Kewill and the recently acquired LeanLogistics have rebranded as BluJay Solutions, the companies said in a March 6 news release (here). "With BluJay, organizations can easily manage goods and services across an integrated Global Trade Network; rapidly onboard services, carriers, customers and business units; and actively collaborate with trade participants to expedite trade logistics," it said. "BluJay captures all data streaming across the network, so that organizations can analyze and operationalize it to their advantage." BluJay services include "transportation, parcel, warehouse, and customs management, as well as freight forwarding and compliance."

The American Made Coalition, a group of companies that support House GOP border adjustability provisions within tax reform, released some names of its members (here). The group launched on Feb. 1 but didn't list the member companies then (see 1702020048). Among the members are Qualcomm, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, GE and the Dow Chemical Company. Several of the member companies are also members of the Alliance for Competitive Taxation, which also supports the House tax reform agenda (see 1701270049).

India again ranked near the bottom among 45 “global economies” included in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Intellectual Property Center’s annual IP index report (here). GIPC ranks the 45 countries based on patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, enforcement and international treaties. GIPC ranked India at 43, ahead of Pakistan and last-place Venezuela. India ranked in either last place or next-to-last in GIPC’s previous four index reports. The U.S., UK, EU-member nations and Japan continued to rank at the top of the index, with those nations holding all but two of the top 10 spots. The U.S. ranked at No. 1, while Singapore and South Korea ranked at No. 8 and 9, respectively. “Emerging markets, such as India, have made incremental gains and embraced positive rhetoric with their [intellectual property rights] IPR policies, but they have not yet followed up with the legislative reforms innovators need,” GIPC Executive Vice President Mark Elliot said in a news release (here). “Some developed countries, including Canada and Australia, continue to implement policies that undermine their proud traditions of IP-led innovation. And even world leaders such as the U.S. have room to grow and improve.”

The TV and display global supply chain is facing its “greatest political challenge with the presidency of Donald Trump,” a Display Supply Chain Consultants blog post said (here), predicting an uptick in “assembled in the USA” products. Calls for import tariffs on goods from Mexico and as much as a 45 percent import tax on goods from China “would profoundly disrupt the industry," DSCC President Bob O’Brien said. Some 95 percent of TV imports into the U.S. come from those two countries, he said.

Roadrunner Transportation Systems rebranded its Global Solutions segment as Ascent Global Logistics, Roadrunner said in a Jan. 25 news release (here). "Ascent Global Logistics will remain focused on helping clients streamline processes to increase supply chain efficiency, optimize current logistics programs and enhance service levels," it said. Ascent also "provides clients with international freight forwarding, customs brokerage, regulatory compliance services and project management," it said.

The U.S. Council of International Business plans to work with the Trump administration and Congress to address the "lack of clear standards at U.S. customs for forced labor," the USCIB said in its "American Competitiveness Agenda" for 2017 (here). CBP is working on new regulations to implement the forced labor provisions of the customs reauthorization law, which repealed "consumptive demand" considerations (see 1606170040). Other issues important to the USCIB include "inadequate or eroding IP protection, and illicit trade." The trade group also urged "the Administration to seek improvements to pending and existing agreements, rather than withdraw from them, and work to advance negotiations for strong, pro-competitive trade and investment agreements going forward." In a separate news release (here), the USCIB said it is disappointed by President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (see 1701230041).

The incoming Trump administration should consider a trade deal with the United Kingdom, avoid creating new trade barriers and promote intellectual property protections around the world, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said at Jan. 11 event. “The president-elect says he wants to expand trade, and negotiate strong new trade deals for our country,” Donohue said during his annual “State of American Business” address. “I’m in. Let’s do it.” Trade deals under the Trump administration should lower trade barriers of other countries that block U.S. exports, should protect IP and digital industries through tough enforcement, and should ensure that U.S. investments abroad are protected by the rule of law “and a level playing field,” Donohue said. Trade policy in 2017 should increasingly consider how to better expand the benefits of trade to workers, he said. In the hopes of hearing how the chamber can benefit small businesses more effectively, chamber officials will travel away from the centers of New York and Washington to hold regional business conferences across the nation, Donohue said, part of a push to start a “grassroots army” with small and medium-sized business employees.

Coabana Trading plans to import "artisanal charcoal" from Cuba later this year, marking the "first time in more than half a century that a Cuban-produced product will be exported from Cuba" to the U.S., Coabana's parent company, Reneo Consulting, said in a news release (here). The agreement to import the charcoal, called Marabu charcoal, is "but the first step in what should be a blossoming trade relationship involving many different products," said Scott Gilbert, chairman of Reneo. The charcoal should be available in the U.S. in early 2017, "marketed by Fogo Charcoal, a subsidiary of Susshi International Inc. and sold through various retailers."

Descartes Systems Group bought Datamyne, which specializes in providing cloud-based trade data, for about $52.7 million, Descartes said Dec. 23 (here). Primarily operating in the U.S. and South America, Datamyne “collects, cleanses, and commercializes” logistical trade information from more than 50 countries spread across five continents, Descartes said. "Datamyne broadens our trade data content footprint beyond customs and regulatory data and into logistics trade data," Descartes CEO Edward Ryan said.

Ohio Sens. Rob Portman, R, and Sherrod Brown, D, sent a letter (here) to EU Parliament President Martin Schulz, expressing concerns about possible changes to how the EU treats China in antidumping duty cases. Under a recent proposal issued by the European Commission, "it appears unlikely China would actually be treated as a non-market economy in EU antidumping investigations," the letter said. "In light of China’s request this week to begin consultations with the U.S. and EU at the World Trade Organization, it is imperative that we coordinate our policies on non-market economy designations, particularly for China. We ask you to ensure the Parliament’s position on this proposal is established only after Congress and the Parliament have had the opportunity to collaborate," it said. China filed a WTO complaint on Dec. 12, arguing the U.S. and EU can no longer use special calculations for AD duty on its products. In an emailed statement, the Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws voiced its support for Portman's and Brown's requests for European Parliament to consult with U.S. Congress and to work collaboratively to devise the most effective response to China’s non-market-based trade practices.