GHY Tradelines

(ST&R Trade Report)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) informed members of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Feb. 15 that implementation of the updated International Organization for Standardization (ISO) mechanical seal standard will not be viable by March 1 as previously announced. CBP has learned that the tamper evidence element (clause 6) of the new standard (ISO 17712:2010) cannot be met and that to date no accredited independent laboratories have been willing to test and certify seals as complying with this requirement. While the ISO is working to resolve this issue, implementation of the new standard will be delayed until CBP receives definitive information that this has been accomplished.

CBP notes that since the ISO 17712: 2010 (18 mm) certification for high-security seals is attainable without the clause 6 testing portion of the standard, C-TPAT partners are encouraged to buy seals that meet this part of the standard. If they do so, however, they should request documentation to confirm that the purchased seals comply with the current testing requirements for ISO 17712: 2010 (18 mm) certification.
 

(Export Development Canada – Peter G. Hall)

Talk casually to anyone about the US housing market, and you’re likely to get a good volley of the latest reasons why it is never coming back. Data have been so weak for so long that it’s not hard to become convinced that this is just part of a ‘new normal’ of lower activity. But something is stirring in the market: housing starts jumped 11% in the latter half of 2011 from the average level in the preceding 30 months. Is the market telling us something?

We believe so. But whether it is or not, is there reason to believe that at some point in time, the market is destined for a sustained higher level of activity? Two key points suggest so. First, the housing surplus is now shrinking by a million units a quarter; if this keeps up, the market could be nearly balanced by year-end. Second, current activity is well below normal. US population data indicate that net annual household formation – the basic number of new units needed – is 1.4 million. Even with recent growth, current starts are only 660,000. There is still a lot of room to grow. Read more here.
 

(Postmedia News)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is wrong when it says food imports are screened as rigorously as exports – and is creating a “ticking biological time bomb” in Canada with the lack of oversight, the government’s food inspectors charged Wednesday.

Bob Kingston, president of the union representing CFIA food inspectors, took on the agency’s claim during parliamentary hearings on the future of Canada’s agricultural policy framework.

“There may be one set of rules, but they are certainly not applied the same,” Kingston testified Wednesday about import inspection and testing compared to domestically produced food bound for other countries.

“Export inspection always gets top priority in spite of what CFIA may say publicly. It’s 100 per cent versus two per cent.”

Kingston was responding to comments made at the hearings Monday by CFIA’s Paul Mayers in response to a question from Tory MP Ben Lobb. Read more here.
 

An updated list of recently published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending February 17, 2011 is now available on our website here.