News & Information about Transborder and International Trade from GHY International
An updated list of recently published government memoranda, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending February 24, 2011 is now available on our website here.
Date: February 24, 2012
(Alison Crawford — CBC News)
Knockoff makeup has caused allergic reactions and posed bacterial threat, says industry
It started with purses and sunglasses.
Now Canadians are buying counterfeit makeup, perfume, shampoo and other health and beauty products the RCMP warns could endanger the public. In the last six months, the RCMP in the Toronto area has seized tens of millions of dollars worth of knockoff goods.
“We’ve estimated that counterfeiters would quadruple their money on a load of counterfeit goods. And that’s a conservative estimate,” said RCMP Insp. Todd Gilmore. He said almost half of all knockoff goods seized are health and beauty products that people apply to their hair and skin or rub around their eyes, nose and mouth.
“Counterfeiters have no regard for your health and safety. They just want to maximize their profits. Who knows how this was produced.” Read more here
Related: Should Border Agents be Able to Seize Counterfeit Goods? (Online CBC Poll)
Date: February 24, 2012
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an interim final rule (IFR) and draft guidance for industry amending FDA’s existing regulation on maintaining records about sources and recipients of food (FSMA Section 101). FDA also published an update to its Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Establishment and Maintenance of Records (Edition 4), to ensure the guidance is consistent with the new FSMA requirements.
• Interim Final Rule: Establishment, Maintenance, and Availability of Records: Amendment to Record
Date: February 24, 2012
(ST&R Trade Report)
The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has made several improvements to its Phytosanitary Certificate and Issuance Tracking system. PCIT was created in 2005 to automate the issuance of phytosanitary certificates for agricultural commodities exported to foreign countries. In fiscal year 2011, APHIS and state and county governments issued more than 530,000 export certificates for individuals and businesses through the PCIT system.
APHIS states that in the coming months PCIT will begin automatically transferring phytosanitary certificates to foreign countries receiving U.S. exports, reducing previous delays associated with paperwork verification. In addition, APHIS is expanding the availability of user-printed phytosanitary certificates, eliminating the need for users to pay for shipped documents.
Date: February 24, 2012
(CBC News)
Operating profits at Canadian corporations increased nine per cent to $71.4 billion at the end of 2011, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.
Canada’s data agency said Canadian companies made more money during the last three months of 2011 than they did during the three that preceded it. Although profitability is now at the highest level it has been since the end of 2008 when the recession was beginning in Canada, it’s still $6.1 billion below the level it was at earlier in the year, the previous all-time high. Read more here.
Summary statistics and links to the data files are on the Statistics Canada website here.
Date: February 24, 2012
