President Trump’s executive order authorizes the Treasury Dept. to enforce economic sanctions against foreign companies, financial institutions and individuals that do business with North Korea. A new executive order signed Thursday by President Trump significantly...
Condition Whiskey: Southeast Ports Get Set for Hurricane Irma
Preparations are underway at ports in the projected path of Hurricane Irma, expected as of Friday morning to move up the Florida Keys and hit the continental U.S. near Miami this weekend. The ports of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are closed – the Coast...
Commerce Dept. Imposes Steep Duties on Biodiesel Imports
Preliminary determination in AD/CVD investigations sets rates as high as 68 percent for duties on biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia. Duties are applied 90 days retroactively to Argentine shipments. The Department of Commerce has determined that exporters...
Hurricane Harvey Disrupts Trade as Record Rains Hit Texas Coast
Examining the Strategic Role of Affected Deep-water Ports As of today (August 30), it’s too soon to gauge Hurricane Harvey’s impact, let alone target dates for recovery. Even as the rains eased in Corpus Christi (near the hurricane’s landfall) and Houston, Harvey has...
U.S. Tightens Venezuela Sanctions
More Venezuelans join the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list of sanctioned individuals. A new executive order prohibits U.S. dealings in Venezuelan government stocks and bonds. The U.S. continued to ratchet up Venezuela sanctions with the aim of achieving...
USTR Outlines Objectives in Renegotiating NAFTA
The USTR plan for renegotiating NAFTA is largely about bringing it in line with trade policies developed since 1994. What’s really new: The U.S. states its goal is to reduce the U.S. trade deficit. Talks are set to open August 16. The first round of talks to revise...
FSVP & Data Management: Two Keys to FDA Compliance
The FDA’s Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) implements provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act. Leading businesses are enabling compliance, considering data management and implementing a holistic regulatory strategy. By Myra Reynolds, LCB, CCS,...
U.S. OFAC SDN List of Sanctioned Venezuelans Lengthens
Thirteen current and former government officials in Venezuela are designated for sanctions that freeze their U.S. assets and bar U.S. persons from doing business with them. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added 13...
Argentina Clears Mercosur-Egypt FTA for Take-off
With Argentine Congressional approval, the free trade agreement signed by trade bloc members and Egypt in 2010 will enter into force within a month. Argentina announced it has sent its formal ratification of the Mercosur-Egypt FTA to the regional trade bloc’s...
NVOCC Share of U.S. Maritime Imports Edges Past 39 Percent
Free report from Descartes Datamyne ranks top 20 NVOCCs by import TEUs in first half 2017, reveals gains in volumes, NVOCC share of U.S. import market. We’ve been tracking the NVOCC share of U.S. maritime imports as an indicator of shippers’ use of logistics services...