GHY Tradelines

An updated list of recently published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending January 20, 2011 is now available on our website here.
 

(CFIA)

Subject:  Importation of non-manufactured and non-propagative wood products from U.S. states where the Asian long-horned beetle (ALHB) (Anoplophora glabripennis) is known to occur (i.e., Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Ohio).

The CFIA just published a new policy directive D-11-05, Phytosanitary requirements for non-manufactured and non-propagative wood products to prevent the introduction from the continental United States and spread within Canada of the Asian Long-horned Beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky).

Specifically, it governs the movement of logs, lumber, railway ties  and wood/bark chips in the genera Acer (Maple), Aesculus (Horsechestnut), Albizia (White Silk), Betula (Birch), Celtis (Hackberry), Platanus (Plane or Sycamore), Populus (Poplar), Salix (Willow), Sorbus (Mountain Ash), and Ulmus (Elm) and firewood of all species.

Import requirements from the NON-REGULATED areas of Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Ohio for ALHB (as per US Federal regulations: 7 CFR 301.51) and from all other states:

No changes in import requirements.

Please note that the CFIA regulates only the US regulated areas for ALHB, as defined by USDA (7 CFR 301.51).  The CFIA trusts that regulated articles leaving ALHB regulated areas will be accompanied by the proper documentation issued by US Officials.

Read more »

(The Packer – Tom Karst)

The U.S. and Canada are expected to change the requirements for wood pallets transporting goods between the two countries.  Industry officials said the change will add costs for shippers and may stress supplies for shippers in both countries not already using heat-treated ISPM15 compliant pallets.

The proposed regulation on the requirements for wood packaging materials imported from Canada was published in December 2010, but the final rule has not yet been issued. The proposed rule eliminates an exemption allowing wood packaging material from Canada to enter the U.S. without first meeting the treatment and marking requirements required of wood packaging from all other countries. According to the proposal, removing the exemption is necessary to prevent invasive pests from entering the U.S.

“It was supposed to start last year, but the regulation did not get published and that’s why everything is on hold,” said Edgar Deomano, technical director for the National Wood Pallet and Container Association.  Deomano said Canada is ready to enforce the regulation but is waiting for an agreement with the U.S. so the two countries can begin enforcement at the same time, he said. Read more here.
 

(Export Development Canada – Peter G. Hall)

We’ve had a fair amount of time to think about a topic that surfaced before recession hit us just over three years ago. The end of globalisation is still being discussed, and the longer the world battles meagre growth, the more intense the conversation is likely to become. But does that suggest any particular outcome – is the fabric of international commerce really coming apart at the seams?

Multiple arguments for the end of globalisation have been made. Neo-protectionism in the early days of the recession was perhaps the most compelling argument. Fears of financial market contagion led to talk of more subtle regulatory forms of protectionism. Supply-chain risk – highlighted by last year’s devastating natural disasters – prompted re-thinking of the current globalisation model. Fears that globalisation is responsible for widening income disparity continues to feed globo-skepticism. And then there’s the sustainability argument: globalisation leads to sky-high commodity prices, which makes international shipment too expensive, leading to neo-localisation of commerce.

Data argue against globalisation’s demise. Global exports are up 6.5% through last October, almost double our projected world GDP growth for the year. Recent performance is uneven, but there are more regional zones that are well into the black than otherwise. Foreign investment has not been as promising, but as it typically lags the cycle, it is too early to pick on this indicator. Read more or watch the video here.
 

(MercoPress)

The Argentine government has began a round of consultations with the manufacturing sector to determine which capital goods from non Mercosur members can be listed for a higher common external tariff as was recently agreed by the trade block.

The Ministry of Industry contacted the Argentine Chamber of Industry Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers requesting they supply a list of products they consider a priority to be incorporated into the one hundred tariff positions to which Argentina will apply a higher common external tariff, in accordance with the latest Mercosur summit.

Capital goods manufacturers must also identify those products which they consider must be added to the non automatic import licence system or should be protected against dumping practices. Read more here.
 

(The Globe and Mail – Bill Curry)

The Conservative government is promising to ease the headaches of dealing with official Ottawa, with a pledge that any new regulation will be tied to an old regulation that will come off the books.

That is the most immediate action the Conservative government plans to take in response to a new report by a federal Red Tape Reduction Commission, chaired by Maxime Bernier, the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism.  Mr. Bernier and Treasury Board President Tony Clement released the report at a rural cabinet shop in the southeast end of Ottawa.

In December, the commission released an interim paper called “What Was Heard” that included extensive verbatim complaints and frustrations from Canadians about dealing with Ottawa. The comments covered everything from HST rules to the time and effort needed to apply for government programs like retrofit incentives to “the absolutely ridiculous” requirement to hang on to paperwork for seven years in case of an audit.

Ottawa is currently responsible for about 2,600 federal regulations. Read more here.