Transport, Trade and Regulation News

The origins of the looming deadline to implement a railroad crash-avoidance technology mandate and a shipper petition to require mandatory reciprocal switching are completely different.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to amend the Country of Origin Labeling regulations to require more detailed information about the country of origin information on meat labels...

The need for a new Customs commissioner will become agonizingly clear when the fallout from federal sequestration delays clearance of U.S. imports as early as this month.

India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported the trade deficit from April 2012 to February 2013 was $182.1 billion, expanding from the deficit of $169.8 billion in the same period in the previous fiscal year.

A bill that seeks to raise the de minimis value, the level at which shipments entering the U.S. are free from tariffs, taxes or formal customs procedures, has been introduced in Congress.

The decision by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to cease overtime work for its personnel while Washington attempts to solve the sequestration issue will be a burden for all ports, but it could be disastrous for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and import specialists assigned to the Los Angeles-Long Beach seaport complex have seized 1,500 high-fashion leather handbags bearing counterfeit “Hermés” listed trademark.

The bilateral U.S.-Iraq Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, first negotiated in 2005, is likely to enter into force later this year, providing a bilateral forum to foster greater trade and investment between the two countries.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized more than 122 pounds of khat at the Indianapolis FedEx facility.

The U.S. freight-related transportation industry and warehouse sector gained 3,100 jobs in February from January, but the most promising signs for increased freight transport came from sizable growth in the construction and manufacturing industries.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Los Angeles-Long Beach seaport have seized a shipment containing 445 counterfeit “Beats by Dr. Dre” headphones and 28 all-terrain vehicles that violated EPA standards.

José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, and Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand’s prime minister, have launched negotiations for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Thailand.

The U.S. exported $184.5 billion in goods and services in January and imported $228.9 billion of goods and services, resulting in a goods and services deficit of $44.4 billion, up from $38.1 billion in December 2012...

In his annual State of the State address, Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott emphasized the need for strategic infrastructure investments and announced his budget recommendation of $288 million in seaport improvements this year.

Government regulatory agencies are seeking the support of importers in their attempts to secure the nation’s borders while at the same time facilitating the clearance of legitimate cargo.

China’s official purchasing managers index dropped to 50.1 in February from 50.4 a month earlier.

U.S. Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J., has introduced the Multimodal Opportunities via Enhanced Freight Act of 2013, also known as the MOVE Freight Act, which is designed to ensure all transportation modes and system connections...

Supply chains will soon feel the federal budget sequestration’s impact on Customs and Border Protection, a trade attorney warned the JOC’s 13th annual TPM Conference.

Lebanon has joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

A group of Mexican tomato growers and the U.S. Department of Commerce have signed a new agreement that will govern the import of fresh Mexican-grown tomatoes into the U.S.

Eleven national organizations representing dairy farmers and dairy industry workers have sent a letter to eight members of Congress urging them not to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal without considering the impact on dairy farms and workers.

The U.S. Council for International Business has named Robert J. Mulligan as senior vice president for policy and government affairs.

Merchandise trade showed “moderate growth” in the major economies during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Trade Statistics report.

U.S. importers face severe delays in getting their cargo cleared at major seaports and at the Canadian and Mexican borders because federal sequestration will reduce Customs and Border Protection manpower.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced its preliminary affirmative countervailing duty determination in the investigation of imports of hardwood and decorative plywood from China.

Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product will expand by 1.8 percent in 2013 and by 2.8 percent in 2014, according to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation’s Quarterly Economic Forecast...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bill Shuster and Barbara Boxer — the respective chairs of the House and Senate’s major transportation infrastructure committees — told state transportation officials Thursday that their efforts to educate the public and Congress on the nation’s infrastructure needs are essential to passing key legislation.

India’s Ministry of Finance has increased the customs duty on imported luxury goods, such as high-end motor vehicles, motorcycles, yachts and similar vehicles.

Trade barriers between the European Union and Peru will be lifted as of March 1, 2013, when the EU’s trade agreement with Peru and Colombia, signed in 2012, will be provisionally applied with Peru.

The European Union will co-finance more than €2.5 million (about US$3.3 million) from the TEN-T Programme to improve the maritime infrastructure in Lake Mälaren in Sweden to accommodate larger vessels.

A World Trade Organization dispute panel found that China’s anti-dumping duties on imports of X-ray security inspection equipment from the European Union were in breach of WTO anti-dumping rules.

China’s manufacturing growth and new orders both fell sharply in February. HSBC’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped from 52.3 in January to 50.4 this month, taking most analysts by surprise.

Sen. John Davison “Jay” Rockefeller, D-W.V., Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agricultural specialists at the Laredo, Texas, port of entry have intercepted a first-in-the-nation pest not previously encountered by Customs.

Matthew S. Davies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Chicago-area port director, was sworn into office during a Customs’ Chicago field operations change of command ceremony last week.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has applauded the House of Delegate and State Senate passage of a long-term transportation funding reform package.

The Republic of Albania has implemented the international ATA Carnet system, which allows for the temporary duty- and tax-free export or import of goods for up to one year. Albania is the 72nd country to join the system.