Four U.S. House members urged the Colombian government last week to end a “meritless” investigation of U.S. powdered milk exports. Reps. Adrian Smith, R-Neb.; Jim Costa, D-Calif.; Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.; and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., made their plea in a letter to Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. Luis Gilberto Murillo.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board determined on Aug. 9 that stopping freight rail service in Canada would not result in an immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public. This means that members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) could go on strike as early as Aug. 22 should union members and the two Canadian freight railways, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) fail to negotiate a new labor contract.
Texas-based freight forwarder Sealink International (SLI) illegally sold the cargo of California-based exporter Triple L Global (TLG) to an unknown buyer without permission and without the required 10-day written notice, TLG alleged in a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission this week.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on how China and Russia are complying with their World Trade Organization commitments, including in its import regulation, export regulation, subsidies, non-tariff barriers, intellectual property rights enforcement, rule of law issues, and trade facilitation, or other issues.
The EU formally opened a dispute at the World Trade Organization on July 30, asking for consultations with Taiwan regarding its measures related to off-shore wind installations. Those measures include domestic content requirements, which the EU claims are incompatible with commitments under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures and the General Agreement on Trade in Services. The EU last week said it planned to open the dispute because of how they would affect the transition to green energy (see 2407260011). The request for consultations gives the parties 60 days to find a solution to the dispute. If no solution is found, the bloc can request for "adjudication by a panel."
A bipartisan pair of senators fleshed out a trade facilitation framework released in early June (see 2406100015) with legislative text that authorizes spending for several trade-related initiatives, including ones that would create a true single window, modernize ACE and try to reduce penalties for minor export filing errors.
Canadian traders should prepare for increased scrutiny from the country’s customs agents for a range of imports in the coming months, and should consider conducting an “internal compliance review” to make sure they’re complying with all duties and trade laws, Baker McKenzie said in a July 25 client alert.
The Biden administration should seek to remove trade barriers that are making it difficult for American producers of liquor and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to export their products to India, a member of Congress said July 23.
The Federal Maritime Commission this week released its final rule on unreasonable carrier conduct, the last step in the FMC’s nearly two-year campaign of crafting regulations to address ocean carriers that unfairly refuse vessel or cargo space to shippers.
The Canadian press noted that Canada is working to convince officials that might serve in a future Trump administration to spare Canadian goods from a global 10% tariff, but former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, who recently traveled to Canada, has said Canada won't necessarily be exempted.