The TV and display global supply chain is facing its “greatest political challenge with the presidency of Donald Trump,” a Display Supply Chain Consultants blog post said (here), predicting an uptick in “assembled in the USA” products. Calls for import tariffs on goods from Mexico and as much as a 45 percent import tax on goods from China “would profoundly disrupt the industry," DSCC President Bob O’Brien said. Some 95 percent of TV imports into the U.S. come from those two countries, he said.

Roadrunner Transportation Systems rebranded its Global Solutions segment as Ascent Global Logistics, Roadrunner said in a Jan. 25 news release (here). "Ascent Global Logistics will remain focused on helping clients streamline processes to increase supply chain efficiency, optimize current logistics programs and enhance service levels," it said. Ascent also "provides clients with international freight forwarding, customs brokerage, regulatory compliance services and project management," it said.

The U.S. Council of International Business plans to work with the Trump administration and Congress to address the "lack of clear standards at U.S. customs for forced labor," the USCIB said in its "American Competitiveness Agenda" for 2017 (here). CBP is working on new regulations to implement the forced labor provisions of the customs reauthorization law, which repealed "consumptive demand" considerations (see 1606170040). Other issues important to the USCIB include "inadequate or eroding IP protection, and illicit trade." The trade group also urged "the Administration to seek improvements to pending and existing agreements, rather than withdraw from them, and work to advance negotiations for strong, pro-competitive trade and investment agreements going forward." In a separate news release (here), the USCIB said it is disappointed by President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (see 1701230041).

The incoming Trump administration should consider a trade deal with the United Kingdom, avoid creating new trade barriers and promote intellectual property protections around the world, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said at Jan. 11 event. “The president-elect says he wants to expand trade, and negotiate strong new trade deals for our country,” Donohue said during his annual “State of American Business” address. “I’m in. Let’s do it.” Trade deals under the Trump administration should lower trade barriers of other countries that block U.S. exports, should protect IP and digital industries through tough enforcement, and should ensure that U.S. investments abroad are protected by the rule of law “and a level playing field,” Donohue said. Trade policy in 2017 should increasingly consider how to better expand the benefits of trade to workers, he said. In the hopes of hearing how the chamber can benefit small businesses more effectively, chamber officials will travel away from the centers of New York and Washington to hold regional business conferences across the nation, Donohue said, part of a push to start a “grassroots army” with small and medium-sized business employees.

Coabana Trading plans to import "artisanal charcoal" from Cuba later this year, marking the "first time in more than half a century that a Cuban-produced product will be exported from Cuba" to the U.S., Coabana's parent company, Reneo Consulting, said in a news release (here). The agreement to import the charcoal, called Marabu charcoal, is "but the first step in what should be a blossoming trade relationship involving many different products," said Scott Gilbert, chairman of Reneo. The charcoal should be available in the U.S. in early 2017, "marketed by Fogo Charcoal, a subsidiary of Susshi International Inc. and sold through various retailers."

Descartes Systems Group bought Datamyne, which specializes in providing cloud-based trade data, for about $52.7 million, Descartes said Dec. 23 (here). Primarily operating in the U.S. and South America, Datamyne “collects, cleanses, and commercializes” logistical trade information from more than 50 countries spread across five continents, Descartes said. "Datamyne broadens our trade data content footprint beyond customs and regulatory data and into logistics trade data," Descartes CEO Edward Ryan said.

Ohio Sens. Rob Portman, R, and Sherrod Brown, D, sent a letter (here) to EU Parliament President Martin Schulz, expressing concerns about possible changes to how the EU treats China in antidumping duty cases. Under a recent proposal issued by the European Commission, "it appears unlikely China would actually be treated as a non-market economy in EU antidumping investigations," the letter said. "In light of China’s request this week to begin consultations with the U.S. and EU at the World Trade Organization, it is imperative that we coordinate our policies on non-market economy designations, particularly for China. We ask you to ensure the Parliament’s position on this proposal is established only after Congress and the Parliament have had the opportunity to collaborate," it said. China filed a WTO complaint on Dec. 12, arguing the U.S. and EU can no longer use special calculations for AD duty on its products. In an emailed statement, the Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws voiced its support for Portman's and Brown's requests for European Parliament to consult with U.S. Congress and to work collaboratively to devise the most effective response to China’s non-market-based trade practices.

The incoming Trump administration and new Congress should implement policies allowing for U.S. participation in multilateral trade arrangements, review of U.S. economic progress under NAFTA and through World Trade Organization membership, and increase investments in port infrastructure, among other things, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) said in a policy brief (here). Taking part in a growing network of preferential trading arrangements would facilitate U.S. export competition, stronger global trade rules, U.S. trade enforcement, and U.S. business investments in innovation and technology, the NFTC said in the paper. The NFTC touted the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying it advances “forward-looking global rules” to provide for openness in agriculture, high-end manufacturing, the digital economy, and technology, as well as new disciplines for state-owned enterprises, intellectual property protection, and better labor and environmental policies.

The National Retail Federation forecasts that December imports at the nation’s major retail container ports will be 3.2 percent higher than in December 2015 “as stores bring in the last of the merchandise for the holiday season,” in its monthly global port tracker (here). “There’s still shopping to be done, and retailers are making sure the gifts that need to be under a tree are waiting on the shelves,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president-supply chain and customs policy. “Imports are up a healthy amount over this time last year, and that’s a good sign for holiday sales and the economy.” The 11 U.S. ports in the report handled 1.67 million “twenty-foot equivalent units” (TEUs) in October, the latest month for which “after-the-fact numbers are available,” NRF said. That was up 4.6 percent from September and up 7.4 percent from October 2015, it said. One TEU represents one 20-foot-long cargo container or its equivalent, it said. November was estimated at 1.53 million TEUs, up 3.6 percent from last year, and December is forecast at 1.48 million TEUs, up 3.2 percent, it said. Cargo volume for 2016 is expected to total 18.6 million TEUs, up 2 percent from last year, it said. Total volume for 2015 was 18.2 million TEUs, up 5.4 percent from 2014, it said. Cargo volume “does not correlate directly to sales because only the number of containers is counted, not the value of the cargo inside,” NRF said. Still, the numbers serve as a reliable “barometer of retailers’ expectations,” it said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Businesses of Colombia on Dec. 2 signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen business cooperation between U.S. and Colombian private sectors and ignite greater engagement in the global economy, the U.S. Chamber announced (here). The two organizations hope the MOU will enhance the growing trade and investment relationship between the nations and lay the groundwork for establishing a U.S.-Colombia Business Council, the Chamber said. “On behalf of a U.S. business community eager to pursue meaningful and increasingly robust trade and investment connections with Colombia, we are pleased to take this step forward alongside leaders we regard as partners and friends,” said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs for the U.S. Chamber. “We look forward to the opportunity to build upon the successes of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement as we recommit to the work of promoting innovation and fostering economic competitiveness.”