New
Rules Take Effect Worldwide Requiring Treatment of Wood Packaging
Materials
Some
120 countries, including the U.S., have agreed to begin enforcing
the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
standard ISPM #15. The rule states that all regulated wood packaging
materials (WPM) shall be appropriately treated and marked under
an official program developed and overseen by the National Plant
Protection Organization (NPPO) in the country of export. The
WPM regulation may be accessed on: www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/swp/import.html.
The
regulation restricts the importation of many types of untreated
wooden
packaging materials such as pallets, crates, boxes, and
dunnage. WPM must now be subjected to either 1) heat treatment
to a minimum wood core temperature of 56ºC for a minimum
of 30 minutes or 2) fumigation with methyl bromide.
WPM
must be marked with the IPPC logo and the two letter ISO code
for
the country that treated the WPM. The marking must
also include the unique number assigned by the NPPO to
the company responsible for ensuring the WPM was properly treated,
and either the abbreviation HT (heat treatment) or MB (methyl
bromide). Paper certification (treatment certificates)
will
not be required.
The EU and Brazil have already started enforcing the measure.
The U.S. and Costa Rica will begin enforcement on September 16,
2005. The Philippines and Chile will begin enforcement on June
1, Australia on September 1, Canada, Mexico and Colombia on September
15, the U.S. and Costa Rica on September 16, and China on January
1, 2006.
The
American Lumber Standards Committee has accredited agencies
in the U.S.
to inspect and certify facilities to comply with
heat treatment measures. A list of agencies may be found on
www.alsc.org or you may contact them at 301-972-1700. For questions
pertaining
to the treatment and marking of WPM under the fumigation program,
you may contact the National Wood Pallet & Container Association
at 703-519-6104 or www.nwpca.com.
Source:
www.aphis.usda.gov
Additional
Customs Duties to be Imposed on U.S. Products Entering the
EU
The EU has announced additional customs duties on certain products
originating in the United States. This action follows the World
Trade Organizations (WTO) ruling that "The Continued Dumping
and Subsidy Offset Act" or "Byrd Amendment" was
not in line
with its rules. The USA was given until December 2003 to bring
its legislation in line with the WTO's rules. The implementation
of the additional duties was suspended until May 1, 2005 in
order to give the USA the opportunity to bring its legislation
in line
with the WTO's rules and recommendation. A 15% additional customs
duty will be applicable on specific products in four categories:
paper, agricultural products, textiles and machinery products.
Source:
www.europa.eu.int
U.S.
Considers Emergency Curbs on Chinese Imports
The U.S. Department
of Commerce announced in early April that it was launching
investigations that could lead to
emergency import restrictions on certain pants, shirts
and underwear
made
in China. "This decision is the first step in a process
to determine whether the U.S. market for these products
is being disrupted and whether China is playing a role
in that disruption," said
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
A
final decision on whether to restrict the imports could take
more than 90 to 150 days (from early April) if the Bush administration
uses the full time provided by law to consider the issue, the
Commerce Department said.
Textile
groups have been pressuring the U.S. government to exercise
its authority
to impose emergency curbs on imports from China,
which they say is poised to overrun the U.S. market following
the end of the global quota system on January 1. When it joined
the WTO in 2001, China agreed to let the United States and other
countries impose "safeguard" restrictions on its clothing
and textile exports when they surge to market-disrupting levels.
Source:
www.worldtrademag.com
U.S.
Begins Free Trade Negotiations with United Arab Emirates
The
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a press release
announcing that the United States has begun
negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with the United
Arab Emirates (UAE)
and began negotiations with Oman on March 12, 2005.
USTR
stated in the release that the trade negotiations with
the UAE and Oman are key steps toward the creation
of a Middle East Free Trade Area. USTR added that each
negotiation
is for a separate bilateral agreement with the United
States.
"These
FTAs will build on those we already have with Jordan and Morocco,
as well as the FTA that we recently have
signed with Bahrain," Acting U.S. Trade Representative
Peter F. Allgeier stated in the release. "We believe
that we can move rapidly on these negotiations," he
added.
The
release stated that on November 15, 2004, the Bush Administration
notified Congressional leaders of its
intent to negotiate Free
Trade Agreements with the UAE and Oman. Former U.S.
Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick visited the
UAE and
Oman in October 2004
to discuss with top officials the topics covered
in the United States’ comprehensive FTAs, to identify
particular
areas for
work, and to assess the UAE’s and Oman’s commitments
to moving forward with an FTA, USTR stated, adding
that House
Ways and
Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas led a Congressional
delegation to Oman and other countries in the Middle
East in November
2004 to discuss similar issues.
"The United States trade relationship with the UAE is the third largest
in the Middle East, behind only Israel and Saudi Arabia," USTR noted in
today's release. "The U.S. has a combined trading relationship of $6 billion
and a trade surplus of $2.8 billion with these two countries ($5.2 billion in
total U.S.-UAE 2004 trade, with $4.1 billion in U.S. exports and $1.1 billion
in U.S. imports. U.S.-Oman in 2004 trade was $748 million, with U.S. exports
of $330 million and U.S. imports of $418). Major U.S. exports to these two countries
include machinery, aircraft, vehicles and electrical machinery. Major imports
include mineral fuel and woven apparel."
Source:
www.ustr.gov
Port
of Dubai & Port
of Shanghai Become CSI Operational
The
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (Customs) announced
that the port of Dubai and the port of Shanghai are the 35th
and 36th operational Container Security Initiative (CSI)
ports. CSI allows for the mutual risk assessment of every
oceangoing
container headed for the U.S. before it is loaded on a vessel
in a foreign port and before that vessel is bound for U.S.
seaports.
Customs
stated that the 36 operational ports include: Halifax, Montreal,
and Vancouver,
Canada; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Le Havre and Marseille, France;
Bremerhaven and Hamburg, Germany; Antwerp and Zeebrugge, Belgium;
Singapore;Yokohama, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kobe, Japan; Hong Kong;
Göteborg, Sweden;Felixstowe, Liverpool, Southampton, Thamesport,
and Tilbury, United Kingdom;
Genoa, La Spezia, Naples, Gioia Tauro and Livorno, Italy; Busan, Korea;
Durban, South Africa; Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia;
Piraeus, Greece;
Algeciras, Spain; Laem Chabang, Thailand; Dubai, United Arab Emirates;
and Shanghai, China.
Source:
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
Romania,
Bulgaria Move Closer to EU Membership
Romania
and Bulgaria are moving forward on their efforts to join the
EU in January 2007. In March, a European Parliament
committee endorsed the entry of both countries, providing
they
implement certain political and economic reforms.
To
join in 2007, Bulgaria must improve its justice and law-enforcement
systems and step up the fight against corruption
and organized
crime. Romania was also told it needs to improve justice
and law enforcement, as well as upgrade environmental
protections,
accelerate antitrust rules and dump state aid, particularly
for its steel sector. The special entry conditions for
Romania
and Bulgaria indicate the EU is raising the bar for membership
after taking in Cyprus, Malta and eight East European
states last year.
Source: www.worldtrademag.com
Russia Hopes to Join WTO by End of 2005
In
a press release issued by former U.S. Trade Representative
Robert B. Zoellick and Russian Federation Minister of Economic
Development and Trade German Gref on February 1, 2005, the
trade ministers expressed optimism that United States and
Russia
could reach a deal on Russia’s WTO accession before the end
of 2005.
The release quoted Minister Gref as saying that a “very good
window of opportunity” exists for Russia to have all the negotiations
– including those with other WTO members – completed 'by the
end of December.'"
Source: www.ustr.gov
ASEAN – Australia – New Zealand Begin FTA Talks
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Australia
and New Zealand will begin the first round of talks soon
regarding the potential of free trade in the region. The
negotiations are expected to last two years with full implementation
targeted at 2017. It is anticipated that the agreement will
help promote better ties in relation to goods, services and
investment
between the countries in Southeast Asia, Australia and New
Zealand.
Source: Journal of Commerce
Australia-Malaysia Begin FTA Talks
Australia
and Malaysia are to begin talks to discuss potential bilateral
trade agreements between the two countries. The talks
are scheduled to begin in the next few months with the intention
to boost trade between Australia and Malaysia.
In 2003, Malaysia's investment in Australia totaled more than
$4.8 billion, while Australia's investment in Malaysia amounted
to $376 million. Malaysia is Australia's 10th largest trading
partner. Australia is reported to be seeking a similar FTA
with ASEAN, and already has FTAs in place with Thailand,
Singapore, New Zealand and the United States.
Source: The Business Times
