US files WTO complaint against Chinese tariffs on American-made automobiles The Obama Administration has challenged China’s antidumping and countervailing duties on cars manufactured in the US with a request for “dispute settlement consultations” at the World Trade...
Mexico’s Exports Fuel GDP
With growth outpacing Brazil, no change in Mexican economic policy forecast The New York Times took sidebar note of Mexico’s fast-growing economy during its coverage of June’s Group of 20 meeting. Mexico’s economy grew faster than Brazil’s last year and it is on pace...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
EU Files against Argentina
Request for consultations on import restrictions formally opens WTO dispute The EU today requested consultations with Argentina on that country’s import restrictive measures. The request is the first step in bringing a dispute to the World Trade Organization for...
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...
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...