International Trade Administration proposed to increase user fees for some U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service programs and reduce the discount offered to small and medium-sized enterprises for such programs. The ITA said it is taking this action after a study concluded that the US&FCS is not covering its costs.

The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for June 12:

The Census Bureau released its report on “Ownership Characteristics of Classifiable U.S. Exporting Firms: 2007,” which details selected economic and demographic characteristics of U.S. businesses and their owners by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. The report was compiled from the 2007 Survey of Business Owners, which is part of the Census Bureau's five-yearly Economic Census, and the 2007 Profile of U.S. Exporting Companies, which is an annual database of commingled U.S. exports and business characteristics compiled from Electronic Export Information filed through the Automated Export System, received from Canada through the Data Exchange, or by paper Shipper's Export Declarations. Full report is available here. Highlights of the report are available here.

The Foreign Trade Zones Board announced details of another outreach event July 17 to provide training and enable discussion about the new FTZ regulations in Chicago. At the event, FTZB will provide general training open to anyone, including grantees, and will cover a range of provisions of the new regulations in the first session. A second outreach session for officials of grantee organizations will focus on regulatory provisions that have a direct impact on the grantee role. RSVPs are required by July 13.

The International Trade Administration announced a partnership with Cintermex, a trade show organizer in Monterrey, Mexico, to coordinate export promotion training with Cintermex’s clients. The ITA said Cintermex will identify Nuevo Leon companies keen on sourcing to the U.S., and work to jointly develop trade fairs that match targeted industry sector buyers from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The U.S. goods and services deficit was $50.1 billion in April 2012, up $6.5 billion from April 2011, according to the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Report, released on June 8 by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The report showed that, as compared to March 2012 levels, exports were down $1.5 billion to $182.9 billion, and imports were down $4.1 billion to $233 billion. As compared to April 2011 totals, exports increased by 4.1% and imports by 6.3%. The U.S. trade deficit with China increased to $24.6 billion in April 2012, from $21.7 billion in March. Statement by Commerce Secretary Bryson available here. ITA fact sheet available here.

The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for June 7:

The International Trade Administration announced a trade mission to explore opportunities in the energy, renewable energy, infrastructure and safety and security technology sectors in Cairo, Egypt and Kuwait City, Kuwait, on March 10-14, 2013. The trade mission will include one-on-one business appointments with pre-screened potential buyers, agents, distributors and joint venture partners; meetings with government officials, chambers of commerce, and business groups; and networking receptions for companies interested in expansion into the North African and Middle Eastern markets. Meetings will be offered with government authorities that can address questions about policies, tariff rates, incentives, grid interconnection, regulation, etc. Recruitment for the mission will begin June 6 and conclude by December 14.

The Foreign Trade Zones Board is issuing the following notices for June 4, 2012:

The International Trade Administration said it issued its quarterly update to its annual list of foreign government subsidies on articles of cheese subject to an in-quota rate of duty that were imported during the period January 1, 2012, through March 31, 2012.