Transport, Trade and Regulation News

John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, will retire on Feb. 1, after 14 years leading the organization.

Greece will tax merchant ships managed by companies based in the country and sailing under foreign flags to raise revenue to reverse the nation’s debt crisis, according to Bloomberg.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Richard Lidinsky spoke with The Journal of Commerce this week on the issues facing the agency in 2013, including a renewed push for an agriculture export index.

The European Parliament today endorsed the European Union’s first economic partnership deal with an African region, the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement, which provides Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe with duty- and quota-free access to the EU market.

The International Trade Committee of the European Parliament today voted that the European Union must make the use of “made in” origin labels mandatory on goods imported from third countries mandatory.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has notified Congress that the Obama administration plans to enter into negotiations for a new trade agreement on international trade in services.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing has applauded Walmart’s announcement that Walmart and Sam’s Club plan to buy an additional $50 billion in U.S.-made products over the next 10 years.

Shri Anand Sharma, India’s Union Minister for Commerce, Industry & Textiles, and Rob Davies, South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry, have reviewed the India-South African Custom Union preferential trade agreement negotiations...

The Federal Statistical Office of Germany reported that its gross domestic product shrank by 0.5 percent in the final three months of 2012, the worst quarterly performance in nearly three years, according to Reuters.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has approved HR 219, the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013. The vote was 403 to 0.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation reported that U.S. beef and pork exports dipped slightly in November 2012.

This past holiday season, Chicago Customs and Border Protection officers at the O’Hare International Mail Facility seized more than 50 counterfeit electric and acoustic guitars, in addition to other types of fake merchandise.

The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association today affirmed it is compliant with U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements for the importation of fresh fruit into the U.S., in response to the detection of a fruit fly focal point in Cerro Yungay, Chile...

The U.S. is requesting consultations with Indonesia under the dispute settlement provisions of the World Trade Organization regarding trade-restrictive measures applied to horticultural products, animals and animal products...

The Algerian government has extended the zero value added tax and custom tax on all feed imports, including corn, distiller’s dried grains with solubles and corn gluten feed until August 2013, according to the U.S. Grains Council.

The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy institute, today ranked Hong Kong as the freest economy in the world for the 19th consecutive year.

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority in Ohio, the grantee of Foreign Trade Zone 8 since 1971, has been approved by the U.S. Department of Commerce Foreign-Trade Zone Board for the reorganization and expansion of its FTZ.

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, which represents toll facility owners and operators and the businesses that serve them, today launched a 2013 public awareness campaign to highlight the benefits of tolling.

After a seesaw year in which freight rates bounded up and down like a yo-yo, shippers and carriers alike are looking for stability and predictability in their businesses.

A Chinese national, Xiang Li, 36, of Chengdu, recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and wire fraud, after operating a Web site used to distribute more than $100 million worth of pirated software.

Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wasn’t on the list of Cabinet officials that a White House official said would hang around for President Obama’s second term, suggesting someone else might fill the spot held by the Illinois Republican, according to reports.

Despite carriers’ attempts to pull capacity from east-west trade routes, weak cargo volumes are limiting their to hike freight rates for any sustainable period.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency have increased and harmonized the value thresholds for expedited customs clearance to $2,500, under the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border Action Plan.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, today reported that the volume of retail trade in November 2012 rose 0.2 percent compared to October 2012 in the EU’s 27 member states.