Canada
Five parties have been added to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Most Wanted List, while three parties have been modified.

Managing logistics issues and supply and demand fluctuations is rarely routine, but the current hyper-reactive global economy as well as unforeseen weather anomalies can magnify the suddenness and breadth of disruptions throughout the supply chain. Any number of factors can potentially wreak havoc:

US Export Controls

Argentina's 2010 Tariff Schedule has been updated. New HTS numbers have been added, old HTS numbers have been deleted, and many existing HTS Descriptions have been modified. The following HTS chapters are affected: 61, 62, 84, 85, 87 and 90.

This year's International DEC Conference will be held in Detroit on October 24 - 27, 2010. Entitled “Capitalizing on America’s Export Advantages: Green and Innovation,” the conference will feature world-renowned business professionals and high-level government officials. It's the largest conference in North America that is solely devoted to exporting. Over 500 attendees are expected - and you can be one of them! Follow this link to register.

It's been six months since the Importer Security Filing (aka Customs 10+2) regulations took effect, but some companies are still struggling to achieve 100% timely and accurate filings as required by these new regulations.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has announced that the Republic of Malta will join the U.S. Megaports Initiative, a cooperative effort to detect, deter, and interdict illicit maritime smuggling of nuclear and other radioactive material. As part of the agreement, the NNSA will work with the Maltese Customs Administration and other government agencies in Malta to install radiation detection equipment and associated infrastructure at the port of Marsaxlokk. This cooperative framework will also train Maltese officials on the use of the equipment and provide for maintenance of the equipment for a specified period.

Danish carrier Maersk has announced a new strategy they'll be attempting this year, in order to boost revenue: 95% on-time arrivals. The company estimates that this could boost their revenue by as much as $250 million. According to an article in American Shipper, this is mainly because:

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AMR Research has released their annual Supply Chain Top 25 list, and several of Management Dynamics' customers appear near the top. The companies on this list all exemplify what AMR refers to as "demand-driven excellence." In other words, their supply, demand, and product management processes are able to work together so that the business may respond quickly to opportunities arising from market or customer demand. Congratulations to all!

Source: The AMR Supply Chain Top 25 for 2010

In today's business environment, one of the trends we've been seeing lately is an increase in mergers and acquisitions. If you've experienced this at your organization, then you already know that when two companies combine, major changes are in store as new business practices are integrated, some existing practices are dropped, and the supply chain is no exception. Tompkins Associates has released a new white paper, Integrating Supply Chains from Business Combinations: Principles and Best Practices of Mergers and Acquisitions, that discusses challenges and best practices for supply chain teams faced with M&A activity.

US exporters are having difficulty moving their goods due to a container shortage. The reason behind the lack of containers? Brian Conrad, executive administrator of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA), explains:

Maersk Line has announced the re-launch of their Asia-Europe (AE8) Service, which was discontinued at the end of 2008. The AE8 will be Maersk's main service between Le Havre, France and Hamburg, Germany and East/South China and South East Asia. The first sailing is scheduled for July 3, 2010. Port rotation will include the following locations: Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Port Klang, Le Havre, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Port Klang, and Singapore.

Trade Lawyers Blog has posted summary & analysis of a recent presentation by CBP covering the noncompliance of imported textile & wearing apparel from China. Here is an excerpt:

According to Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg's WorldTrade\Interactive newsletter, we can all breath a sigh of relief. The US and European Union have signed an agreement that will hopefully lead to them settling a dispute over the EU's banana imports. Apparently previous EU regulations led to discrimination against certain banana distributors. The EU has agreed to eliminate quotas, tariff rate quotas, and import licensing requirements for banana imports. I had no idea the banana trade was so intense! It turns out that the US isn't the only country that has a problem with the EU's banana trade regulations - Latin American countries aren't a fan either. Read the article to learn more. (If you don't receive this newsletter, you should sign up. It's a great resource!)

The EU Tariff has been updated to include new and invalided HTS numbers and Import Duties, as well as new, changed and invalided Preferential Duties. The following HTS chapters are affected: 03, 07, 08, 18, 19, 21, 22, 29, 33, 44, 45 and 73.

Hyundai Merchant Marine announces the return of their popular Pacific Southwest (PSW) Service. The PSW Service directly connects Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South China to west coast ports of the United States. Port rotation includes the following locations: Kaohsiung, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Yantian, Busan, Long Beach, and Oakland.

The Justice Department reports that Yi-Lan Chen (aka Kevin Chen, age 40), a Taiwan passport holder, and his Taiwan corporation, Landstar Tech Company Limited, plead guilty to charges of conspiring with individuals in the US, Iran, Hong Kong, and elsewhere to illegally export US dual-use circular hermetic connectors. They also exported glass to metal seals (missile components) to Iran, via Guam and Taiwan.

I have been updating the trade compliance calendar today, and found this upcoming webinar from Sandler Travis & Rosenberg, PA. It's free, so please sign up as it will help use your trade compliance superpowers to come to the aid of Haiti.