 million in the third quarter of 2011.

Expectations that exports will lead the U.S. economic recovery are increasing the burden on exporters and freight forwarders to update their internal compliance programs to abide by commercial regulations and security requirements.

U.S. beef and pork exports are trending lower in volume but up in value from the record year in 2011, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

Few voters heading to the polls today will make their decision based on freight transportation and trade policy issues, but that won’t stop the election results from affecting shippers and transport providers in the years to come.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States is offering help to exporters in areas that have been declared federal disaster areas because of the impact of Hurricane Sandy.

Transportation and warehousing employment increased 2.2 percent in October from a year ago, but was essentially flat from the previous month.

Three key economic indicators suggest that Chinese manufacturing is recovering after being hit by months of decreased European and U.S. demand.

Hurricane Sandy is pounding the East Coast with severe winds and record-breaking surges.

Officials from the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation have signed a co-financing agreement to facilitate future export transactions...

U.S. steel imports in September were 2.44 million tons, a decline of 8.8 percent compared with 2.67 million tons in August...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Oct. 24 in a Federal Register Notice that it is formalizing and expanding the Air Cargo Advance Screening pilot...

The central message of a study by the Federal Maritime Commission on the impact of the harbor maintenance fee on cargo routing might well be that the lack of a national freight policy, rather than the burden of the tax itself, is compromising the competitiveness of U.S. ports.

New Zealand has submitted proposals to the Global Shippers’ Forum, representing the freight transportation industry, to withdraw antitrust immunity for international shipping services...

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — With Customs and Border Protection especially vigilant today in enforcing commercial trade regulations, a customs consultant told footwear industry executives.

The International Wood Products Association said a U.S. investigation into alleged below-cost sales of Chinese hardwood and decorative plywoods into the U.S. market could have “devastating unintended consequences.”

United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Government of Panama today agreed that...