International Trade Today will periodically feature a Q&A with a customs industry professional. Our interviewee for this edition is Cindy Allen, Vice President of Brokerage U.S. for DHL Global Forwarding. Before joining DHL, Allen handled the difficult task of overseeing work on the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) as CBP's Executive Director of the ACE business office. Allen has also served as the Educational Institute Director with National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America and president of the Detroit Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association. She's been a licensed customs broker since 1990.
The Federal Maritime Commission voted to approve a request for more information on a proposed G6 Alliance expansion to the Asia-North America West Coast and Trans-Atlantic trade lane. The proposal would mean that on the Asia-North America West Coast trade, each G6 Alliance member will be able to offer almost twice as many sailings as are currently offered separately by the New World Alliance and the Grand Alliance (see 13120305). The FMC's information request stops the 45-day regulatory waiting period and a new one will begin once responses are submitted, said Commissioner William Doyle in a press release (here). It's important the FMC "fully understands the implications of what has been proposed, said Commissioner Richard Lidinsky, who also voted to approve the request (here). "Of particular concern is how the proposed Service Centers will operate autonomously of the parties to the Agreement, and how the five members of the Alliance belonging to the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) will act independently from the one lone independent carrier in setting rates for certain routes covered by the Agreement." The new services were scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2014, pending regulatory approval.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) began a campaign "to raise awareness among consumers of the $250 billion a year illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods," it said in a press release (here). "The illicit trafficking and sale of counterfeit goods provides criminals with a significant source of income and facilitates the laundering of other illicit proceeds." With no legal regulation and "very little recourse, consumers are at risk from unsafe and ineffective products and faulty counterfeit goods can lead to injury and, in some cases, death," it said. Brake pads and airbags, airplane parts, electrical consumer goods, baby formula, medicine and children's toys "are just some of the many different items which have been counterfeited,"
The House Commerce Committee will increase its focus on data security and cross-border data flows, said Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., at a Technology Policy Institute event Jan. 15. The free flow of data between the U.S. and EU is important, as the two governments continue to negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), said Blackburn. “We would hope that it’s not a trade barrier,” she said. “But we are certainly aware that there is maybe a little bit of jealousy, if you will, with the encouragement to innovate here.”
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) approval is critical for making progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, said Peter Robinson, CEO of the US Council of International Business (USCIB) in a speech to the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago. Senate Finance Committee leadership and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., introduced TPA legislation on Jan. 9 (see 14011013).
CBP released its Jan. 15 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 2). While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does include recent Court of International Trade decisions and general notices.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a notice of the filing of the following agreements under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreement to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within 10 days.
Recently introduced legislation that would provide for "fast track" approval of trade agreements would allow Congress to "abdicate" its role in such agreements, potentially putting the health of Americans at risk, a number of health groups said in a letter to the Senate and House of Representatives. If passed, the Trade Priorities Act of 2014, introduced Jan. 9 (see 14011013), would "set a dangerous standard for public health and for our democracy," said the groups, which include the American Public Health Association and Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP issued a final rule, effective Jan. 15, to amend CBP regulations to reflect the imposition of import restrictions on certain archaeological and ethnological material from Bulgaria. These restrictions are being imposed in accordance with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The final rule adds Bulgaria to the list of countries for which a bilateral agreement has been entered into for imposing cultural property import restrictions. It also contains the designated list that describes the types of archaeological and ethnological articles to which the restrictions apply.