Call it Latin America’s controlled experiment in economics (as the Wall Street Journal did recently): Along the Western seaboard, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru embrace free trade and are working to lift restrictions on the movement of capital, goods and services,...
Naming Names: Best-Price Alternative Sources for Chemicals
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist In past columns, Chemcost has explored where in the world US chemicals purchasers can find the “New Cheap.” This month, we focus on who can deliver lower prices, with a demonstration of how Datamyne’s US bill of lading import...
Will Look South Initiative Yield Results? Potential’s There.
by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor Business executives and trade analysts generally applaud the Obama administration’s new Look South Initiative, I found. (See my related post for details on this program to boost US exports.) “The initiative has the potential to help...
Look South Initiative Aims to Lift US Exports to Latin America
by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor While Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations grab headlines, the Obama administration is launching a program to create export opportunities for US companies in this hemisphere. The new Look South initiative aims to help companies chart...
Care to Share Your Laptop’s Contents with Customs? You May Have to
by Peter Quinter, guest columnist I have been writing for years about US court decisions regarding the inspection of the contents of laptops, mobile phones, and other digital devices by officers of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), US Department of Homeland...
Air or Sea, a Rose by Either Transport Is Still a Sweet Valentine
Buying (or expecting) roses for Valentine’s Day? Your long-stems will be among 196 million roses produced for Valentine’s Day (according to Statistic Brain) and, odds are, they’re just off the plane from South America. There’s a small but growing chance, though, that...
Census Trade Data Suppression: How to Hide a $1 Billion Profit?
by Brian J. McCormick, guest columnist The US Census, the source for US import-export trade statistics, routinely modifies or suppresses selected data, primarily to protect confidentiality. Thus, statistics for two or more ports may be combined and published under an...
Mexico Poised to Surpass Japan as Source for US Auto Imports
Japan, the No. 2 source for autos imported by the US since the 1970s, will likely be overtaken by Mexico this year, according to a report from Bloomberg that cites IHS Automotive estimates. Mexican auto exports have quadrupled from 1993 to 2013, says Bloomberg, while...
Reforms Ease US Export Controls, Constraint on Competitiveness
by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor Export controls have long bedeviled US business. Obviously, for national security purposes, some controls are needed. We don’t want our adversaries, or potential adversaries, to have easy access to items that could be used to attack the...
Suntory Bets on Global Demand for Beam’s Distinctive Product of the US
In taking over Jim Beam, makers of the world’s best-selling bourbon, Suntory is not only aiming for a bigger presence in the US market, say analysts. The Japanese company is also banking on the world’s growing thirst for the spirit that Congress declared a...