GHY Tradelines

span style=”font-size:85%;”(eyefortransport)/spanbr /br /The U.S.-based National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and ISO plan to create a national information sharing system to combat cargo crime. By networking existing databases and adding secure reporting and analytic functions, the new system will enable more efficient, accurate and timely sharing of cargo-theft information between theft victims, their insurers, and law enforcement.br /br /Cargo theft is a multi-billion dollar economic drain that exploits existing gaps in the nation’s information-sharing framework.br /br /Theft victims’ inability to provide timely and accurate information about their losses hampers law enforcement’s ability to conduct an effective investigation. Aside from the immediate loss of merchandise, cargo theft affects insurers and their policyholders through added costs that are ultimately borne by consumers. Furthermore, the indirect costs of cargo theft through supply-chain interruption can jeopardise product safety when goods are taken from a controlled environment and resold to an unsuspecting public. Read more a href=”http://www.eyefortransport.com/content/insurance-industry-tackles-cargo-theft”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(World Trade Interactive)/spanbr /br /Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urged attendees of the Americas Competitiveness Forum in Chile September 28 to avoid “the protectionist temptation” in developing policies to restore economic growth. Locke also discussed a number of regional trade issues in separate meetings with his counterparts from various countries.br /br /In his remarks at the opening of the ACF, Locke said that “some inevitably succumb to the allure of turning inward and closing off markets” in challenging economic times but that “we cannot let this happen again.” The history of the past century, he said, teaches that economic crises can and will happen and that during these times some will advocate limiting trade, closing off borders and protecting domestic industries. But “protectionism does not work,” Locke emphasized, and “protectionist policies invite trade wars and reduce living standards for us all.” He acknowledged that some U.S.-backed market reforms “have failed to deliver as promised” but said “the solution to these problems is not to abandon markets altogether” but to “make them work better, even as we build stronger social safety nets to catch those who fall through the cracks.” Read more a href=”http://www.strtrade.com/wti/wti.asp?pub=0amp;story=32095amp;date=10%2F6%2F2009amp;company”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Tire Business)/spanbr /br /Considering the depth and breadth of testimony against higher tariffs on Chinese consumer tires, it’s surprising the Obama administration chose to raise them to the extent it did – an additional 35% in the first year, followed by 30% and then 25% in 2010-11 and 2011-12.br /br /Predictably, the first consequence of the decision is higher wholesale tire prices, to be followed soon by higher retail prices, meaning consumers are the ones who’ll end up bearing the additional cost, as forewarned by the opponents of the tariffs.br /br /After reviewing the arguments for and against tariffs, it seemed apparent some sort of compromise, a hybrid solution if you will, was called for that would have appeased the United Steelworkers (USW) while at the same time not risking a possible trade skirmish with China. The union sought the sanctions/tariffs in the first place and is part of the organized labor movement that played a key role in Mr. Obama’s election.br /br /A compromise might have combined both import restrictions, which the USW sought, and tariffs, which the International Trade Commission recommended.br /br /For instance, the administration could have allowed a certain level of imports – perhaps up to the 21 million the USW sought – to come in under the existing tariff structure (4% of value), and then start imposing tariffs on imports over that amount. More developments on this issue at a href=”http://www.tirebusiness.com/subscriber/headlines.phtml”Tire Business/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Minister of International Trade)/spanbr /br /The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, today [Monday] issued the following statement on the decision of the London Court of International Arbitration Tribunal that Canada did not cure its breach of the Softwood Lumber Agreement:br /br /strong“We are disappointed that the Tribunal did not accept Canada’s proposed solution to cure the breach. We continue to believe that our offer to pay $46.7 million was fair. However, there is no further route for appeal.br /br /“The Government will comply with the Tribunal’s decision, as we remain committed to the success of the Softwood Lumber Agreement. This agreement has brought stability and has returned nearly $5 billion to the industry. This is a complex matter. We are reviewing the decision and consulting with the provinces to determine how best to move forward.”/strongbr /br /The Tribunal’s decision states that the compensatory adjustments to Canada’s export charges must be imposed until the amount of $68.26 million identified by the Tribunal in its ruling on February 26, 2009, has been collected.br /br /The breach is related to the use of the adjustment factor in the calculation of the volume of exports to the United States. Canada applied the adjustment factor to some provinces beginning July 2007, but the Tribunal said that we should have applied it beginning January 2007.br /br /The 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement ended a long-standing dispute that had resulted in years of punishing duties against Canadian exports. Through the Agreement, $4.5 billion US in duties collected by the U.S. was returned to Canadian companies, bringing a significant infusion of capital into the industry and benefiting workers and communities across Canada.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Office of the Prime Minister)/spanbr /span style=”font-size:85%;”br //spanPrime Minister Stephen Harper today [Monday] presented the Government’s latest report on the implementation of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The Third Report to Canadians entitled “Staying on Course” shows that 90% of the stimulus funding for this fiscal year has now been committed to more than 7,500 infrastructure and housing projects. More than 4,000 of these projects have begun in the first six months of the 24-month plan.br /br /View the iThird Report To Canadians/i a href=”http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/eng/feature.asp?pageId=143″ target=”_blank”here/a.br /br /For more information about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, and projects happening in communities across Canada, please visit a href=”http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/” target=”_blank”http://www.actionplan.gc.ca//a