China to Appeal WTO’s Ruling
Last month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that China’s export restrictions of rare earth metals were in violation of international trade rules. This week, China announced, “‘[it] will put its weight behind making an appeal.’” The state press agency, Xinhua, did not mention on what grounds the country plans to make its appeal.
Read more from Out-Law
NAFTA Trade Modes Changing
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) released data showing less U.S. NAFTA trade was
carried by air and rail for February 2014 compared to last year. The volume of air cargo decreased 3.1% and rail dropped 2.5%. Cargo carried by truck increased a total of 2.6%.
Read more from The U.S. Dept. of Transportation
New U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a newly sworn in Commissioner, R. Gil Kerlikowske. The new commissioner comes from a law enforcement background, which causes some in the industry to raise concerns about his ability to balance enforcement/security with facilitating international commerce. However, after fielding questions related to trade facilitation during his confirmation hearing, he addressed many of these concerns.
Read more at DC Velocity
