The National Association of Manufacturers began a new program to "provide legal advice on export controls, sanctions, customs and other market-entry fundamentals," it said in a news release (here). The new program, called the Manufacturers’ Compliance Institute Global (here), is meant to "help manufacturers address the legal questions raised as they navigate new and expanding international opportunities," said NAM General Counsel Linda Kelly.

A new cargo monitoring service sold by ORBCOMM can help "ensure compliance with government regulations including the Food and Drug Administration’s upcoming Food Safety Modernization Act," the company said in a news release (here). CargoWatch Secure enables "customers, including port/logistics zone operators, fleet owners, freight forwarders, customs/tax, and other government agencies, to detect, manage and correct supply chain anomalies in real-time, resulting in reduced losses and claims," ORBCOMM said.

The U.S. exported its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Sabine Pass terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, drawing praise from Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La. (here). “After years of work helping cut bureaucratic red tape and write laws empowering LNG production and export, finally we are seeing a positive result,” Boustany said in a statement. “This is a historic event that will put the United States on a path to becoming the global leader in this new and developing industry. I will continue to fight to open markets for this product to attract more investment and jobs to Louisiana.” Chartered by Cheniere Marketing, LNG carrier Asia Vision is heading for Brazil, Cheniere said (here).

Inchape Shipping Services' customs brokerage can now provide service across all North American ports following CBP's recent approval of a national broker permit for ISS Brokerage Services, the company said in a news release. ISS also said it named Theresa Bennington to be brokerage manager for North America.

The American Apparel & Footwear Association on Feb. 1 said it supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership (here), after sending some mixed signals about its level of support in the four months since the agreement’s release. The TPP could provide opportunities to compete, cut costs, and enter new markets for the clothing, shoe, and accessories industries, as nearly every U.S. job in those sectors depends on access to foreign customers and/or global supply chains, AAFA said. During a recent International Trade Commission hearing, an AAFA executive expressed concern that the pact’s “yarn forward” rule of origin—which requires that all textile and apparel products be made using yarns from TPP countries—could hurt Vietnamese textile exports (see 1601150055).

A U.S.-Brazil free trade agreement would increase bilateral trade and could grow the economic partnership between the two countries in the long term, according to the executive summary of a study released Jan. 28 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Brazil-U.S. Business Council (here). Trade barriers in Brazil are particularly high for tobacco, imported beverages, motor vehicles, processed foods, apparel, leather, and agriculture, forestry and fishery products, the summary states. The study concluded that such an FTA would boost U.S. GDP by $24 billion, increase U.S. exports to Brazil by 78 percent and world exports by over 1 percent, and raise U.S. imports from Brazil by about 21 percent. “Despite its current challenges, we remain bullish about the future of Brazil and its role in the region and global economy,” Cassia Carvalho, executive director of the Brazil-U.S. Business Council’s U.S. Section, wrote in a letter accompanying the summary. “With the renewed Brazil and U.S. relations, the moment is now to define a bold bilateral agenda with a roadmap toward the future.”

The U.S. should "work with the new Canadian government to improve cross border trade opportunities," eBay Senior Vice President-North America Hal Lawton said in a letter to Bruce Heyman, U.S. ambassador to Canada, according to an eBay news release (here). In the letter (here), Lawton urged Heyman to work with the Canadian government to increase Canada's de minimis threshold of $20 on the value of imported goods allowed before customs duties are applied and paperwork must be processed. "The inequity between the U.S. and Canadian de minimis is a major source of friction for eBay customers in these two countries -- an inequity that eBay is committed to improving," the release said. The de minimis threshold in the U.S. is currently $200 and Congress is considering increasing it to $800 through customs reauthorization legislation (see 1512100024).

The National Council of Textile Organizations endorsed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, in part, because of provisions they say will buttress a stable supply chain, as well as a “strong yarn forward” rule of origin for most textiles and apparel, and “reasonable” multi-year phase-outs for the most sensitive of those products, NCTO said Jan. 21 (here). The association said it has “determined” that TPP will meet these principle objectives. “Yarn forward” requires that all textile and apparel products be made using yarns from TPP countries, but a “short supply” list under the agreement would allow fabrics, yarns, and fibers that are unavailable in these nations to be sourced from non-TPP countries. “No agreement is perfect, and certainly that is the case with TPP,” NCTO Chairman Jeff Price said in a statement. “There were difficult trade-offs that we, as U.S. manufacturers, had to consider during this process, as is the case with any complicated negotiation. Nonetheless, this agreement is very sound in the essential elements that govern textile trade.”

Amazon China's registration with the Federal Maritime Commission to be a freight forwarder as Beijing Century Joyo Courier Service Co. (see 1601150008) shows the company isn't giving up on investments in China, said a report from Credit Suisse research analysts. The report said analysts' conversations with Amazon officials suggested the company "will look to iterate its effort to offer Chinese consumers guaranteed authentic products." The report also suggested the fees Amazon will collect as a freight forwarder could result in savings from lower prices for consumers.

Assurance is needed on the U.S. plans for changes to the methodology used to calculate China trade remedies, said the U.S.-China Business Council in its annual statement of priorities (here). The countries should confirm that the U.S. "will begin using market economy methodology in China trade remedy proceedings on or before December 11, 2016, as specified in China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) entry agreement," the group said. The USCBC included that issue among its wide-ranging list of important issues planned for consideration, released Jan. 20. Additionally, government decisions, including antidumping and countervailing duties trade remedies "must be fact-based, shielded from political pressures, and non-retaliatory," it said. Also important is eliminating the high tariffs and taxes on consumer goods imported by China, which would lead to job growth in the country. "Reducing or eliminating tariffs and taxes on consumer goods would be a simple yet powerful stimulant of domestic consumption," it said. "Removing restraints on imports, such as increasing or eliminating the cap on imported movies, would stimulate services sector growth and employment." The USCBC also called for the acceleration of U.S. export control reforms and cooperation between the two countries on environmental technologies.