Secretary Gates seeks to replace the "Byzantine amalgam" of government agencies, including the Commerce, State, and Defense Departments, that regulate exports of a wide range of products with potential military applications, such as satellites, night-vision goggles, and even certain kinds of nuts and bolts, with a single licensing agency.

"Not too long ago, a British C-17 spent hours disabled on the ground in Australia-not because the needed part was unavailable, but because U.S. law required the Australians to seek U.S. permission before doing the repair," Gates told a gathering of the Business Executives for National Security, a private-sector group that advises the Defense Department.

The Secretary is reportedly getting support from defense contractors and industry groups, which believe reform of the export controls is long overdue. "I think it's actually unprecedented that we have this top-down commitment to an issue that is often pushed to the periphery," commented the president and chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he shares Secretary Gates's goal of "more effective controls that better address today's-and tomorrow's-security threats." In a statement, Rep. Berman said he was preparing a bill to modernize export controls on "dual-use" technology that can be used for civilian or military purposes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is getting pressure from India to streamline export controls to facilitate the transfer of high technology, especially in the areas of defense, strategic trade, civil nuclear cooperation, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and aviation. High-ranking officials from both countries met last month to advance talks on the subject.

Source: washingtonpost.com

The Predictive Risk-Based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting (PREDICT) program helps Customs officials prevent counterfeit and adulterated drugs from entering the U.S. via a rules-based system that targets high-risk shipments.

According to the FDA, PREDICT will continue to be used in the Los Angeles and New York customs districts, with eventual rollout in other districts once the IT problems are resolved.

Meanwhile, shipments of lower-risk foods and cosmetics should experience a higher "may proceed" rate in the PREDICT system, providing the shipment data is accurate and complete. However, shipment data that is not complete or inaccurate will result in significant delays in entry processing.

Meanwhile, the U.S. trade gap with China continued to widen, to $22.7 billion, its highest level in a year. The gap with China accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. trade deficit.

The key gateway for trans-Pacific air cargo experienced a 2.5 percent increase in freight tonnage over September 2008, the first yearly growth for Los Angeles since November 2007.

The September tonnage also marked a 3.7 percent gain over August’s freight tonnage, the fifth straight month-to-month gain for the airport.

Air cargo carriers are seeing modest improvements in demand while some forwarders are reporting capacity shortages in Asia as carriers have idled aircraft.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), all of the world's regions reported higher demand in August compared to July, with Latin America and the Middle East showing the most improvement.

Compared to the low point of December 2008, seasonally adjusted freight demand has improved by 12 percent, but remains 16 percent below April 2008 levels when the fall in demand began, says IATA.

For 2010, IATA is forecasting an average international freight growth of 5.5 percent across the industry, compared to an expected full-year decline in 2009 of 14.5 percent.

According to Customs, C-TPAT members may be suspended or removed from the program for several reasons to include, but not limited to, the following: narcotics seizures or other security related incidents such as human smuggling attempts, failed validations, non-response to required information, or an overall lack of commitment to the program.

Once an incident occurs, C-TPAT determines the appropriate next steps on a case-by-case basis.

To avoid suspension or removal from the program, C-TPAT members must ensure they are in full compliance with the minimum security criteria and be cognizant of and responsive to mandated timeframes.

For C-TPAT’s minimum security criteria, visit: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/cargo_security/ctpat/ .

DUNS are available only to business entities, and EINs are available to both businesses and individuals. Upon implementation of the rule, if the USPPI or the U.S. authorized agent who resides or has an office located in the U.S. does not have an EIN, the USPPI or U.S. authorized agent must obtain an EIN through the Internal Revenue Service's ("IRS") website (http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98350,00.html). Former SSN filers who want to use a DUNS rather than an EIN for identification purposes must first obtain an EIN from the IRS and apply to Dun & Bradstreet for a DUNS.

The purpose of the rule is to ensure the confidentiality of the USPPI's and the U.S. authorized agent's personal information and to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 and Office of Management and Budget guidance. Census is amending relevant sections of the FTR (sections 30.1(c), 30.3(a), 30.3(e), 30.6(a) and 30.6(b)) to specify the requirements for the reporting of an EIN or DUNS in place of a SSN for identification purposes in the AES and AESDirect.

The Census Bureau is inviting the public to comment on the interim final rule. Comments are due by October 5, 2009.

According to Census, the interim final rule is effective September 4, 2009. However, Census will implement provisions of the rule on December 3, 2009.

For additional information, please refer to the Census interim final rule (published 8/5/09) available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-18728.pdf

Specifically, the WTO found that import barriers on products like DVDs and reading materials violate WTO protocols, as do restrictions that prevent foreign suppliers from distributing their own products in China. To date, China has required U.S. creative works to be distributed through state-owned companies.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk called the findings "an important step toward ensuring market access for U.S. exporters and distributors of those products."

The infrastructure fee was rolled out last year, but has been delayed twice, most recently until summer 2010, because the pace of expansion projects at the ports has slowed considerably.

The deputy executive director at the Port of Los Angeles explained that the infrastructure fee might be required eventually, although port executives believed it was counterproductive to keep setting deadlines for the fee and then canceling them.

The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) is a voluntary government-business initiative to improve global supply chain and U.S. border security.

According to CBP's decision, certain C-TPAT partners will be eligible for mitigation of up to 50 percent of the normal mitigation amount for 10+2 violations.

The $168 million Anzalduas International Bridge will be one of the newest and largest border crossings in the country.

Several global manufacturers have recently boosted their manufacturing activity in Mexico as rising transportation costs have made Asian manufacturing less attractive.

Containers consigned to a C-TPAT importer that are designated for drayage to a Centralized Examination Station (CES) for a CBP Enforcement, Trade, or Agriculture examination, will clearly be designated as "C-TPAT Priority," on the Permit to Transfer or CF3461 document faxed to the CES facility. The CES facility will in turn dray to their facility, and present for examination, the C-TPAT Priority cargo before non-C-TPAT designated containerized cargo.

In order to identify C-TPAT importers, and ensure priority treatment is afforded, it is strongly recommended that Customs brokers/filers file entries three to five days prior to vessel arrival. These procedures will facilitate the expectations of C-TPAT importers by ensuring the subject containers will be given priority consideration by CES facilities.

CBP will generate a report for each importer that is based on the Importer of Record/tax identification number used when the ISF was submitted. If an importer uses multiple tax identification numbers, CBP will generate a separate ISF Progress Report in connection with each number.

Future reports will be distributed on a monthly basis by CBP to ISF agents, such as UPS/SCS. UPS/SCS will then provide a copy of the report to customers shortly thereafter. However, in order to receive these reports, you must make a request to your UPS/SCS account representative.

Specifically, Davis cited three imperatives for laying the groundwork: rebuilding transportation infrastructure, deploying technology to speed commerce, and creating a fair, rational system of trade.

"Trade is a major force for good, for growth and for jobs," Davis said, and as many as 57 million Americans work for companies engaged in global trade.

At the same time, Davis cautioned against rising protectionism. "We must argue that protectionism is the worst response at the worst time. We can't let political expediency cloud global reality," he said.

Research firm AlixPartners found that in 2005, Chinese-made parts were 22 percent cheaper on average than American-made parts. By the end of 2008, however, the price gap had narrowed to 5.5 percent. Furthermore, while manufacturing in China was about 5 percent cheaper than in Mexico three years ago, manufacturing in China is now about 20 percent more expensive. Compared with the U.S., the savings in Mexico have widened to 25 percent, from 16 percent.

"A couple of years ago, outsourcing to China was a no-brainer," remarked the managing director for AlixPartners, but that’s no longer the case, he said