Trending Now

Building a Resilient Supply Chain with Advanced Predictive…

New Articles

U.S., China Have Diverging ‘Vision’ for Pacific Trade

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

U.S., China Have Diverging ‘Vision’ for Pacific Trade

Leave a comment

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. will continue to focus on its own blueprint for a comprehensive Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), according to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.

Speaking at the APEC Summit in Beijing, Froman told reporters that a China-backed “vision” for Asia-Pacific free trade is only a “long-term aspiration, not the launch of a new FTA (free trade area).”

“It’s a reaffirmation of a long-term aspiration for the region that’s to be achieved through other ongoing negotiations,” he said.

Froman remarks define an on-going divergence in the approach to a Pacific regional trade accord by the two largest trade players in the region, the U.S. and China.

Beijing has thrown its support behind the FTAAP idea, while the U.S. is working towards crafting the long-sought 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which excludes China.

According to media reports, a draft final communique of the Beijing-hosted summit prominently mentions the importance of FTAAP calling for steps to be taken to “translate the FTAAP from a vision to reality” and craft a “strategic study.”

In response, Froman said, the TPP remains “a priority” and that it would serve as a “building block” for the FTAAP, which has a 2025 target date.

“TPP of course is the major focus of our economic pillar of the rebalance to this region,” he said, referring to the White House’s publically-stated goal of giving greater attention to the Asia-Pacific area.

“We certainly view TPP as our contribution to expanding trade and integrating the region,” he said, adding that, despite sluggish negotiations and frustrating snags, the TPP discussions have made “very significant progress”, but he refused to be drawn on a timetable for completing the process.

11/18/2014

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Transpac Trade Deal Forecasted By Years End

Leave a comment

Los Angeles, CA – Momentum is reportedly building toward the successful drafting of  Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement by the end of the year.

Talks between representative of the 12 nations involved have resumed in Sydney, Australia, with Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb, host of the current round of talks, telling the media that reports from attending trade ministers convey that “there does seem to be a real head of steam.”

All signs, he said, point to a trade agreement being forged “by the end of the year.”

 

If agreed upon, a TPP, which has been negotiated for several years, would encompass 40 percent of the global economy and hundreds of billions of dollars in goods and services trade.

According to US Trade Representative Mike Froman, trade ministers had been in “almost constant” talks since the last TPP meeting in Singapore in May.

“We are enjoying a great deal of momentum and focus across the board, and it’s up to us to seize that momentum and make sure that this meeting is maximally productive,” he said.

Over the past year, talks slowed while the Washington and Tokyo ironed out several key ‘sticking points’ including Japanese tariffs on agricultural imports and access to Japan’s auto market for US-made vehicles.

“The issues left at the end are often times the most challenging but now is the time to start working through those and finding solutions,” Froman said, adding the TPP “is within our grasp.”

The 12 prospective TPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the US.

10/27/2014

Archives, Banking on Global Trade, Global Site Selection, News, Site Selection

Barclays Selects Texas for New Tech Service Center

Leave a comment

McKinney, TX – London-based Barclays Bank has selected McKinney, Texas, as the site for its newest “innovative technology” center.

The new 40,000-square foot center” will support the bank’s global operations “by providing technology support to the business and develop solutions for all the group’s activities and requirements including personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth management,” the bank said.

The move by the international financial services provider is a major score for the McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), which opened talks with Barclays in December 2013, when the UK-based bank expressed interest in siting its new operation in Texas.

The MEDC worked closely with the City of McKinney staff and City Council, the McKinney Community Development Corporation (MCDC), and others “to efficiently work on an expedited time frame. Barclays plans to move into McKinney Corporate Center in the fall of 2014,” the economic development agency said.

McKinney “presented Barclays a competitive opportunity with a high profile location along the Sam Rayburn Tollway, a highly educated and abundant labor pool, and sufficient parking for their employees,” said McKinney Economic Development Corporation Board Chairman, Ernest Lynch. “Our economic development team was able to move quickly to address Barclays’ needs.”

The new tech center will be sited in Craig Ranch, a 2,200-acre business, retail and residential community in McKinney, which is located about 30 miles north of Dallas and is considered one of the fastest-growing cities in the US.

09/03/2014

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

US Exports to ‘Sub-Saharan’ Africa Surge to $1.7 Billion

Leave a comment

Washington, DC – Over the past ten months, the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) has reportedly authorized a record $1.7 billion in financing to support exports of American-made products to sub-Saharan Africa.

This record-setting surge “has not only empowered U.S. small businesses to sell their products in global markets, but has also supported more than 10,000 American jobs which contribute to strengthening the U.S. economy,” the trade bank said.

The announcement was made as EXIM President and CEO Fred Hochberg participated in the US-Africa Leaders Summit that recently convened in Washington, DC.

EXIM also said it will pledge $3 billion in financing to support US exports to sub-Saharan Africa over the next two fiscal years and that it had recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Angola “to strengthen collaboration on the financing of American-made exports” to the central African nation.

Two-thirds of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa lacks electricity and earlier this month, the bank approved a loan guarantee for $17 million to support long-term financing by the West African Development Bank (BOAD) for the Azito Power project in Cote D’Ivoire.

Financing for steam turbines used in the Azito Power project will support 40 manufacturing and engineering jobs in Schenectady, New York, and Bangor, Maine, said EXIM. The project is part of a long-term strategy to strengthen the region’s power capacity and, in turn, help to position economies there for growth, it added.

Three Louisiana small businesses benefit from EXIM’s $43 million financing of a liftboat destined for Nigeria.

The “Bellator” liftboat is a self-propelled vessel, 150-foot long by 118-foot wide, that lifts and suspends equipment and personnel up to the level of an offshore drilling platform.  About 300 employees of C.S. Liftboats, Inc., of Abbeville, Louisiana, together with Gulf Island Fabrications of Houma, Louisiana, will construct the high-tech vessel.

The Nigerian buyer also contracted for prefabricated liftboat-mounted modules for housing workers; these are built by Fiberglass Unlimited Inc. of Raceland, Louisiana.  This is Nigeria’s first purchase of a new, US-made liftboat system.

According to the bank, Pennsylvania employees of GE Transportation “will benefit from the bank-supported export of GE’s locomotives with Pennsylvania-made engines and components to Transnet in South Africa.”  In its recent transaction, EXIM authorized a $563.5 million loan guarantee to support financing for the sale of 293 locomotives being manufactured by GE Transportation.

EXIM “is firmly committed to equipping US exporters to realize the vast economic opportunities emerging throughout sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to seven out of 10 of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” said EXIM’s Hochberg. “Each transaction the Bank supports creates jobs for local US businesses and strengthens our relationship with a region that has a strong prospect for long-term economic growth.”

08/18/2014

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Senator Slams US-Korea Free Trade Agreement

Leave a comment

Washington, DC –The two-year-old US-Korea Free Trade Agreement hasn’t done enough to open the Asian country further to US exports, particularly American-made cars and trucks and agricultural products, according to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan).

Stabenow is the new Chair of the US Senate Finance Committee’s sub-committee on international trade.

Criticizing a trade deal that the Obama administration heralded in 2012, Stabenow cited the treaty as a reason for “caution” in negotiating the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership that, she said, stands no chance of being ratified this year as there are “some very sticky issues” involving Japan and other nations in the talks.

“We’re continuing to push and the reason for this hearing was to talk about Korea but also to send a message about Japan and what comes next,” Stabenow told the media at a press conference following her first sub-committee meeting.

The free trade pact, she said, “has fallen short of our hopes” while the US trade deficit with Korea “has increased by nearly 50 percent,” Stabenow said.

The agreement, she added, “aimed to open Korea’s markets to American automakers. But agreeing to phase-out tariffs on US-made automobiles hasn’t been enough. Due to non-tariff barriers, Korea remains one of the most closed auto markets in the world.”

Stabenow’s evaluation of the US-Korea trade pact were countered by the Office of the US Trade Representative which released a statement saying that through May, sales of ‘Big Three’-made autos to Korea are up by more than 20 percent and key agriculture products like dairy have seen a more than 40 percent increase in exports.

“These are real results that benefit farmers, workers, and small business owners across the US. We also fully expect that as further tariff elimination takes place and Korea’s economy improves, we will reap greater benefits from KORUS,” the statement said.

Since the Korea agreement took effect, tariffs have been reduced on US-made autos by 50 percent and the value of US auto exports to Korea have increased by 80 percent.

The Association of Global Automakers (AGA), the association representing major foreign automakers including Korean automakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors, noted that after the deal foreign automakers have started “exporting thousands of US-made vehicles to Korea” that are “supporting thousands of American jobs.”

Five years ago, 23 import brands together held just 6 percent of Korea’s automotive market, the group noted.

The AGA has released figures showing that Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co, Volkswagen and Nissan Motor Co. exported to Korea a total of 14,637 vehicles produced in the US in 2013. The group acknowledged that implementation “has not been seamless, and it is unrealistic to expect that an agreement of this magnitude and complexity could be implemented without encountering some challenges.”

08/06/2014

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, News

Logistics Costs For US Companies Climbed in 2013

Leave a comment

Lombard, IL – Logistics costs for US-based businesses climbed by 2.3 percent last year to $1.39 trillion, according to the latest State of Logistics Report (SOL), released by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and Penske Logistics.

According to the SOL, the first five months of 2014 “have had the strongest freight performance since the end of the Great Recession, with freight shipments up 13.1 percent.”

Yet, the report said, logistics as a percent of US gross domestic product (GDP) declined for the second year in a row, “indicating that the logistics sector is not keeping pace with the growth in the overall economy.”

Based on the SOL, Penske Logistics sees moderately improving US economic conditions, in the form of better dedicated contract carriage growth; a solid near- and long-term automotive sector outlook; and an improving manufacturing sector, also evidenced in the May reading published by the Institute for Supply Management that showed the fastest pace of manufacturing growth this year.

The nation’s supply chain sector, the report said, “faces distinct challenges, including a significant employment gap in the form of a serious shortage of truck drivers to handle the immense amount of inventory that needs to be moved around the country.”

To address this problem, the SOL said, “the industry is raising driver wages, but it remains the most pressing issue hampering sector growth. In fact, by the end of last year, despite strong inventory growth at warehouses, SOL recorded a record low rate of shipments, with inventory not moving swiftly enough, and the cost to store inventory rising. “

This employment gap/driver shortage “could continue to take its toll on the industry, and is an interesting phenomenon to juxtaposed against the labor force participation rate, which sits at historic lows.”

The SOL found that trucking costs topped the list of transportation costs in 2013 at $657 billion; railroad costs came in at $74 billion; water (ocean and inland waterways), $37 billion; air, $33 billion; and freight forwarder costs, $38 billion.

06/18/2014