The EU Customs Union must continue to evolve to safeguard Europe's international trade, financial and fiscal interests, the Council of Ministers said in conclusions approved Monday. Customs activities are changing as the volume of work increases, information technology (IT) is rolled out, and laws and policies shift, it said. Customs agencies are also playing a stronger role in contributing to safety and security.
If the EU finalized all its current free trade talks tomorrow, it would add 2.2 percent to its Gross Domestic Product, or $357 billion, the European Commission said. That's equivalent to adding a country the size of Austria or Denmark to the EU economy, it said. The EC listed the key free trade agreements (FTAs) now being negotiated or considered. This month, EU countries directed the EC to begin talks with Japan. There is also a high-level working group for growth and jobs with the U.S. which is talking about how to further integrate the EU-U.S. Trade relationship, possibly through an FTA. Also under consideration are possible “deeper” FTAs with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia that will upgrade existing accords, the EC said. It will start negotiations with Morocco soon. There are ongoing negotiations with Canada; Singapore, the EU's biggest trading partner in the ASEAN group; Malaysia and Vietnam; the Eastern Neighborhood (Georgia, Armenia and Moldova); India; Mercosur (South America's key trading bloc); the Gulf Cooperation Council; and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. FTAS that are finished but haven't entered into force yet are Peru and Colombia; Central America; and Ukraine. FTAs now in effect are South Korea, Mexico, South Africa, and Chile, the EC said. Aside from those “classic” deals, FTAs are also a core component of many Association Agreements and Customs Unions, it said. There are 28 trade agreements in force, excluding Syria, to which the trade provisions aren't applied, it said.
The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) gave notice of applications for special permits, applications for modifications of special permits and actions on special permit applications under procedures governing the application for, and processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations (49 CFR Part 107, Subpart B).
Federal Maritime Commission said the following have filed applications for a license as a Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (NVO) and/or Ocean Freight Forwarder (OFF)-Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) pursuant to section 19 of the Shipping Act of 1984. The FMC also gave notice of the filing of applications to amend an existing OTI license or the qualifying individual for a license. Interested persons may contact the Office of Transportation Intermediaries, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, D.C. 20573, at 202-523-5843 or at OTI@fmc.gov.
The U.S. Postal Service is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) 601.10 to adopt new mandatory marking standards for packages with mailable hazardous material that align with revised Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration requirements, it said in a Federal Register notice for publication Nov. 28. The changes also include terminology and categorization changes needed to respond to the pending elimination of the “Other Regulated Material (ORM)” category and the partial elimination of the “consumer commodity” category by the DOT.
European Union lawmakers should consent to a proposed EU trade deal with Colombia and Peru, the European Parliament International Trade (INTA) Committee said Tuesday. Once the agreement becomes effective, the parties will gradually remove customs duties on exports and imports, and liberalize services and public procurement markets, it said. In Colombia and Peru, the biggest beneficiaries of tariff removal will be fruit and shrimp producers, while the EU will see its biggest gains in machinery, cars and chemicals. The trade agreement commits the parties to promote human rights and environmental standards. The deal was signed on June 26 but must be endorsed by Parliament, which could vote in December.
The Fish and Wildlife Service announced that a public meeting previously scheduled for Dec. 12 to discuss the items on the provisional agenda for the March 3-15 meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) will instead be Dec. 13 at 1:30 p.m in the Sidney Yates Auditorium of the Main Interior Building, 18th and C Sts. NW, Washington, DC.
The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. authorized nearly $35.8 billion in export financing that supported around $50 billion in exports and 255,000 American jobs in fiscal year 2012, it said in an annual report. This is the fourth consecutive record-breaking year, it said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has failed to adequately assess whether its automated targeting system (ATS) addresses security risks or whether some alternative system would be more effective, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report posted October 26. With 13.4 million cargo containers arriving in U.S. seaports in 2011, CBP’s ability to detect weapons of mass destruction, other weapons, smuggled people and illicit substances is critical, it said in a letter to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
The State Department's Shipping Coordinating Committee scheduled an open meeting at 1:00 p.m. ET Jan. 23 to prepare for the February meeting of the International Maritime Organization's Subcommittee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels. The coordinating committee is to meet in Room 5-1224 of the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters Building, 2100 2nd Street SW, Washington, D.C. Agenda items include: Decisions of other IMO bodies; Development of second generation intact stability criteria; Development of guidelines for verification of damage stability requirements for tankers; Development of mandatory carriage requirements for stability instruments on board tankers; Revision of SOLAS chapter II-1 subdivision and damage stability regulations; Development of provisions to ensure the integrity and uniform implementation of the 1969 TM Convention; Development of amendments to part B of the 2008 IS Code on towing and anchor handling operations; Consideration of IACS unified interpretations; Development of amendments to the criterion for maximum angle of heel in turns of the 2008 IS Code; Development of a mandatory code for ships operating in polar waters; and Biennial agenda and provisional agenda for SLF 56.