GHY Tradelines

span style=”font-size:85%;”(CBSA)br //spanbr /strongAdvance Commercial Information (ACI) Exemption for Goods on Board a Conveyance That Enters Canadian Waters While it is Proceeding Directly From One Place Outside of Canada to Another Place Outside of Canada/strongbr /br /The purpose of a href=”http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn10-006-eng.html”this customs notice/a is to advise that effective April 1, 2010, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will no longer require Advance Commercial Information (ACI) for goods on board of a conveyance that enters Canadian waters while it is proceeding directly from one place outside of Canada to another place outside of Canada.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(CBSA)br //spanbr /The purpose of a href=”http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn10-007-eng.html”this customs notice/a is to notify industry that Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) will further extend the grace period for Advance Commercial Information (ACI) notification requirements for U.S.-loaded FROB cargo until September 30, 2010.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Reuters – Steven C. Johnson and Jonathan Cable)br //spanbr /Factories in the United States, Europe and Asia cranked up production last month, suggesting recovery from a deep recession was taking root in economies around the globe.br /br /The U.S. manufacturing sector grew at its fastest pace in more than five years last month and activity in Europe bounced higher, with a cheaper euro helping stimulate exports. UK manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace since 1994, while China’s vast industrial sector also grew in March.br /br /U.S. stock indexes rose along with equity markets across Europe and Asia as the data bolstered hopes the worst global downturn in generations was ending. Read more a href=”http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6300PI20100401″here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(International Freighting Weekly – Gavin van Marle, Lloyd’s List)/spanbr /br /strongShippers suffer as box carriers seek higher returns from Asia/strongbr /br /Indian exporters and western apparel retailers are facing a congestion nightmare as containers pile up at India’s ports and container shipping lines operating out of Asia give the country a wide berth en route to Europe.br /br /Grant Liddell, key account director at leading UK logistics provider Uniserve, said trade out of India was prone to severe delays. “It is exactly like the situation was out of China in November, when it was really difficult to get space on vessels to Europe and air freight was also suffering massive congestion,” he said. “Once again we are seeing congestion of the two combining, following the reduction of capacity by both shipping lines and airlines.”br /br /Western India Shippers’ Association vice-president K Venkatesh said the situation was likely to get worse before it gets better. “At a conservative estimate, there are between 20,000 and 35,000 boxes lying around India at the moment, especially in the arc between Nhava Sheva and Tuticorin, and the lines have not so far been able to clear this backlog,” Read more a href=”http://www.maritime-connector.com/NewsDetails/7446/lang/English/Containers-pile-up-as-lines-skip-India-on-way-to-Europe.wshtml”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Jeff Plungis — Bloomberg)/spanbr /br /The U.S. trade office rapped the Chinese government in a report… for imposing procurement and import restrictions that harm American companies, while steering clear of the debate over currency policy. China’s proposal to buy only software and equipment made in that nation discriminates against foreign competitors, the Trade Representative’s office said in an annual report on barriers to U.S. goods and services worldwide. The Obama administration is examining the Asian nation’s regulations and tax policies.br /br /The report doesn’t mention China’s policies on valuing its currency, the renminbi, as one of the impediments to U.S. exports. China, which has held the renminbi, or yuan, at about 6.83 per dollar for the past 20 months to aid exporters, has been criticized by U.S. lawmakers who are looking for the trade office to pursue retaliatory action through import tariffs.br /br /The trade office instead focused on other complaints by U.S. businesses including the proposal to limit government purchases of computer and other technology equipment containing what China has labeled “indigenous innovation.”br /br /“The Obama administration is following through on its commitment to call out and break down barriers to American exports worldwide,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement. Read more a href=”http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-31/u-s-trade-office-targets-china-s-procurement-policy-update1-.html”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(DFAIT)/spanbr /br /The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) is requesting input on areas for increased cooperation amongst Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to reduce “significant regulatory-based differences” that hamper Canadian competitiveness. A copy of the Notice published in the emCanada Gazette/em is available a href=”http://www.iecanada.com/ietoday/mar_10/DFAIT_Consultation.doc”here/a.br /br /Interested parties have until May 26, 2010 to file submissions with DFAIT identifying opportunities to reduce significant barriers in a range of areas including: standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures for industrial and agricultural products, as well as sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(CBP)br //spanbr /U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a new facility to help enhance information sharing across the nearly 60,000-person organization. The new Intelligence and Operations Coordination Center will serve as the “one-stop-shop” for operations coordination and information sharing across the operational entities within the agency, including Field Operations, Border Patrol and Air and Marine. A formal ribbon-cutting event with local officials was held to officially open this first-of-its-kind facility.br /br /“CBP has evolved as an agency created in the wake of 9/11. The implementation of this coordination center enables CBP to transform into a more intelligence-driven organization and ensures the continuity and sustainability of national border security,” said CBP Acting Deputy Commissioner David V. Aguilar. “This team, working with our state and local partners, will play a vital role in protecting our country and our way of life.”br /br /One of Customs and Border Protection’s primary goals it to become a more intelligence-driven organization and the IOCC will help provide more real-time insight to local decision-makers and frontline officers and agents. The IOCC establishes a centralized location for CBP field leadership to plan and coordinate joint operations and share intelligence with CBP operational components and law enforcement and intelligence partners.br /br /The IOCC also has the capability to serve as a principal or supplemental incident management center during natural disasters or other critical incidents in support of our Federal, State, local, and tribal partners.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(David M. Silverman, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)/spanbr /br /The .co top level domain (TLD) is being opened to the general public, and one can envision a run on registrations similar to that experienced for .com. It is easy to see why the Colombia country code, formerly available in that country only, may become very popular in the U.S. and elsewhere. For one thing, .co is the standard abbreviation for “company.” It is also a very common misspelling of .com. It has been estimated that google.co gets 15,000 hits per day by mistake.br /br /From April 26 until June 10, a window will open in which only registered trademark owners will be able to register their marks in the .co TLD. Beginning in July, however, .co will be opened to the general public. We suggest that any companies with registered marks protect those marks in the .co TLD in April, and those that do not should register their call signs, company names or nicknames as soon as possible in July. If someone else registers your call sign or company name in the .co TLD before you do, it could be very difficult and costly to recover it. Read more a href=”http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2010/03/articles/intellectual-property/new-co-top-level-domain-to-be-made-available/”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(LiveMint.com)/spanbr /br /The Canadian government is putting pressure on India to fast-track a bilateral trade deal at a time when both countries are negotiating a nuclear deal. A Canadian business delegation headed by two former ministers is in the country seeking support of the local business community for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with India.br /br /The delegation is openly critical of the Indian government’s attitude towards the trade deal. John Manley, president and chief executive of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, said they have received lukewarm response from India so far. “When we started talks with the Indian government about Cepa, we took the view that the benefits of free trade are so obvious that it is unnecessary to engage in a study. But [the] Indian government, on its part, wanted to have such a joint study,” he said. “We presented our papers towards completion of the study. We had set the target of May; it is almost April and there is no response.”br /br /However, a commerce ministry official involved in the process said both the sides have exchanged chapters. He also said he was surprised at the impatience shown by the Canadian delegation.br /br /Joseph Caron, Canada’s ambassador to India, said the impatience of the Canadian delegation is because it wants to maintain a positive momentum in the relationship between the two countries. “There is a very positive dynamics between the two countries at present. These things do not last forever,” he said. “We want to keep pushing this [CEPA] as much to the top of the agenda as we can.” Caron added that Canada wants the joint study report to be concluded at least prior to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Canada in June for a meeting of the Group of Twenty major economies (G-20). “Then we can get on the negotiating track,” he said.br /br /Bilateral merchandise trade between India and Canada stood at $3.8 billion (around Rs17,100 crore) in 2008-09 and is growing at 17.7% every year. Read more a href=”http://www.livemint.com/2010/03/30214538/Canadian-industry-wants-India.html?h=B”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Levine amp; Slavit)br //spanbr /The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a final rule providing its interpretation of the factors it must consider in determining the amount of civil penalties for knowing violations of the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and the Flammable Fabrics Act.br /br /These penalties increased substantially as of Aug. 14, 2009, to a maximum of $100,000 per violation (from $8,000) and $15 million (from $1.825 million) for a related series of violations. This final rule clarifies certain information and terms based on comments received concerning and further CPSC review of, the Commission’s Sept. 1, 2009, interim final rule. Read more a href=”http://www.newyorkinjuries.com/blog/?p=19111″here/a.