It's About Time!
At recent speeches, Customs management personnel have made clear the current priorities are agriculture; textiles; intellectual property rights, especially counterfeit pharmaceuticals and pirated goods; penalties; antidumping,...
Two Words -- "Steel Safeguard" -- Think Carefully
Today I read a Washington Post article entitled "'Buy American' Rider Sparks Trade Debate". Go to the following link for the entire article -...
Canadian Association and Manufacturers Are Concerned About "Buy America" Restrictions Related to U.S Stimulus Monies
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has written a letter warning of the "Buy America" provisions in Stimulus legislation. Perrin Beatty, writes:
Dear Canadian Chamber of Commerce member:
As you are probably aware, an...
Predictions: Enforcement of Anti-Bribery Rules to Be Priority
I have come across a posting on wrageblog setting out the top ten trends for anti-bribery enforcement in 2009. The list set out below comes from the DOJ’s Mark Mendelsohn and summarizes what was said at an...
Trading with Canadians in Times of Bankruptcies and Insolvencies
I have recently been asked a number of questions about how to deal with the reality - the world's economy is down, and bankruptcies, insolvencies and restructurings are up. Shippers, importers, exporters, brokers,...
Canada To Soon Pass Legislation to Implement the Canada - EFTA FTA
On January 28, 2009, Canada tabled (meaning = introduced in the House of Commons for first reading) the Canada - European Free Trade Association Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The previous version of the...
China Threatens WTO Action over EC Fasteners AD Decision
On January 28, 2009, China was angered by an EU antidumping decision to slap hefty antidumping duties on Chinese-made screws and bolts. China quickly fired back that it may take the issue to the World Trade...
Geist Post on WTO Panel Decision in China IP Case
Professor Michael Geist has posted a very insightful review of the WTo Panel Report in "China - Measures Affecting the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights" - see the following link...
The WTO Needs to be Part of the Solution to the World's Financial Problems
On January 28, 2009, Canada's National Post newspaper ran an article entitled "WTO warns of bailout dangers". Go to the folllowing link for the article - www.nationalpost.com/story.html
WTO Director...
Musings on the New Administration
In a memo issued on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, by Assistant to the President/Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, President Obama directed that all federal agencies hold off on proceeding with any regulations not then final for a period...
Arrest of Satyam PWC Auditors Raises Trade In Services Issues
On January 24, 2009, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s (PWC) Indian affiliate, the auditor of Satyam Computer Services Ltd., reported that two of its audit partners (who worked on the Satyam account) had been arrested in India. ...
Ontario Premier Considers Harmonizing Provincial Sales Tax With GST
On January 23, 2009, Premier McGuinty announced that he would consider harmonizing the 8% provincial retail sales tax with the federal GST. The Ontario retail sales tax is a single stage sales tax. The Federal GST is...
ABA Customs SubCommitee Brown Bag Program January 29 on Regulatory Changes
On January 29, 2009, the ABA, Section of International Law, Customs Subcommittee is hosting a Brown Bag lunch (you can join by telephone) on "Key Regulatory Changes During the Past Year and On the Horizon". The...
Great Summary on U.S. - Peru Trade Promotion Agreement
Meeks, Sheppard, Leo & Pillsbury have posted a great summary of the United States - Peru Trade Promotion Agreement at the following link - www.mscustoms.com/FTA%20PERU-USA.pdf
Medical Student Caught and Convicted for Child Pornography on Laptop
On December 23, 2008, the Ottawa Citizen reported that Sai-Man Tang was convicted for importation of child pornography, which was found when his laptop was searched by the Canada Border Services Agency. He was...
Have You Heard the One About the Trucker Whose Laptop Was Searched at the Canadian Border?
Laptop searches by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection have made the news. Searches by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) are quietly occurring. William Leask, an Ontario truck driver, was convicted in Canada in...
