Read more articles authored by Descartes Datamyne

A Better-Balanced CBP Regulation

Intent is to protect the rights of trademark holders and legitimate importers by Peter Quinter, guest columnist Finally, after years of debate, on April 24 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) amended its regulations regarding the detention and seizure of suspected...

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Scaling up for a Bigger Panamax

Prospects for new services are driving investment at East, Gulf Coast ports   by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor East and Gulf Coast ports are investing billions of dollars in dredging and shoreside infrastructure so they will be able to handle the larger vessels...

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COOL Shrimp? Consumers Shrug

Buyers seem indifferent to country-of-origin labeling, say USDA researchers This is counter-intuitive. The US Department of Agriculture reports that its researchers have been unable to detect any shift in the pattern of consumers’ purchases of shrimp from 1998 through...

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Guar Is Thicker than Water

In demand for fracking, supplies of the Asian beans are thin on the ground The new “black gold” isn’t oil, but guar, a bean whose seeds are made into a gum used to thicken sauces, ice cream, yogurts – and now “proppants,” the materials that are forced into fractured...

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Brazilian Spirit

Cachaça is in a class by itself, USTR says (and, please, don’t call it rum) UK distiller Diageo is set to pay $450 million to Ypióca Agroindustrial Limitada to acquire the leading premium cachaça brand, Ypióca, the Financial Times reports. The acquisition, Diageo...

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Getting Out of Detention

Clearing red-listed seafood through the FDA? There’s a procedure for that. by Peter Quinter, guest columnist The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues “Import Alerts” almost daily. A recent one that affects many seafood importers is Import Alert #16-81, issued...

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Argentine Perishables to Wilt

Brazil retaliates in response to Mercosur partner’s protectionist policies Reuters reports that Brazil will end automatic import licensing for 10 perishable products from Argentina, including apples, raisins, potatoes, wheat flour, and some cheeses and wines. The...

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Vanilla Price Watch

Speculative rumors produce real increases, although not nearly as big as 2003 Last month, a flurry of headlines, starting with a report in the UK’s Telegraph, warned that the wholesale price of vanilla was set to rise sharply – adding as much as 10% to the retail...

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