GHY Tradelines

An updated list of recently published government memorandums, notices, regulations and decisions for the week ending May 25, 2011 is now available on our website here.
 

(Journal of Commerce – Bill Mongelluzzo)

Containerized imports are starting to back up

Port Metro Vancouver remained fluid during the first two days of a strike that shut down Canadian Pacific Railway’s operations throughout Canada, but if the job action continues much longer both container and bulk shipments will be severely affected, a port executive said Thursday.

Vancouver, like other ports on the Pacific Coast of North America, is heavily dependent upon rail, said Peter Xotta, vice president of planning and operations at Canada’s largest port. Vancouver is served by CP, Canadian National Railway and BNSF Railway. The two Canadian rail carriers account for the vast majority of the port’s rail traffic, and they split the volume evenly. Read more here.
 

(China Daily – Li Jiabao)

China appealed to the World Trade Organization to challenge U.S. countervailing duties against Chinese exports in a package of 22 cases, including the recent solar panel case, said a statement on the website of China’s Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

“We abstracted the common wrongdoings in 22 countervailing cases that the U.S. launched against Chinese exports since 2006 and appealed to the dispute settlement body of the WTO for negotiations with the United States. Our aim is to fight against the misuse of trade protection measures and protect the rights of Chinese enterprises,” said Li Chenggang, head of the ministry’s department of treaty and law.

China’s appeal points out that its state-owned enterprises are not public institutions or bodies, China’s rightful support for industrial development was wrongly taken as subsidies, and the U.S. made unfavorable presumptions in case of insufficient evidence from Chinese enterprises, Li said. The export value of the package of the 22 countervailing cases including lightweight thermal paper, crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and utility scale wind towers, totaled $7.286 billion, according to the ministry. Read more here.
 

(Reuters – Alex Threlfall)

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Wednesday that he expects to leave office at the end of President Barack Obama’s first term, and also expressed enthusiasm about the potential for a trade agreement between the United States and the EU to boost jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic.

“I’ve been privileged to serve, but it would be my intention to take advantage of the opportunity to go back and serve my family now,” Kirk told Reuters Insider during a break in the spring meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a developed country group.

Kirk, who has not previously publicly said he plans to leave if Obama is re-elected, noted there was a tradition of U.S. cabinet officials submitting their resignation at the end of a president’s first term. “Like most members of the cabinet I do not anticipate that I would be around,” Kirk said, but added it is ultimately “the president’s call” whether to accept his resignation or not. Read more here.
 

(MarketWatch)

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal today found that the dumping and subsidizing of certain stainless steel sinks from China had caused injury to the domestic industry. Anti-dumping and countervailing duties will therefore be collected by the Canada Border Services Agency on these goods. The complainants in this case were Novanni Stainless Inc. of Coldwater, Ontario, and Franke Kindred Canada Limited of Midland, Ontario.

The Tribunal will issue the reasons for its finding on June 8, 2012.

The Tribunal is an independent quasi-judicial body that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Finance. It hears cases on dumped and subsidized imports, safeguard complaints, complaints about federal government procurement and appeals of customs and excise tax rulings. When requested by the federal government, the Tribunal also provides advice on other economic, trade and tariff matters.
 

(The Associate Press – Raf Casert)

The European Union on Friday started legal proceedings at the World Trade Organization against Argentina, claiming the South American country stifles imports to protect its own industry.

The EU, the world’s largest trading bloc, said that Argentina’s recent move to seize control of a division of Spanish energy company Repsol was indicative of the worsening business climate in the country that has been seeking to limit foreign imports for the past 7 years. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said the situation in Argentina is “clearly getting worse” by the month, leaving him “no choice but to challenge Argentina’s protectionist import regime.” Read more here.