GHY Tradelines

(CBSA)

The warmer weather brings with it higher travel volumes. This Easter weekend is no exception and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would like to help you prepare for longer border wait times at some ports of entry.

For information, including entry requirements into Canada, visit the CBSA Web site at www.cbsa.gc.ca, go to Travel Tips and then I Declare. There, you’ll find a downloadable copy of I Declare, outlining what to expect when you arrive. If you plan to fly, view our video Arriving by Air: Welcome home. Welcome to Canada.

Prepare yourself and know what to expect before arriving at the border. Whether you travel by land or air, plan ahead with the following helpful tips…

Read more here.
 

(Ted Booker — Watertown Daily Times)

The state’s [New York] new sales-tax break that took effect April 1 has north country retail stores licking their chops as they anticipate shoppers spending more — especially Canadians traveling south of the border.

The new law eliminates the 4 percent state sales tax for all clothing items under $110; previously, the state collected taxes on items that cost more than $55. Customers will continue to pay county sales tax for all clothing purchases — 3.75 percent in Jefferson and Lewis counties and 3 percent in St. Lawrence County.

Crowds of Canadian customers who visited J.C. Penney at Salmon Run Mall last weekend were pleasantly surprised when they found out about the change while checking out, said Daniel B. Cotton, store manager. Given Canada’s burdensome 13 percent sales tax, Mr. Cotton said, the new policy should give Canadians an extra incentive to go on shopping sprees. Read more here.
 

(Mike De Souza — Postmedia News)

Customs and border officials need to work harder to ensure that dangerous consumer products are not being imported into Canada, Auditor General Michael Ferguson said Tuesday.

While his audit found that most existing controls at the border were working well, it concluded that the Canada Border Services Agency is failing to meet standards identified by Health Canada for identifying and inspecting potentially dangerous items such as medical devices or pest-control products.

“Health Canada still expects that border services officers will refer shipments if they have concerns about compliance with the Department’s import requirements,” Ferguson wrote in the report. “The CBSA, however, does not have the same expectation of its officers for all Health Canada products.” Read more here.

Click here to read the AG’s report on Border Controls on Commercial Imports.
 

(ifw – David Badger)

While carriers have successfully implemented rate increases to improve their battered financial position, threats still exist that could de-rail this, according to Drewry’s latest quarterly Container Forecaster report.

The report says there is a perception that the industry has turned a corner and the extremely low freight rates seen on the Asia-North Europe trade last year are just a memory. But Drewry warns: “We should not be lulled into a false sense of security by the considerably higher spot rates revealed in the weekly rate indices and think that all is now fixed.”

The report forecasts that east-west freight rates including fuel will rise by as much 13.7% this year, but there are still a number of factors which threaten this, principally overcapacity. It says:?” Demand is by no means certain and we have downgraded our 2012 global forecast to 4.6%, largely on the basis of a weak Eurozone, crippled by debt.” Read more here.
 

(Forbes – Elise Ackerman)

A new GAO report published on Friday warned that the global supply chain of IT products could be putting national security at risk.

“Federal agencies rely extensively on computerized information systems and electronic data to carry out their operations,” the 45-page report stated. “The exploitation of information technology products and services through the global supply chain is an emerging threat that could degrade the confidentiality, integrity and availability of critical and sensitive agency networks and data.” […]

Concern about the supply chain have been rising among both corporate and government officials. A single piece of equipment, such as a laptop, can include components from all over the world—Canada, China, Czech Republic, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Threats to the supply chain range from the installation of malicious code in either hardware or software to the installiation of counterfeit equipment and the disruption of the production of critical components. Read more here.
 

(The Wall Street Journal – Alistair MacDonald)

President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked common cause on the Americas on Monday, but their two nations’ historic trade relationship is being tested anew by tensions over membership in a trans-Pacific trade group.

Mr. Obama, after hosting a one-day summit with Mr. Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderón, said all three nations will take new steps to ease regulations with the aim of increasing trade among them and creating more jobs. The three also discussed immigration policies and the war on drugs. Mr. Obama said the U.S. would welcome both countries’ entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade zone spanning the Pacific Ocean. And Mr. Harper reiterated his country’s eagerness to join the TPP, saying it was part of Canada’s “ambitious trade agenda.” Read more here.
 

(Bank of Canada)

In response to the global financial crisis, Canada’s broad economic strategy has been to grow domestic demand and to encourage Canadian businesses to retool and reorient to the new global economy, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said in a speech today. “On the former, we have been successful,” he noted. On the second, he urged greater focus.

“As effective as the reliance on domestic demand in general and household spending in particular has been, the limits of this growth model are becoming clear,” the Governor told business and community leaders in the Kitchener-Waterloo region.

While household spending in Canada has been growing strongly for over a decade, it has become more heavily dependent on stimulative financing conditions and high levels of net worth since the crisis. As a consequence, the debt burden on Canadian households has increased further, and much of the financing for the recent increases in indebtedness has come from abroad. “These trends are unsustainable over the medium term,” the Governor said. Read more here.
 

(China.org)

China, the world’s second-biggest importer, will cut import duties on selected energy products and raw materials as well as consumer goods to boost purchases, the State Council said in a statement on Friday.

The decision underlines Beijing’s intent to buy more from its trade partners to boost domestic consumption and comes after China posted its largest monthly trade deficit in at least a decade in February. It is the first time the State Council has devoted a regular meeting to the issue of boosting imports, which is usually the responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce. “As we maintain stable growth in exports, we should focus more on imports and appropriately expand its amount,” the State Council said in a meeting.

China, the world’s largest exporter, will have to rely less on exports to drive its economy in coming years, when growth in the U.S. and European markets is predicted to slow. Importing more will lift living standards and ease China’s disputes with its trade partners, according to the ministry. Read more here.
 

(Mercopress)

Argentina highlighted that the administrations of Néstor Kirchner (2003/2007) and Cristina Fernández (2007/2011) were the less reported before the World Trade Organization and warned that that the U.S. and EU are the most questioned members of the WTO regarding their trade policies.

“Our country has been accused 17 times and only two of those complaints took place since former president Néstor Kirchner took office in May 2003,” a communiqué released by the Foreign Ministry stressed, following complaints of Argentina trade policies filed on Friday at the World Trade Organization by several members including the European Union, United States, Japan, Australia and Mexico. Read more here.