Manuel Ernesto Ortiz-Barraza, an independent financial consultant, was extradited to the U.S. Jan. 25 for his alleged part in a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. of more than $2.5 million, the Department of Justice said. Ortiz-Barraza was charged in the Western District of Texas with one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud growing out of his alleged role. It's claimed he and his co-conspirators tried to obtain Ex-Im Bank-guaranteed loans through banks by creating false loan applications, financial statements and other documents purportedly for the purchase and export of U.S. goods into Mexico. They also allegedly falsified shipping records to support their claims of doing legitimate business and didn't ship the goods guaranteed by the bank. Ortiz-Barraza and the others then allegedly split the loan proceeds, causing the bank to pay claims to the lending banks for the $2.5 million losses.
Dugie Standeford
Dugie Standeford, European Correspondent, Communications Daily and Privacy Daily, is a former lawyer. She joined Warren Communications News in 2000 to report on internet policy and regulation. In 2003 she moved to the U.K. and since then has covered European telecommunications issues. She previously covered the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and intellectual property law matters. She has a degree in psychology from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
Differences between the official trade statistics produced by the U.S. and China are narrowing, a report by the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade Statistics Working Group said. Its second phase report on the statistical discrepancy of merchandise trade between the two countries updated a March 2010 report. The two nations each publish data that measures the bilateral merchandise trade flows between them, but while both follow international statistical standards, differences in the statistics arise as a result of data and methodological differences, the Department of Commerce said.
The following individuals have been added to OFAC's SDN List:
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control is removing the name of one individual whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13448 involving blocking property and prohibiting certain transactions related to Burma from the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, effective Jan. 24.
The U.S. and Japan agreed on new terms and conditions that pave the way for more exports of U.S. beef and beef products to Japan, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday. Under the agreement, which is effective Feb. 1, Japan will permit the import of beef from cattle less than 30 months old, compared to the previous limit of 20 months, among other things. The changes could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in exports of U.S. beef in coming years, they said. The pact also “goes a long way toward normalizing trade” by addressing long-term restrictions introduced by Japan in response to bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The governments also agreed to regular and ad hoc progress reviews.
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls notification of name/address changes:
The euro area saw an international trade in goods surplus of 13.7 billion euros ($18.3 billion) in November, compared with a 4.9 billion-euro surplus last November, Eurostat said Tuesday. The euro area encompasses Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. The first estimate for the November 2012 extra-EU27 trade in goods balance, however, was a 1.7-billion euro deficit, compared with about a 9 billion-euro deficit in November 2011, Eurostat said. The EU27 includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the U.K. From January to October 2012, the EU27 deficit for energy rose from 319.5 billion euros last year to 347 billion this year, the report said. EU27 exports to most of its major partners grew this year except for India and Switzerland, it said. The largest increases were for exports to South Korea, Russia, Japan, the U.S. and Brazil, it said. But the import pattern was mixed, with the largest increases recorded for imports from Switzerland, the U.S. and Norway, and the biggest drops with India and Japan, it said. The EU27 trade surplus with the U.S. increased, while its trade deficit with China declined. Germany had the largest trade surplus among EU countries, the U.K. the greatest deficit for January-August, it said.
The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry rose 1.7% in November 2012 from October, according to a Department of Transportation Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) report released Jan. 9. The Nov. 2012 index level (108.9) was 15.5 percent above the April 2009 low during the recession, DOT said. The Freight TSI rose in Nov. at least partly as a result of recovery from Hurricane Sandy, which depressed truck and freight rail traffic in October. The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation in ton-miles, which are then combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.
The Port of San Diego swore in new board officers for 2013. The chairman is land-use attorney Ann Moore, who represents Chula Vista on the Board of Port Commissioners. In addition to Moore, Commissioner Bob Nelson, one of three San Diego representatives on the seven-member board, was sworn in as vice chair, and Commissioner Dan Malcolm, representing Imperial Beach, was installed as secretary. Moore said her theme this year is “a Port for All,” which encompasses Integrated Planning -- an approach that considers planning in context with surrounding areas -- and including stakeholders in the port's decisionmaking process.
Low water levels in the upper reaches of the Mississippi River aren't affecting operations within the Port of New Orleans because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has maintained the congressionally authorized 45-foot-deep channel on the lower part of the river from Baton Rouge, La. to the mouth of the river, the port said. “We do not anticipate any interruptions to deep-draft shipping or cruise operations,” said Port President Gary LaGrange. All of the port's berths are at 100 percent of their authorized depths and no restrictions on the Lower Mississippi River are anticipated, he said. Liquid and dry bulk commodities, which rely on barge transport, are the main cargoes concerned with low river levels in the Midwest, the port said. Draft restrictions on inland barge traffic in the Midwest could make barge transit pricier for growers, producers and manufacturers. The primary area of concern is stretches of the river between St. Louis, Mo., and Cairo, Ill., where the Corps of Engineers continues to apply all available resources to maintain a navigable nine-foot-deep channel for barge traffic, the port said.