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APHIS Issues Proposed Ruling to Revise Import Regulations On a Federal Register notice filed on April 24, 2013, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a proposed rule to restructure their import regulations on plants for planting.In their notice, APHIS explains that their regulations, located in Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, (7 CFR) Part 319 "prohibit or restrict the importation of plants and plant products into the United States to prevent the introduction of plant pest s that are not already established in the United States or plant pests that may be established but are under official control to eradicate or contain them within the United States." The proposed changes are intended to make these regulations easier to understand, and to improve the agency's process for making updates. The proposed changes mentioned in the notice include: This proposed rule is expected to be published on April 25, 2013. Comments must be received 60 days from the date of publication. The Federal Register notice is available online at:
Shippers’ fears rise as dock strike escalates ahead of May Day mini-peak BOTH sides in the Hong Kong dock strike escalated hostilities yesterday as a mini-peak season prompted by next week's three-day May 1 holiday on the mainland increased factory output and cargo flows into the strike-bound container terminals. "The situation had been getting better," said Sunny Ho, executive director of the Hong Kong Shippers Council. "HIT [Hongkong International Terminals] had increased productivity from 80 to 85 per cent - but that was based on a lower throughput. The situation is different now - and more serious." Mr Ho also told the Hong Kong Shipping Gazette that pressure on the terminals had been eased in the past by having empties and transshipments diverted to other ports, but now fresh export cargo is arriving in from the mainland in the build-up before the annual holiday. The striking dockers at the Kwai Chung terminal also held a slow disruptive three-hour march yesterday from Terminal 6 to Terminals 2 and 3, blocking truck traffic, prompting HIT to increase security and call for police back up. The police said the dockers gave them no notice of their march, and they intended to consult prosecutors to determine if further legal action is warranted. Meanwhile there was management escalation at the Cheung Kong Centre in Central, where the ultimate owners of HIT, Hutchison Whampao, is headquartered, and where dockers have been camped out for a week. The management company that administers the building ordered the dockers to break camp and remove themselves or face an injunction, the legal costs of which they would bear. The property management company claimed that access to the building had been blocked and the dockers' occupation of private property and had disrupted and inconvenienced occupants. The dockers said they would not leave. Both the marching strikers and those camped out in Central demand that HIT participate in the negotiations, which it has refused to do because HIT is not the direct employers of the dockers. The dockers are employed by several stevedoring contractors, who are paid by HIT to supply dockside labour. Labour Secretary Matthew Cheung appealed to both sides to return to bargaining and end the disruptive strike which has caused Hong Kong's economy considerable damage.
U.S. Moves to Boost Myanmar Trade Ties After EU Lifts Sanctions By Bloomberg News The U.S. is moving to boost trade ties with Myanmar days after the European Union lifted sanctions as companies seek access to the former military regime sandwiched between China and India. Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis headed to Myanmar yesterday to begin talks on a framework agreement covering trade and investment, he said in a telephone interview from Hanoi, where he met with Vietnamese government officials. Three days ago, the EU cited Myanmar’s “remarkable process of reform” in eliminating all punitive restrictions except for an arms embargo. The talks in Myanmar reflect “the great interest that we’re hearing from stakeholders back in the United States about that market,” Marantis said yesterday. Myanmar President Thein Sein’s shift toward democracy since taking power two years ago has bolstered trade ties with Western nations, attracting companies such as Google Inc. (GOOG), General Electric Co. and Norway’s Telenor ASA. Human rights groups have warned that lifting sanctions may lead to abuses as anti-Muslim violence spreads in the country. Marantis’s visit “will give a strong signal that the U.S. is serious about lifting restrictions,” said Jean-Pierre Verbiest, former Thailand country manager for the Asian Development Bank who works with West Indochina, which advises businesses in Myanmar. “Japan is very much present already, the EU is moving fast, China has been there for a long time. The U.S. is at a competitive disadvantage.” Myanmar Junta The U.S. has Trade and Investment Framework Agreements with dozens of countries to outline “principles for dialogue” on trade and investment issues, according to the USTR website. The agency this month also proposed giving Myanmar and neighboring Laos preferential access to the U.S. market under a program to boost trade with poorer countries. Human Rights Watch accused Myanmar’s government of ethnic cleansing in displacing more than 125,000 Rohingya Muslims. The New York-based group later criticized the EU’s move to lift sanctions on Myanmar. Gains Imperiled Violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya last year in a western border area killed about 180 people and displaced more than 100,000. Last month, anti-Muslim violence in central Myanmar killed more than 40 people, displaced 20,000 others and left about 1,400 buildings destroyed, including mosques. The U.S. engagement with Myanmar is in line with Obama’s goal of increasing trade throughout Asia. Before stopping in Myanmar, Marantis visited Vietnam and Indonesia, where he discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed trade accord that would include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the U.S. Last week the TPP countries paved the way for Japan to join the talks. Other countries that have expressed interest in the agreement include Thailand and the Philippines, Marantis said.
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