KORUS kicks in as Colombia, Panama FTAs cool their heels by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor The Korean-US free trade agreement enters into force tomorrow, March 15. As I wrote here last month, the progress of FTAs is stately indeed: After President Obama signed the...
KORUS to Enter into Force March 15
Four months to set the date: pretty fast by FTA standards by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor Like many free traders, I was part of the chorus singing “Hallelujah” when Congress passed legislation last October approving the free-trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and...
US, EU Agree on What’s Organic
Each recognizes the other’s certification, opens market to imports The US and European Commission have reached an agreement that, in recognizing the equivalence of their organic certification programs, will open their markets to each other’s organic products effective...
More Bank Accounts Seized
Allegations of trade-based money laundering on the rise by Peter Quinter, guest columnist This past year has seen an explosion of seizures of bank accounts by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Homeland...
By the Numbers
New products in trade call for new classification codes With the New Year, an updated 2012 edition of the 6-digit Harmonized System (HS) of product classification codes overseen by the World Customs Organization (WCO) goes into effect. It’s the fourth such update, the...
Evidence Points to Injury
USITC votes to pursue case on Chinese solar product dumping The US International Trade Commission has voted unanimously that there is reasonable indication that the US solar industry is materially injured by imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and...
Wanted: Supply Chain Experts
Committee to advise Commerce, DOT on improving flow of goods The job’s unpaid, but it does offer an opportunity to give your two cents’ worth to the US Departments of Commerce and Transportation on what it will take to make US supply chains more competitive globally...
US Solar Companies Seek Relief
Coalition petitions US government for countervailing duties on Chinese imports SolarWorld Industries America, which lays claim to being the largest US domestic producer of crystalline silicon photovoltaic products, is at the head of a seven-member Coalition for...
Pepper Spray Irritates TSA
And a passenger draws a penalty for an ill-timed disclosure by Peter Quinter, guest columnist Our beloved Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has the responsibility of screening passengers to “ensure that certain items and persons prohibited from flying don’t...
Brazil-US Trade: Trouble Brewing?
House bill challenges 2010 agreement that settled cotton dispute by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor In my last column, about Brazil’s surprising spike in demand for US ethanol and cotton, I noted that the way had been cleared for shipments of $328 million worth of US...