News & Information about Transborder and International Trade from GHY International
An updated list of recently published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending January 13, 2011 is now available on our website here.
Date: January 13, 2012
(CBSA)
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this communiqué is to advise clients transmitting eManifest highway carrier data to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) of the importance of transmitting an accurate Cargo Control Number (CCN).
CBSA POLICY DECISION:
When the highway carrier and shipment arrive at the border, the driver is required to provide a lead sheet to the CBSA Border Services Officer (BSO). The lead sheet will contain:
• a bar-coded Conveyance Reference Number (CRN), or
• a bar-coded Cargo Control Number (CCN) with a handwritten CRN, or
• a handwritten CRN if an alternate bar-coded document is also being presented with the lead sheet [e.g. a Pre-Arrival Review System (PARS) document with a bar-coded PARS number].
The CBSA requires a bar-code to enable the BSO to quickly scan the number into the CBSA system and link to the data transmitted prior to arrival.
The carrier will either:
a) provide the driver with a bar-coded PARS number specific to each shipment so that the carrier knows which PARS number is being used and will also use the same number when transmitting their eManifest cargo data to the CBSA prior to arrival, or
b) the driver will contact the carrier as soon as a PARS number is used for a shipment (similar to how they notify the broker today), and the carrier will then know which number to electronically transmit to the CBSA.
It is very important that all carriers understand that when using PARS, the electronically transmitted CCN must exactly match the PARS number used on arrival at the border, inclusive of the acronym “PARS”, where applied.
For example, if the bar-coded PARS number that the driver provides at the border for a shipment is “1234PARS56789”, then the CCN that the carrier electronically transmits prior to arrival must also be “1234PARS56789”. It is not a requirement to embed the letters “PARS” into a PARS number, but if a carrier does embed letters into the PARS number the driver provides at the border, then the carrier must use the identical number in their eManifest electronic cargo transmission.
Clients are also reminded to pay particular attention when using the letters “I” and “O” and the numbers “1” and “0” in their CCNs or PARS numbers that they use the same letters/numbers when quoting the CCN in both the pre-arrival eManifest transmission and in arranging for the broker’s release documents.
Carriers will experience delays at the border when the transmitted CCN does not match the PARS number provided by the driver. Additionally, carriers who have Release Notification System (RNS) capabilities will not receive RNS messages. Inaccurate CCN transmission by carriers could result in sanctions for non-compliance.
Date: January 13, 2012
(Detroit Free Press – Dawson Bell)
Billionaire Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun had a bad day Thursday. But he probably doesn’t have to worry that being jailed for contempt of court improves the chance Gov. Rick Snyder will persuade the Legislature to approve construction of a publicly owned bridge a few miles downriver from Moroun’s crossing.
Opponents of the public bridge project, which is languishing in the state Senate after it was rejected in committee last fall, said Moroun’s incarceration was irrelevant to their concerns about Snyder’s proposal.
“How Matty Moroun conducts his business is not a major concern with our members,” said Ari Adler, a spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall. “Our concerns are about the proposed new bridge, the need for it” and the potential that taxpayers could end up on the hook if it can’t pay for itself.
Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, who sponsored the bridge bill, said it was unlikely the views of lawmakers on either side of the issue would shift because Moroun and Detroit International Bridge Co. President Dan Stamper were jailed for contempt. Read more here.
Date: January 13, 2012
(Montreal Gazette)
Canada’s trade balance with the rest of the world unexpectedly swung into a surplus in November, as exports — led by energy products and automobiles — increased while imports declined.
Statistics Canada said Friday the country had a surplus of $1.07 billion during the month, compared with a revised $487-million deficit in October.
Most economists had expected a trade deficit of $500 million in November. Read more here.
Note: Summary statistics and links to the data files are on the Statistics Canada website here. Export and import price indexes can be found here.
Date: January 13, 2012
(Wall Street Journal)
The U.S. trade deficit widened for the first time in five months in November, as rising oil prices lifted imports and exports to the euro area slumped.
The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services jumped 10.4%, the biggest gain since May, to $47.75 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. The October trade gap was revised down modestly to $43.27 billion from an initial estimate of $43.47 billion.
The trade gap was much higher than forecast. Read more here.
Date: January 13, 2012
(Bloomberg)
The U.S. economy will slow early this year from the pace at the end of 2011, then accelerate and finish with annual growth of less than 3 percent, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said as the nation’s largest business group offered its forecast for 2012.
“America’s most pressing economic challenge is the lack of sufficient growth to create jobs, expand incomes, reduce government deficits, and fund essential programs,” Donohue said today in Washington during his annual speech on the state of U.S. business. [...]
Increased trade could provide more opportunities for growth, Donohue said. The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement with eight other nations can be completed this year, and free-trade accords are possible with Brazil, Egypt, India and Indonesia, he said.
U.S. businesses also will benefit from Russia being granted permanent normal trade relations after meeting conditions to join the World Trade Organization. Read more here.
Date: January 13, 2012
(World Trade Interactive)
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Jan. 11 a settlement with three Chinese manufacturers to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act related to the importation of 7,115 uncertified recreational vehicles. According to an agency press release, two of these companies allegedly held certificates of conformity that were voided by the EPA following an investigation of a California-based certification services consulting firm that allegedly used false or incomplete information to certify vehicles under the CAA for four of its clients. These certificates allowed the importation and sale of more than 24,000 recreational vehicles that did not meet CAA standards, more than 7,000 of which were manufactured by the third company at issue.
The CAA prohibits any vehicle or engine from being imported and sold in the U.S. unless it is covered by a valid EPA-issued certificate of conformity indicating that the vehicle or engine meets applicable federal emission standards. This enforcement action is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that all imported vehicles and equipment comply with CAA requirements.
Date: January 13, 2012
(LA Times)
The United States and Canada peacefully share the world’s longest border, but a bridge linking the two countries has prompted legal fireworks — including the jailing of an 84-year-old billionaire and one of his top business aides.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Prentis Edwards on Thursday ordered Manuel “Matty” Moroun, 84, and Dan Stamper, an executive with Detroit International Bridge Co., to jail for failing to comply with deadlines to build freeway connections to the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
Both men were taken out of a Detroit courtroom and sent to jail until they comply with the judge’s order that they complete their contract with the state to build the connecting ramps. Read more here.
Date: January 13, 2012
(CBC News)
An Ottawa woman has had to pay $80,000 in fines and penalties for undeclared jewelry she brought back to Canada more than a year ago.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said Thursday that 48-year-old Meredithe Rechan had been fined over $23,000 for failing to declare a Harry Winston ‘Semira Twirl’ watch, cuff links and earrings valued at $125,300 when she returned from a trip to Singapore in Sept. 2010. Read more here.
Date: January 13, 2012
