The International Air Transport Association named Conrad Clifford as regional vice president for Asia Pacific, it said. Clifford, previously acting managing director of Antrak Air Ghana, replaces Maunu von Lueders, who is retiring, said IATA.
Dave Osiecki, senior vice president of policy and regulatory affairs at the American Trucking Associations, will now also handle legislative affairs work at the ATA, the trade association said. Osiecki takes over for Mary Phillips, who recently left the ATA, it said. Osiecki's "work leading ATA’s policy and regulatory affairs team has been exemplary and given an ever more complex web of issues our industry is confronted with, it only makes sense to bring our policy and legislative groups together to improve efficiency and coordination,” said ATA CEO Bill Graves.
The government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices for Jan. 10 (Note that some may also be given separate headlines.)
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
The U.S. government is extending and amending import restrictions for five years on archaeological materials from China, which are set to expire Jan. 14, said CBP in a Federal Register notice. The notice, effective Jan. 14, said the State Department has determined that conditions continue to warrant the imposition of import restrictions and CBP's regulations will be amended to reflect the extension. The list of designated articles will also be amended to include archaeological materials representing China’s cultural heritage from the Paleolithic Period (c. 75,000 B.C.) through the end of the Tang Period (A.D. 907) and monumental sculpture and wall art at least 250 years old as of January 14, 2009, said CBP.
Importers should continue to flag goods that are eligible for Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) despite the expiration of the program on July 31, said CBP Seattle in a trade information notice. The normal duty rate should be paid for GSP goods following the expiration, but continued flagging of the imports will allow CBP to process automatic duty refunds if GSP is renewed with a retroactive clause, the agency said. Importers should use the special program indicator (SPI) A or A+, it said. The expiration of GSP won't affect payment of the merchandise processing fee, said CBP.
As a new feature, International Trade Today will periodically feature a Q&A with a customs industry professional. Our interviewee for the inaugural Q&A is Amy Magnus, Director of Customs Affairs & Compliance at A.N. Deringer. Magnus is heavily involved within the customs world and served several different roles within customs broker trade associations, at both national and regional levels. Magnus also worked for CBP for 18 years before joining the private sector. Some of the questions and answers have been slightly edited.
Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani will retire in after his contract ends in June, the Port said. The Port Commission will "conduct an international search for his replacement," it said.
The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) sent out a warning that its hotel block for its annual conference has been caught up in a housing scam. The conference is scheduled for April 6-9 at the Red Rock Resort and Casino in Nevada. "You may receive a phone, fax or e-mail transmission that offers a 'deal' on housing," the warning said. "The author's apparent intent is to mislead you their offer is made on behalf of NCBFAA. It is not." The scammers "have a boiler room operation that calls all conference attendees nationwide from their office in California," the NCBFAA said. "In the event that you book rooms through any such organization, please be advised that we will not be able to assist you in any way should rooms be unavailable upon your arrival at the hotel," it said.
Mark Alexander of Georgia was sentenced to 18 months in prison after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to violate the U.S. trade embargo with Iran, said ICE in a press release. Alexander conspired with two Iranian businessmen to sell Hydrajet water-jet cutting systems, used for the precision cutting of materials such as aluminum, glass, granite and steel, to customers located in Iran, said ICE.