Intermodal container lessor Textainer Group Holdings said its new Textainer Marine Containers III Limited subsidiary closed its offering of $300.9 million in aggregate principal amount of Series 2013-1 Fixed Rate Asset Backed Notes. Textainer also said it recently established a $300 million asset backed revolving credit facility under its new Textainer Marine Container IV Limited subsidiary. The facility provides Textainer a source of financing for a diversified pool of older containers to assist in managing the container age limits in the Company's other term and warehouse facilities, it said.
Costly penalties from inaccurate Importer Security Filing (ISF) reports can be mitigated by consolidating services within companies, while reducing other import-related concerns such as customs delays, Livingston International officials said during a Sept. 19 webinar. Chuck Stroupe, product manager for Livingston's customs brokerage, and the company's practice leader Jill Hurley, said integrating services within importers could reduce human error and rising compliance costs by streamlining the overall process.
The FedEx International Direct Priority Ocean (IDPO) freight forwarding service has expanded to include India origins for less than container load (LCL) and full container load (FCL) shipments to New York and New Jersey, FedEx said. The added origins include Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai/Nhava Sheva, representing “the first-ever IDPO offerings in the country for FedEx Trade Networks and the reach of the specialized ocean service.” The origins will also provide customers who export to and from the U.S. with more ocean freight forwarding options.
Bahrain continues to work toward acceptance of carnets, said the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB). Countries that participate in the ATA Carnets passport system waive customs duties and taxes on various goods brought into a country temporarily. "Bahrain ratified the international convention governing temporary admission of goods last year and has been working with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce to understand and work toward implementing the system," said the USCIB, which administers the Carnet System in the U.S.
Amber Road, provider of global trade management (GTM) solutions, announced Sept. 18 that it acquired Shanghai-based EasyCargo, a GTM provider that focuses on a subset called China Trade Management (CTM). According to Amber Road, CTM provides “extensive automation to support the Chinese government’s regulations for an import regime called Processing Trade.” Amber Road said this regime affects companies that import materials into China and use them to manufacture final products that are exported to foreign markets. When properly administered, Processing Trade transactions are exempt from import duties and value-added-taxes, therefore reducing product costs by 25 percent or more, Amber Road said.
The economic gains generated through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be nominal but will contribute to growing wealth inequality in the U.S., Center for Economic and Policy Research analyst David Rosnick argued in a September-released study. The U.S. may only see cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) gains of 0.13 percent by 2025 should the TPP be implemented, said Rosnick, citing other research. “Most workers are likely to lose—the exceptions being some of the bottom quarter or so whose earnings are determined by the minimum wage; and those with the highest wages who are more protected from international competition,” said Rosnick. “Rather, many top incomes will rise as a result of TPP expansion of the terms and enforcement of copyrights and patents.” U.S. trade officials continue to eye a TPP negotiation conclusion by the end of 2013 (see 13091118).
Veresen Inc. said it filed an application with Canada's National Energy Board for a long-term license to export natural gas from Canada to the U.S. The exported natural gas would go to Veresen's proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export project in Coos Bay, Ore., it said. The application proposes an export volume of 1.55 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) for 25 years. The natural gas from western Canadian would travel via existing pipeline and gas gathering networks to the Malin trading hub located in southern Oregon, then via the proposed Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline to the Jordan Cove liquefaction terminal, it said.
A "strategic partnership designed to enhance the voice of independent footwear retailers" in Washington was announced Sept. 10 by the National Shoe Retailers Association and the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America. In the agreement, FDRA will become the main advocacy arm for NSRA members and the more than 8,000 independent footwear retailers nationwide, they said.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. cleared the Shuanghui International purchase of Smithfield Foods, the companies said Sept. 6. The companies also gained approval from the Ukraine, the press release said. The deal will next face a vote by Smithfield shareholders on Sept. 24, with the transaction expected to close soon after, the companies said. Senate Finance Committee members previously voiced some concern with the deal over Chinese pork import restrictions (see 13062402).
The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety released draft standards for discussion at a Sept. 7 International Labour Organization (ILO) meeting, the Alliance said in a statement. The Alliance shared the standards with the ILO, Accord, and the Bangladeshi Ministry of Labour and Employment prior to the meeting, in hopes of accelerating the process “to identify a common, shared set of standards” that will ultimately improve safety in Bangladeshi garment factories. it said. The drafts focus exclusively “on the technical aspects of fire and building safety” and were developed with a commitment to align with the Bangladesh National Building Code,” the Alliance said. The issue has gained attention following the April 24 factory fire there (see 13062820).