The proliferation of new preferential trade agreements (PTA's) across Asia Pacific has opened doors to new markets, however many businesses lack the information and business "architecture" to take advantage of them. Continue reading → ...
Join Integration Point and CBP for a 60-minute webcast on Tuesday, April 29th at 2:00 p.m. EDT for an update on the Automated Commercial Environment. Continue reading → ...
On Tuesday 15 April, the European Parliament voted on a proposed law to require manufacturers to label all non-food goods with their country of origin. Previously voluntary, country of origin labeling may soon be mandatory for European manufacturers, which has the industry divided. Continue reading → ...
Havana (AFP) April 21, 2014 - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Cuba Sunday, the first stop on a tour of four Latin America countries. The purpose of the stop in Havana was to pave the way later this year for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. "We are going to be working on political preparations for... the upcoming visit of President Xi Jinping to this island," Wang said. China is Cuba's...
London (AFP) April 15, 2014 - China's annual demand for gold could jump around 20 percent by 2017 as more of its increasingly wealthy population seek new ways to make money, the World Gold Council predicted on Tuesday. The forecast by the WGC comes after China became the world's largest gold-consuming nation in 2013, overtaking India. Annual demand for gold in the form of jewellery, coins and bars...
Integration Point teamed up with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to bring you the latest updates on CBP’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. Here are the answers to your questions asked during the webcast. Continue reading → ...
Join Integration Point on Tuesday, 22 April, 2014 for a free educational webcast to gain a better understanding of origin rules in the European Union! Continue reading → ...
Exporters now have an additional 180 days to come into compliance with the latest Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) changes that came into effect on April 5, 2014. Continue reading → ...
Beijing (AFP) April 10, 2014 - Chinese exports and imports fell sharply in March, data showed Thursday, as officials noted that the world's second-largest economy faces headwinds from tougher regional competition and "friction" with trade partners. The figures are potentially another cause for concern about the the economy, which has shown signs of weakness recently with a string of disappointing...
Washington (AFP) April 09, 2014 - Americans and Germans are broadly supportive of a US-EU free-trade pact under negotiation, but differ over details, especially forging similar goods and services standards, according to a survey released Wednesday. Common regulatory standards are perhaps the most ambitious objective of the bilateral talks that began last July to create the world's biggest free-trade...
Sydney (AFP) April 10, 2014 - One of Australia's biggest banks confirmed Thursday it was distancing itself from digital currencies after reviewing its risk profile. The National Australia Bank, one of the country's four main banks, has reportedly sent letters to business customers whose primary business is trading in Bitcoins and other crypto-currencies, saying their accounts will be closed on May...
Washington (AFP) April 09, 2014 - US computer giant Hewlett-Packard agreed to pay $108 million to settle investigations that it paid bribes to win public contracts in Russia, Poland and Mexico, officials said Wednesday. The settlement covers criminal and civil investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to a statement from the US Securities & Exchange Commission. According to...
Taipei (AFP) April 10, 2014 - Student activists Thursday ended an unprecedented three-week occupation of Taiwan's parliament in protest at a service trade pact with China, but threatened more action unless their demands are met. "The departure does not mean we are giving up," said student leader Lin Fei-fan, shortly before dozens of demonstrators clad in black T-shirts walked out of the building at...
Beijing (AFP) April 14, 2014 - China's economic expansion slowed in the first three months of this year, according to an AFP survey, and remains on track for its worst annual performance in nearly a quarter-century as reform priorities trump growth concerns. Gross domestic product (GDP) in the January-March period expanded 7.3 percent from the same period last year, the median forecast in AFP's survey...
Beijing (AFP) April 14, 2014 - China Minmetals said Monday that a consortium led by one of its subsidiaries MMG has agreed to buy Glencore Xstrata Plc's stake in the Las Bambas copper mine project in Peru for $5.85 billion. China Minmetals, a state-owned mining giant and the parent company of MMG, called it the largest overseas acquisition by China's metal mining industry. "The Las Bambas project...
Stockholm (AFP) April 14, 2014 - Hand scanning has become an alternative payment method for people in a city in southern Sweden, researchers at Lund University said Monday. Vein scanning terminals have been installed in 15 shops and restaurants in Lund thanks to an engineering student who came up with the idea two years ago while waiting in line to pay. Some 1,600 people have signed up already for...
Hanover, Germany (AFP) April 13, 2014 - An often-ignored aspect of Germany's green energy transition is the one that has most helped its export industry; energy efficiency, the new hallmark of the country's high-tech sector. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that if the "Energiewende" -- the ambitious switch from nuclear and carbon-based energy toward renewables -- goes as planned, "I am sure it will...
Shark fin soup may soon disappear from menus in China. Trade in shark fins between Hong Kong and China has decreased by 90 percent, as recently revealed by animal rights group, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Continue reading → ...
You’re not far from being a part of the American Association of Exporters and Importers’ (AAEI) 93rd Annual Conference and Expo in Minneapolis, Minnesota! Continue reading → ...
The GSP Supporter List now reports 530 organizations, of which, 79 percent are small businesses. The GSP expiration has cost American companies nearly $450 million USD in higher taxes on $11.9 billion USD in imports. That comes to a total of almost $2 million USD each day. Continue reading → ...