Contributing Lawyers

On February 4, 2011, Prime Minister Harper and President Obama plan to make an announcement (so we are told by The Globe & Mail) concerning the creation of a high level working group on border security and regulatory convergence....

You do not need be a psychic to make predictions. I have been watching the trends in the new trade laws and cases. The trends are:

A. Accountability - Following the law is not a suggestion - individuals and partnerships will be...

The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will be under the microscope during the week of January 17-21, 2011 as the sixth rounds of negotiations take place in Brussels. One of the difficult...

Originaly Published in the June 2010 JOC Magazine -

Anyone who imports textile or wearing apparel products knows that achieving 100% regulatory compliance has been challenging for both Customs and the trade community. In a...

In a recent posting my colleague, Cyndee Cherniak spoke about NAFTA audits and things prudent Canadian companies will do to prepare for them. It is worth noting that such audits are done quite differently in the U.S. Oh, the...

A number of customs attorneys in the United States have been warning me that the United States Customs and Border Patrol (USCBP) are stepping up enforcement activities under NAFTA. I have been informed by very reliable sources...

Most Canadian businesses do not relish a visit from a Canadian tax auditor and also do not view with anticipation a fax from the United States Customs and Border Patrol (USCBP) asking to come for a visit to conduct a NAFTA...

Recently, I have been informed of two NAFTA verifications being conducted by the Canadian Government in order to verify the correctness of NAFTA certificates of origin provided by U.S. companies and one NAFTA verification being...

On February 5, 2010, Canada’s Minister of International Trade (Peter Van Loan) and the United States Trade Representative (Ron Kirk) issued a joint statement on Canada-United States government procurement.  This tentative...

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on February 4, 2010 that "the United States is committed to a rules-based trading system where the American people - and the Congress - can feel confident that when we sign an agreement...

Representative Bruce Braley, D- Iowa has sponsored HR 4512 in the United States House of Representatives, legislation that ultimately requires country of origin labelling on fuel.

Section 3 of the "Country-of-Origin Labeling...

Food Safety News reports that the American Meat Institute (AMI) is supporting Canada and Mexico in the dispute concerning the United States 2008 Farm Bill country of origin labelling (COOL) rules. The report indicates that the...

Given the expanding concern about the safety of the U.S. food supply, Congress is again taking action to change the rules. From what we have seen so far, those changes are likely to be dramatic and potentially quite costly,...

Originally printed in the Journal of Commerce -

As the new year begins, many trade professionals wonder what is 2010 likely to hold? One can never be sure how events will unfold, but from what we know right now, it will be...

In the past, we have commented on the expansion of tools available to federal authorities for the prosecution of export violations. Specifically, 18 U.S.C. § 554 allows prosecution of any individual or entity for...

Given the rising importance placed on food safety, the Foreign Trade Association, iwhich is headquartered in the Greater Los Angeles area, is hosting a two-part series providing an international perspective on food safety. Laws...