Learn more about Russian Sanctions

 October 30th DEC Export University - Russian Sanctions

This half day session will include an overview of new Russia industry sector sanctions imposed by the Bureau of Industry and Security, and other related OFAC and BIS sanctions.  Join us as Jamie Joiner, Managing Member, Joiner Law Firm PLLC and other panelists share what you need to know to stay in compliance.

For More Information and Registration Click the Link Below:
 http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=qg6pm6iab&oeidk=a07e9v21v5m01429a47

Government Shutdown impacts trade:

Some of the most recent impact on Trade since the Government Shutdown includes:

1. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) - is open and processing shipments. All Declarations must be processed manually as the Electronic Declarations web site is down.
2. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - personnel are not available to process Notices of Arrival of Pesticides and Devices Form 3540-1.  National Customs Broker and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFFA) is in communication with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and EPA for guidance
3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - delays are possible as Import Operations will remain open with limited resources to continue to perform critical functions: Entry review, field examinations, sample collections, compliance, exports, and destructions.
4. Steel License Office - is closed and entries are being processed with temporary license number to be used is "STEELX103".
5. Exchange Rate - receipt of currency exchange rates may be interrupted/sporadic.  Entries should be prepared using the last applicable rate available until regular processes resume.  Entries should be corrected before the filing of entry summary, where possible.  For entry summaries not able to be corrected, we will work with CBP to find the most efficient process including possible correction at liquidation.
6. Tariff Rate Quota Entries - these entries are automatically put on hold by the CBP system.  Until automated processing resumes, CBP has instructed the ports to manually release the entries and suspend liquidation for ultimate liquidation at the proper rate. 
7. Tariff Preference Levels - the International Trace Commission (ITC) OTEXA license system is down.  In the interim a solution would be to file the entries as entry type code 01.  If the license is available before finalization of the entry, the entry could be amended to entry type code 02.  If not able to be corrected, a PEA would be filed to correct the entry.
8. The ITC World Wide Web site, at www.usitc.gov is down – access to the United States Harmonized Tariff Schedule (USHTS) can be obtained from Customs Info Global Data Mining. You can download your copy at: http://hub.am/17oA99a
9. Exports - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) certificates that are required by the governments of importing countries as a condition for importation could be impacted.
10. Whether the CBP 2013 Trade Symposium will continue on as scheduled will be determined as the date draws closer.
11. The October broker exam will remain as scheduled.

Fact Friday: A Little More History

Fact Friday:  A little More of History from the Journal of Commerce

If  the Journal of Commerce was ever branded conservative, cantankerous or stubborn — and it was — those traits could be traced directly to the most famous of the publication’s founders, Samuel F.B. Morse. The inventor of the Morse code was, in 1827, an underemployed and perennially indebted portrait artist and widower with three children. He also was a fiery reactionary who was easily roused to action by perceived blemishes on the moral fabric of society.

One such affront to Morse’s concept of decency was the appearance in February of what was, for the times, a scandalously dressed dancer at a Bowery theatre and by the positive reviews she received by critics, one of whom wrote, “She never lets concealment prey on her charms.” Morse vented anonymously in a letter to the Observer newspaper. In the process he called for the creation of a new aper that could help cleanse the city of its of its moral impurities. Morse went on to write the prospectus for the new newspaper and is credited by historians for giving it its name. The “Journal of Commerce” was not initially intended to be primarily a business newspaper, but instead was so named because wealthy merchants such as its initial bankroller, Arthur Tappan, were envisioned as its main supporters.

The Erie Canal had been opened just two years earlier, attracting a new business class of ambitious New Englanders such as Tappan to New York City.

Morse was a complex individual. Raised in New England by a Calvinist minister who was opposed to slavery and educated at Phillips Academy and Yale, he held strong prejudices, including being a supporter of slavery.

“He dislikes immigrants, especially Catholics and especially Irish,” said Kenneth Silverman, whose biography of Morse, “Lighting Man,” will be published by Knopf next year. “A lot of that came from his visits to Europe, where he got to see the Catholic church first-hand and blamed it for the state of European society, which he thought was immoral, backward and despotic, and didn’t want that to come to America.

“The other side of it is that he is a tremendously imaginative and inventive guy,” Silverman said. He credits Morse with largely creating the art scene in New York, helping found the National Academy of Design in 1825. Morse was himself an accomplished artist acknowledged by posterity; in 1982 one of his paintings sold for the highest price ever paid for the work of an American artist, $3.25 million.

By the late 1830s Morse was working full time on the device for which he would become most famous, the electric telegraph. It was not his idea, and other models had been proposed earlier, according to historians. Even the Morse Code did not differ significantly from others’ versions. But Morse persuaded Congress to fund the first telegraph line from Baltimore to Washington, over which were sent the famous words, “What hath God wrought!” It took a U.S. Supreme Court decision to finally secure Morse’s patent rights to the invention, but he had already gotten rich, buying an estate overlooking the Hudson and building an Italian villa there.

Throughout his life, Morse maintained an affection for the JoC. He used the publication to defend the National Academy of Design and when he went abroad he was occasionally asked to serve as a special correspondent.

Governor's Small Business Forum -- May 30th

Governor’s Small Business Forum: Business Without Borders Marketing in Today’s World, May 30, Galveston, TX. Learn the latest techniques for internet marketing, discover U.S. and state incentives for exporting and how to finance international transactions. Cost: $25. Register: www.gcsbdc.com .

Credit Insurance Webinar from Roanoke Trade

Register Now  Join Us! Credit Insurance Date: May 15, 2013 Time: 1:00 PM ET Location: Online Cost:     Members: $50    Non-Members: $75 Credit:     1 CCS or 1 CES point Events Scheduled Events presented by Roanoke Trade Registration Deadline & Event Access Information Webinar registration closes promptly at midnight, 12 hours prior to the event. Those registering between noon and midnight will be notified the morning of the event at the email address provided during registration. Questions? Please contact the NCBFAA Educational Institute by e-mailing education@ncbfaa.org Join Our Mailing List! About The Webinar This webinar outlines how credit insurance can protect against non-payment, late payment and political risks. An introduction of how credit insurance can help your clients and some proven client retention strategies will be provided. We will also discuss how credit insurance can be made part of an effective sales growth strategy through Safe Sales Expansion. The Credit Insurance marketplace is much different today than it was five years ago with more competition, competitive rates and various types of coverage. Various options will be outlined that may benefit you and your clients. We look forward to your attendance!    Sincerely, Roanoke Trade, a division of Roanoke Insurance Group Inc. About Your Presenters Rick Bridges, Vice President  Rick Bridges, Vice President of Roanoke Trade, joined Roanoke Insurance Group Inc. in 1998. He resides in Massachusetts and his scope of responsibilities includes service and sales in the New England Region. With over 14 years of international trade and insurance experience, Rick is a well-respected advisor on insurance and risk management matters involving the trade and transportation of freight. In addition to his experience in transportation insurance and bonds, Rick is a skilled multi-lines commercial insurance agent licensed in several states. He has delivered cargo insurance work shops and seminars to clients nationwide, and is a frequent speaker at local and national transportation association conferences. Rick is President of CONECT (the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade), and is a regular contributor to various industry publications. He has assisted Rotary International in transporting much needed medical supplies and equipment to various third world countries. Rick's education includes a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rhode Island with a Marine Affairs major and several graduate level maritime courses. In the United Kingdom at the University of Plymouth, honors courses in Maritime Business and Law rounded out his education.   Valerie Serrani, Partner  Valerie Serrani is a partner at International Risk Consultants Inc., and has been with the company for over four years. IRC is the largest specialty broker of trade credit and political risk insurance in the world, and maintains partner-owned and operated offices in eight US cities, Brazil, Hong Kong, mainland China, India and are fully licensed to operate in Switzerland. IRS also maintains an alliance of 45 offices in 27 countries around the world via the International Credit Brokers Alliance. Valerie's focus at IRC is in structuring short-term multi- or single-buyer policies. Her portfolio ranges from large multinational companies small exporters in various industries. Prior to IRC, Valerie worked in the Claims Recoveries Department at  Coface North America and later for Coface Collections. Valerie holds a Bachelor degree in Business Marketing from Ohio University and is a Registered Global Credit Professional through Thunderbird.  About Roanoke Trade Roanoke has been a leader in transportation-related and surety services since 1935. As part of its commitment to the NCBFAA as well as the NEI, Roanoke Trade invests in educational resources to teach the ins-and-outs of topics of interest impacting their regular members with webinars to provide skills and tips to positively impact your company's profitability and enhance your customer service level.

Just a little Ole Pick-Up

One of the GREAT things about our Business is the variety of companies that we work with and the unexpected items that we handle for them.

This little surprise arrived this past week and is bound for overseas.

 

ILA Authorizes Strike

We received this information this morning and thought we would share it with you as it's an issue that COULD effect many of us on December 29th.  We thank OHL for taking the time to share.

ILA Authorizes Strike

Here at OHL, we have been following the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Strike to provide you, our customers with the most recent updates regarding ILA negotiations for better insight. Most recently the negotiations between the ILA and  East and Gulf Coast Employers (USMX), under the auspices of the Mediation & Conciliation Service resumed today here in Washington DC. They are scheduled to run through Wednesday of this week. At this point there is no agreement to further extend the discussions beyond December 29, although that is always a possibility. The ILA issued a press release that the membership has provided ILA President Harold Daggett with strike authority if the two sides cannot reach an agreement by December 29. Washington insiders caution that this does NOT mean the ILA has decided to strike. Wednesday afternoon will provide us with insight into whether the parties are making progress, or not and OHL will keep you posted. If all ports on the US Gulf Coast and US East Coast are shut down in connection with the ILA strike, OHL International will assist customers in trying to utilize alternate port on the US West Coast or via Canada where possible.We are monitoring the situation closely to ensure we are ready to re-route cargo as needed. The contingencies being planned will be subject to the underlying carrier’s service and availability. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your OHL Account Manager, local OHL Station or OHL Trade Services at tradeservices@ohl.com. You can also find updates on the OHL website Trade Alerts page. Categories: Trade Services Industry Updates Sincerely, OHL Trade Services T: 215-238-8600 F: 215-238-8554 E: tradeservices@ohl.com Visit our Trade Alert Library by clicking your topic of interest below:

Fact Friday: Global Commerce

 90% of Global commerce moves on the open water via the steam ship lines

Letters of Credit Boot Camp

Letters of Credit Boot Camp

Basic Training for Clean and Profitable Letters of Credit

Wednesday October 20th

8 am to 3 pm

University of Houston ~ Small Business Development Center

2302 Fannin, Ste 200,  Houston TX

Speakers

Madeline Sprague, VP Global Trade Services

JP Morgan Chase

Jolie Cosman, CEO

LetterofCreditCollection.com

• 
  
  Hear about best practices to create clean L/C's
• 
  
  Learn about INCOTERMS
• 
  
  UCP 600, ISPB:  Learn How to Use Them to YOUR advantage
• 
  
  Review case studies of good and bad L/C/s
• 
  
  and more

Cost:  OWIT Members  $75.00

Non-members  $90.00

Includes continental Breakfast and Lunch

RSVP  http://www.owit-hou.org/

Ocean Carriers Planning a $500.00 Rate Hike

for Asia - US Containers

The 14 shipping lines of the Transpacific Stabalization agreement are planning to increase rates for Asia - US Containers starting August 1st.

To read more : click here

US Trade Gap Lowest in 9 years!

The BBC reported:

The US saw it's deficit narrow to $26 bn in May, it's lowest level i more then nie years, according to figures from the commerce department.

Imports continued to fall while exports increased, pushing the deficit to it's lowest level since November 1999.

READ MORE

Steel Imports Drop in March

May 5, 2009 May 5, 2009 – 1:48 pm-->By Alan Field Breakbulk from the Journal of Commerce

Shipping near record low, says industry group

The United States imported a total of 1.5 million net tons of steel in March, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported, based on preliminary Census Bureau data. Imports of this breakbulk cargo included 1.437 million net tons of finished steel, down 3 percent from February.
Precision Metalforming Association President William E. Gaskin said, “The continuing fall in steel imports in March is not a surprise given the lingering sluggishness in the U.S. manufacturing sector, which has had a real impact on our members. According to PMA’s most recent survey of business conditions, the number of metal forming companies with a portion of their workforce on short time or layoffs increased to 85 percent in April, up from 76 percent in March. And while optimism about expectations for new orders has risen over the past few months, current shipping levels remain near record lows.”

China dominates imports

In March, the largest volume of finished imports from offshore was from China (196,000 net tons, down 28 percent from February). The March tonnage from China was 14 percent of all finished imports. Other major offshore suppliers in March were Korea, Japan, and India.
March imports of hot-rolled steel dropped seven percent from February’s levels, from 152,983 to 141,792 metric tons. Cold-rolled steel imports also declined, from 111,625 metric tons in February to 96,236 metric tons in March, a drop of 14 percent.

Key products that increased in March compared to February included reinforcing bars (up 155 percent), mechanical tubing (up 46 percent), hot dipped galvanized sheet & strip (up 28 percent), line pipe (up 24 percent) and standard pipe (up 24 percent).

Piracy could bring maritime trade to its knees:
By Michael Edwards
Posted Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:24am AEST Updated Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:14am AEST ABC News


Maritime experts say shipping will only get slower and more expensive unless something is done to stop the threat of Somali pirates.

As details continue to emerge about the dramatic rescue of the American ship Captain Richard Phillips, more questions are being asked about the impact of piracy on shipping routes.
This comes as Somali pirates raised the stakes this morning, seizing two more ships and throwing down the gauntlet to tough-talking US President Barack Obama.

To get an idea of the piracy situation off the horn of Africa, look at ABC News Online's interactive map.
The problem has already sent insurance rates up and more ships are opting to take the slower route around South Africa instead of through the Suez Canal.

Australia's shipping industry says it will have an adverse effect on the world economy as trade slows down.

Friends and colleagues of Captain Richard Phillips are still dealing with his dramatic rescue at the hands of US Navy Seal marksmen.

Shane Murphy is Captain Phillips's chief mate onboard the Maersk Alabama. I just got off the phone with our captain, Richard Phillips for the first time, and it was an extremely emotional experience for all of us to actually hear his voice and hear the condition he was in," he said.
"He is absolutely elated and he couldn't be prouder of us for doing what he trained us to do. And that's really, when the story unfolds you'll see that's really all we did.

"We did everything that we were trained to do. And we have the captain; ultimately everybody you see here before you today has the Captain, Captain Phillips, to thank for their lives and their freedom."

But despite the US Navy's victory this time, experts say the threat posed by Somali pirates is as strong as ever.

John Burnett is an expert on international piracy, and he told Radio National's breakfast program that poverty drives many young Somali men to become pirates.

"These kids, the young men, if they're lucky will earn probably even less than $30 a month. So when they become a pirate they will earn something in the hundreds of thousands and that's a hell of a lot more profitable and less risky than pulling up a half empty fishing net," he said.
And the toll extracted by the pirates is increasing.

There's the cost of ships out of commission as well as ransoms to free crews and extra security measures. Add to that rising insurance premiums and higher labour costs for crews travelling in the area.

And there are extra costs for shipping companies which are choosing to avoid the area.
Llew Russell is the chief executive of Shipping Australia, the peak body for Australia's shipping industry.

"We're most concerned about the increase in piracy that's been occurring particularly over the last few weeks," he said. "With the winter monsoons declining over there we're finding a big upsurge in piracy and we feel it will encourage more people to go around the Cape, which is much longer, consumes more fuel and is more costly."

Mr Russell says going to or from Europe around South Africa adds at least 10 to 14 days to an ocean voyage.

He says many shipping companies are being forced to pay for specialised equipment to thwart attacks.

"A ship thwarted an attack a week or so ago by putting barbed wire right around it. I mean, they're trailing nets out behind the ship to foul the propellers of their little speed boats and so on that they use. All these techniques are being used to try to thwart the attacks," he said.
Mr Russell says if nothing is done it's the world's economy which will suffer.

"I think it'll impact on world trade because you not only have Somalia, you have other countries looking at what Somalia's doing," he said.

"So I can only see the situation getting worse. The only way you can tackle this sort of piracy is on land.

"In fact one has to look at building up the economies of northern Somalia and helping those people in ways other than encouraging piracy. That I think is the longer term answer

WTO's Lamy says Doha round relaunch awaits U.S.

Links to this article
By Doug PalmerReuters Friday, April 24, 2009; 11:08 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A renewed push to finish long-running world trade talks cannot begin until the United States is ready to engage, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Friday.

Completing the Doha round of talks would help pull the global economy out of recession by unleashing new trade flows and "help restore confidence at this moment of crisis," Pascal Lamy, the WTO's director general, said at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

"I cannot restart a political process without the U.S. being ready," Lamy said. That opportunity could come at a number of international meetings over the next several months.

The Obama administration's position on the Doha round of trade talks "is emerging little by little" and is positive but the process has been slow, Lamy said. if (There is much goodwill among negotiators in Geneva for the new U.S. administration but patience is not infinite, he said.

The talks, officially known as the Doha Development Agenda, were launched more than seven years ago in the capital of Qatar with the goal of helping poor countries prosper through trade.
Many developing countries, who make up of the majority of the WTO's 153 members, are anxious for the talks to conclude.

They stand to benefit if rich countries make long-awaited farm subsidy cuts and open their manufacturing and agricultural markets to more imports from developing nations, Lamy said.
U.S. farm, manufacturing and services groups strongly object to a set of proposed texts for concluding the round put forward in December. They have urged the Obama administration to refuse to restart talks on the basis of those texts.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Thursday the United States remains committed to a successful end of the round but needs a better idea of what it will "get" in exchange for what it gives up. Kirk said the United States would soon set out new ideas for moving the talks forward.

LAMY TO MEET KIRK
Lamy, in Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, is expected to meet Kirk.

Lamy argued that U.S. business already would benefit more from the round than it publicly admits.

If the United States wants developing countries to clarify what new market openings they will make, it would help for Washington to identify which goods it will exclude from a pledge rich countries made in 2005 not to impose duties or quota on imports from the poorest countries, Lamy said.

Developing countries fear the United States will use its insistence on excluding 3 percent of products from the duty-free, quota-free pledge to maintain barriers in areas of greatest interest to them, such as textiles and sugar.

Sounding a warning against protectionism, Lamy said he has hung a picture in his office of the two U.S. lawmakers who authored the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff act often blamed for deepening and prolonging the Great Depression by triggering tit-for-tat retaliation around the globe.
But that trauma led to the rules-based world trading system that has provided "more than 60 years of economic stability," Lamy said.

(Editing by John O'Callaghan)