WTO complaints against (and from) Argentina are rising. Here’s a scorecard. Its trade policies have secured for Argentina the dubious title of the most protectionist country in the world. As reported by the Latin Business Chronicle, and based on Global Trade Alert...
Mixed Feelings
Survey respondents divided on Panama Canal expansion’s impact on trade flow by Bill Armbruster, blog anchor In my last column, I asked readers to weigh in on a survey regarding the impact of the Panama Canal expansion on US waterborne trade. The $5.25 billion project...
Cautionary Tale
Customs broker charged with using “in-bond” cover to avoid import duties by Peter Quinter, guest columnist In a criminal complaint unsealed on July 25, 2012, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California in San Diego announced that it had charged...
No Substitute for Sit-ups
Ab Circle Pro exerciser traded on but didn’t deliver infomercial promises Companies that marketed the Ab Circle Pro in 2009-10 with TV infomercial claims that three minutes on the abdominal exerciser would yield results equivalent to 100 sit-ups have settled a...
Lighter Shade of Transparency
ITA opens up access to documents shedding light on trade remedy proceedings We’re always interested in new sources of information about trade, so we’re happy to report that the US International Trade Administration’s Import Administration (IA) has implemented the...
Sweet Slice of Success
US consumers acquire a taste for imported mangoes … Ever mangled a mango? Our own first attempt at slicing and dicing a mango was a fail. But the fact that we tried at all was a sweet success for the National Mango Board, which is on a mission to market the tropical...
Weigh in on Panamax
Here’s an invitation to a survey on what we can expect from canal expansion by Bill Armbruster In my last column, Scaling up for a Bigger Panamax, I shared my views on whether East and Gulf Coast ports can expect appreciable return on their investment in...
Chinese Tire Tariffs Run Down
Data shows trade diverted from China to suppliers in Korea, Thailand, India Get ready for revved up debate on US tariffs on Chinese tires, set to expire September 26. As we’ve noted before, the US tariffs imposed in 2009 signaled a course change in US trade policy and...
C-TPAT Twofer
US, EU agree to recognize each other’s trusted traders: C-TPAT, AEO members by Peter Quinter, guest columnist US Customs and Border Protection’s very successful Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program has over 12,000 members in the United States....
China Digs into US Green Subsidies
Is China’s polysilicon investigation just a retaliatory move – or does it open a new issue? China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) last week announced the launch of antidumping and countervailing investigations into solar-grade polysilicon imports from the US. China...