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INTERPOL and Hong Kong Customs Join Forces to Improve Regional Police and Customs Anti-Counterfeiting Co-operation

(Web Newswire)

Greater emphasis on the leadership role of police and customs and the benefits of working collaboratively is the focus of the 2010 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property (IP) Crime Conference which opened today (October 19) in Hong Kong.

The conference is the first to be held in Asia and brings together some 500 law specialist IP crime investigators, prosecutors and private sector investigators from 48 countries. Co-hosted by INTERPOL and Hong Kong Customs in partnership with Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), the three-day event (19-21 October) concentrates on collective efforts to work together to break organized crime. It will include a series of operational workshops to enable subject matter experts to discuss how all those affected by counterfeiting and piracy can better work together to break up the organized criminal gangs which manufacture and distribute fake goods on a regional and increasingly global scale. Read more here.

Related: Text of AG Holder's Remarks Before Intellectual Property Summit in China

GAO Recommends Minor Fixes for ISF

(American Shipper)

Industry and government implementation of the Importer Security Filing this year has gone quite smoothly, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection should tighten some of the justifications for the original rule and speed up integrating the data into its antiterrorist screening system, a congressional watchdog agency said Tuesday.[...]

The GAO noted that CBP has not finalized how it will identify risk factors in ISF data and assign a weighted score for use in its automated targeting system (ATS). That means that so far the data isn’t being systematically analyzed for national security threats, although it is being used to double-check parties involved in a transaction against federal crime databases. But the submission of vessel stowage plans by carriers has led to the identification of more than 1,000 containers placed on board without required manifests, closing a potential security loophole. Read more here.

U.S. Producers of Plastic Grocery and Shopping Bags Applaud Investigation and Conviction of Importers Engaged in Illegal Circumvention of Antidumping

(KansasCity.com)

Owners of a Chicago-area importer, S&P Plastics, Inc., were sentenced last month for their role in defrauding U.S. Customs and failing to pay antidumping duties on imports of plastic grocery and shopping bags (referred to as polyethylene retail carrier bags, or “PRCBs”) from China. Young Seung Shin and Peili Ding admitted to falsely declaring certain entries of shopping bags as not subject to an antidumping order on PRCBs from China. The two were sentenced to prison terms of six months and twelve months, respectively, and are subject to additional fines and forfeiture of $182,871 attributable to the lost duties. In addition, the government seized all containers of the bags at issue that had not yet cleared Customs.

These convictions arose out of a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”), and were conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Joe Dorn, a partner at the law firm of King & Spalding and counsel to the PRCB Committee, an ad hoc coalition of U.S. plastic bag manufacturers, applauded the government’s enforcement efforts. “We greatly appreciate the dedication and hard work of ICE, Customs, and the U.S. Attorney in Chicago which resulted in these convictions and which demonstrate that illegal circumvention of antidumping orders on plastic bags will not be tolerated,” said Mr. Dorn. Read more here.

Busted at the Border: $2.3B in Goods Seized by Customs Last Year

(QMI Agency/Toronto Sun)

Canadian officials seized illicit goods worth more than $2.3 billion at the border last year — including stashes of date-rape drugs valued at $1.4 billion.

Records obtained by QMI Agency under Access to Information show huge hauls of booze, drugs, tobacco, guns and other prohibited weapons stopped at air, land and sea ports. Animals, birds, explosives, currency and jewelry were also confiscated under the Customs Act. The most valuable seizure was of GHB - gamma hydroxybutyric... Read more here.

USTR Accepts Petition Against Chinese Policies on Green Technologies but Delays Talks

(World Trade Interactive)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has accepted a United Steelworkers petition and initiated a Section 301 investigation into Chinese policies on trade and investment in environmentally friendly technologies. However, USTR also said it would wait 90 days to determine whether to request dispute settlement consultations on this issue with China at the World Trade Organization. The delay suggests that there is a political dimension to the decision and leaves open the possibility that USTR could ultimately decide not to pursue the matter at all.

According to USTR, the USW petition alleges that China employs a wide range of WTO-inconsistent policies that protect and unfairly support its domestic producers of wind and solar energy products, advanced batteries, energy-efficient vehicles and other products as it seeks to become the dominant global supplier of these goods. These policies allegedly include export restraints, prohibited subsidies, discrimination against foreign companies and imported goods, technology transfer requirements and domestic subsidies causing serious prejudice to U.S. interests. USTR has now agreed to investigate whether these alleged acts, policies and practices deny U.S. rights or benefits under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, the WTO Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement and China’s protocol of accession to the WTO.

There are several points to note about the timing and nature of USTR’s announcement, all of which should be viewed in the context of the upcoming congressional elections and the fact that trade with China has been a major campaign issue with key constituencies. Read more here.

Five Lessons from Germany About Winning on Exports

(Wall Street Journal Blogs – Ed Gershwin)

Sprechen Sie Trade?

When it comes to exports, the United States could learn something from Germany.

In the second quarter, Germany’s economy grew at a blistering annual rate of 9%, almost all of which was due to robust exports. In August, German manufacturing orders expanded by a healthy 3.4%, driven by strong foreign demand for products like Audis in China. America’s economy is four times larger than Germany’s, but Germans export more manufactured goods than us, and those exports account for over a third of Germany’s GDP.

Germany exports aggressively because it must. Unlike the United States, where private consumption fueled 70% of our economy in pre-crisis years, Germany’s famously frugal consumers contribute only 57%. Germans can only prosper if exports fill the gap.

But after being battered by recession, America’s consumers are now almost Germanic – saving more and spending less. Economists estimate that, over the next several years, the private sector share of U.S. GDP will remain about three percentage points below 2003-07 levels.

President Obama is wisely seeking to close this gap – and to create good American jobs – by doubling U.S. exports, but there are no magic formulas for doing this. So, as it pursues this vital goal, America might ask: “What would Dieter do?” Read more here.

Adoption of Container Security Technologies Faces Many Hurdles

(World Trade Interactive)

While the Department of Homeland Security has been working for many years to develop and implement technologies to increase the security of international cargo containers, those efforts have yielded only moderate success to date, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. In addition, there are a number of substantial challenges ahead, including buy-in from the international trade community, foreign countries and international organizations.

Technologies Under Development

The report identifies four container security technology projects currently at various stages of development.

• the Advanced Container Security Device, to detect intrusion on all six sides of a container

• the Container Security Device, to detect the opening or removal of container doors

• the Hybrid Composite Container, a lightweight container with an embedded sensor grid to detect intrusion on all six sides

• the Marine Asset Tag Tracking System, to track containers

The ACSD and Hybrid Composite Container technologies have not yet completed laboratory testing, but the CSD and MATTS are proceeding to testing in an operational environment, which will determine if they can operate in the global supply chain. However, the report points out that the testing DHS plans to conduct is limited to the maritime environment and does not fully address all of the operational scenarios being considered. The report therefore recommends that DHS move to Phase II trade lane testing to better determine if these technologies will be suitable for use in their intended operational environments. Read more here.

Manufacturers Will Continue to Expand, but at Slower Pace

(Industry Week)

The U.S. manufacturing sector has held up well during an uneven economic recovery and should continue to expand, but likely at a slower pace, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. The group’s September 2010 composite index fell slightly to 77% from a record high 81% in the June 2010 report.

It marks the fourth straight quarter it has reached 50% or above, the benchmark between contraction and expansion. In year-over-year comparisons, the current index is over twice that of the 38% in the September 2009 survey, signaling an impressive turnaround for industry.

“Although some indexes based on year-over-year comparisons fell slightly, all remain at very high levels,” said Donald A. Norman, Ph.D., MAPI Economist.”The forward looking indexes, based on expectations for annual orders, investment, and R&D spending in the coming calendar year, were all at high levels. Especially encouraging is the continued improvement in the capacity utilization index. The pace of expansion may have slowed, but growth is expected to continue.” Read more here.

The Weekly Scope: Technical Bulletins from GHY at a Glance

An updated list of recently published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending October 15, 2010 is now available on our website here.

Canada Exports to U.S. Grow, Shrink Trade Deficit

(Reuters – Louise Egan and Howaida Sorour)

Canada increased its exports to the United States in August after two months of declines, helping shrink the country's trade deficit more than expected in a welcome sign for third-quarter economic growth.

A 2.7% jump in shipments to the flagging U.S. market, which bought 74% of total Canadian exports, boosted Canada's trade surplus with its neighbor for the first time in eight months, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. Passenger car sales led the rise in exports to the U.S.

The export rebound narrowed the overall trade deficit to C$1.35 billion ($1.35 billion) from a revised C$2.55 billion in July, compared with the market forecast of a C$2.40 billion shortfall. Read more here.

Summary statistics and links to the data files are on the Statistics Canada website here. Export and import price indexes can be found here.

U.S. Trade Deficit Widens Sharply to $46.3B in August as Gap with China Hits High

(Associated Press via Canadian Business)

The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in August, reflecting a surge in imports of consumer products as businesses restocked their shelves in hopes of a pickup in consumer demand.

The politically sensitive deficit with China climbed to an all-time high, a development that was certain to increase pressure on the Obama administration to take a tougher line on trade issues including China's tightly controlled currency.

The Commerce Department said Thursday the deficit in August increased 8.8% to US$46.3 billion. Exports edged up a slight 0.2% but this increase was swamped by a 2.1% jump in imports. Read more here.

Bisphenol A Officially Declared Toxic by Canada

(FoodProductionDaily.com – Rory Harrington)

Canada became the first country in the world yesterday [October 13] to declare bisphenol A (BPA) to be a toxic substance that poses risks to human health and the environment. The announcement by the Canadian Health and Environment Ministries confirmed the chemical had formally been added Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).

“The Government of Canada has a strong record of taking action on Bisphenol A to protect the environment and health of Canadians,” said Environment Minister Jim Prentice. “We are continuing our leadership on this issue and...working hard to monitor and manage Bisphenol A.”

BPA is an industrial chemical used to make a hard, clear plastic such as re-usable polycarbonate baby bottles. It is also used in the manufacture of epoxy resins, which act as a protective lining on the inside of metal-based food and beverage cans. Read more here.

Children’s Products Covered by Product Safety Law Defined in CPSC Final Rule

(World Trade Interactive)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a final interpretative rule that provides additional guidance on the factors considered when evaluating what is a children’s product covered by the requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

The CPSIA defined “children’s product” as a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. This law also specifies certain factors that are to be taken into consideration when making a determination about whether a consumer product meets this definition, including the manufacturer’s intended use of the product; the packaging, display, promotion and advertising of the product; consumer perception; and the CPSC’s Age Determination Guidelines. Read more here.

Trade Officials Ponder China’s Rare Earth Stance

(New York Times – Keith Bradsher)

As a three-week-long Chinese suspension in exports of crucial minerals to Japan continues, American and Japanese trade officials have been considering whether to file cases against China at the World Trade Organization.

Trade lawyers say an embargo case could be brought to the WTO, although they said it might be a hard case to win because China has not acknowledged the halt in exports through any documents or public statements.

Coincidentally, Obama administration trade officials had been quietly meeting for months with executives and lawyers from a range of American industries that use rare earth elements, long before China halted shipments to Japan on Sept. 21, according to trade lawyers and Congressional and industry officials.

Many of those American industries are unhappy that China has been reducing its rare earth export quotas since 2006 and has imposed steep taxes on the exports, said Jeff Green, a Washington lobbyist for rare earth users. The export restrictions have given a competitive advantage to manufacturers in China that use rare earths to make their products, while putting foreign rivals at a disadvantage, according to a little-noticed WTO study last June. Read more here.

Commodity Oddity

(Export Development Canada – Peter G. Hall)

May, 2010 was just a few days old when the world economy hit a troubling inflection point. Concerns about the viability of Southern European economies combined with slowing growth to sour recovery hopes. Pundits are now proclaiming modest growth in unison, but commodity markets must have the earplugs in. Prices should be falling, but instead they are going the other way. What’s going on?

Commodity prices generally line up well with the economic cycle. The CRB spot price index, a weighted average of all commodity prices, fell during the recessions of the early 1980s and the early 1990s, the global turbulence in 1997-98, the 2001 slowdown and most dramatically in the recent Great Recession. The world economy slowed abruptly in the second quarter of this year, and third-quarter growth weakened further. In stark contrast to this consistent historical record, today’s prices are high and pushing toward the early-2008 peak. Is this, as some believe, a new reality?

Read more and/or watch the video here.

Customs Notice 10-017: United States Loaded Freight Remaining On Board (FROB) Cargo

(CBSA)

1. This Customs Notice (CN) does not serve as a change, modification, or update to the final resolution rendered in CN10-015 (issued on September 17, 2010). Rather, this CN clarifies transmission requirements pertaining to the final resolution issued regarding US-loaded FROB cargo.

2. Pursuant to CN10-007, the purpose of this customs notice is to notify industry that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has reached a final resolution with regard to the grace period for Advance Commercial Information (ACI) transmission requirements for US-loaded FROB cargo. Based on a thorough analytical review of all information acquired, the following determinations are issued:
a. The exemption for ACI notification of US-loaded FROB cargo is extended until December 31, 2010.
b. Effective January 1, 2011, the CBSA will require ACI transmissions for US-loaded FROB cargo as per current CBSA policy.

3. Prime cargo reports (SO83) as well as supplementary cargo reports (SO687) will be required for US-loaded FROB cargo upon the expiry of the grace period.

4. Until the implementation date, marine carriers are encouraged to transmit US-loaded FROB cargo information to the CBSA in order to achieve full compliance upon the full implementation date.

5. During the interim period, the CBSA will be in a position to provide guidance and assist its clients in meeting the ACI obligations related to US-loaded FROB set forth by this customs notice.

6. Please direct any questions concerning this notice to:

Helene Porter
Manager, Commercial Unit, Advance Information and Programs Division
Pre-Border Programs Directorate, Programs Branch,
Canada Border Services Agency
E-mail: Helene.Porter@cbsa.gc.ca, Telephone: 905-308-8556

Fewer SMEs Exporting Than in 2000: CIBC

(The Toronto Sun – QMI Agency)

The number of small businesses in the export business is falling, and the low level of internationalization carries a significant cost to the wider economy, including lost jobs, CIBC World Markets said in a report Tuesday.

Only 9% of Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises are in the export business today, down from 10.7% in 2000, a troubling trend given the importance of emerging markets to the global economic recovery.

CIBC estimates the moderate decline in SME trade activity over the last decade impacted no less than 300,000 jobs in terms of actual job loss and foregone opportunities. Read more here.

Van Loan Tours Middle Eastern Countries, Talks Trade

(CTV News – The Canadian Press)

International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan is touring parts of the Middle East in a week-long effort to boost trade and encourage investment in Canada.

Much of the trip will be spent in Saudi Arabia where he will meet with his counterparts to lay the groundwork for better business relations between the two countries. Van Loan told the Saudi English newspaper Arab News he plans to discuss full access to the Saudi beef market, co-operation in the agriculture sector and the Kingdom’s threat to ban certain BlackBerry services. [...]

The newspaper also reports Van Loan will witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding committing both countries to strengthening their relationship in the health-care field. Read more here.

Chinese Exports Growth Slows

(RTT News)

China’s exports rose at a slower, although at a still marked pace in September, official figures showed on Wednesday. The slowdown in export growth dragged down the trade surplus to a five-month low.

Exports jumped 25.1% year-on-year to $145 billion, the General Administration of Customs said. This was just shy of analyst expectations for a 26% increase and comes after a 34.4% rise in the previous month.

Imports, on the other hand, climbed 24.1% to $128.1 billion, following the 35.5% increase a month ago. Economists had forecast a 25% rise.

As a result of the slowdown in exports, the trade surplus fell to a still substantial $16.9 billion from $20 billion in August. Analysts had forecast a surplus of $17.8 billion.

The large trade surplus is likely to heap more pressure on Beijing from the U.S., which runs a substnatial trade deficit with China, to let the yuan appreciate more rapidly. The U.S., which runs a huge trade deficit with China, has recently stepped up its criticism of Beijing’s exchange rate policy, claiming that the yuan is artificially undervalued to boost exports. Read more here.