WTD International Trade News of the Week. Pick of the Litter Series, vol. # 6

05/06/2011 by Robert Thompson Comments Off on WTD International Trade News of the Week. Pick of the Litter Series, vol. # 6

First, here’s a couple of strays that don’t directly relate to international trade but are interesting none the less.

  • U.S. Government YouTube Channel.The federal government’s YouTube channel features videos on careers with the government, food safety, interviews aboard a space shuttle, and much more.  It might not get 180,000,000 views like Evolution of Dance – By Judson Laipply, but it’s a start.  
  • HowTo.gov — Helping Agencies Deliver a Great Customer Experience New Executive Order on Customer Service.  I never thought I’d be asking advice on “how to blog” or “what cloud hosting is” from the government, but the “times they are a changin”.

From Utah World Trade Center: Global Utah Weekly.  Creating Jobs Through Trade and Innovation. A video that discusses President Obama’s Export Initiative to double exports (and in so doing create 2 million jobs) in the next five years.  I’m really impressed by the initiatives undertaken by Lew Cramer and his excellent staff at the Utah WTC.  

From New Orleans World Trade Center – Le Centre International de Lafayette Receives President’s “E” Award for Service in Exporting. Le Centre International de Lafayette of Lafayette, Louisiana is the official international trade division of the City/Parish Government of Lafayette, and provides services to area businesses interested in international trade. Congratulations to my good friends at WTC -NO and the Folks in Lafayette.  

I'm unsure what the appropriate Harmonized Code is for Square Melons. Anyone know?

From USDA-ERS: Vegetables and Melons Outlook: This data product provides users with comprehensive statistics on fresh and processed vegetables in the United States, as well as global production and trade data for these sectors. If you’re interested in keeping up with melons and vegetables.

From OECD: Green and growth go together: “Governments should put in place policies that tap into the innovation, investment and entrepreneurship driving the shift towards a greener economy.”  Great concept: Go green & make green.

From Global Edge Blog: The Art of Online Shopping in Russia. More than 80 percent of transactions at Russian online megastores are in cash. Russian customers are not very comfortable with online transactions.  There’s a surprise. 

From Datamyne Blog: Trade Beef: US cattleman urges action on FTAs as competitors vie for overseas markets. In FY 2010, US farm product exports neared a total of $109 billion; the AG trade surplus was almost $34 billion. Where’s the Beef?

From PIERS Blog: Wal-Mart and American Chung Nam Hold On to #1 Rankings on JOC List. As the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart imported 696,000 20-foot equivalent units last year, up from 684,000 TEUs in 2009.  PIERS decided to weigh into the social media world by launching its own blog and populating it with a handful of initial posts… Welcome to the conversation! 

From the International Trade Administration: World Trade Month Video. The International Trade Administration (ITA) joined the world in celebrating World Trade Month during the month of May.  “There is a new and growing middle class expanding around the globe, more than one billion new consumers will emerge during the next 15 years.”  Maybe a World Trade YEAR would be good. 

From Penny Hill Press: U.S. International Trade: Trends and Forecasts.  In 2010, the trade deficit in goods reached $646.5 billion.  Despite increasing debts in 2010, the United States ran a surplus of $163 billion in investment income with the rest of the world. With China, however, there was a deficit of $37 billion and with Japan $33 billion.  Lose money but make it up in volume. 

From International Economic Law and Policy Blog: EU imposing both anti-dumping and countervailing duties ranging from 4% to 12%, on Chinese coated fine paper, which is used for high-quality printing such as brochures and magazines.  The Chinese were not happy with this. “Free trade” is only lauded when it benefits the lauder.  

At the tail end of this post, news from compliance and anti-corruption folks: bow wow

Trade News

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