Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Plastic Bag Tug of War
First-ever countervailing duty to be imposed on Vietnam
The Department of Commerce has issued final determinations of anti-dumping duties to be imposed on plastic grocery bags made in Taiwan, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Polyethylene retail carrier bags — or PRCBs — have been the source of trade disputes between U.S. domestic producers and Asian manufacturers for years. These latest duties are the result of an International Trade Commission (ITC) import injury investigation launched last year. The ITC is expected to announce its final decision April 14. (Access the files on the preliminary and final phases of the ITC investigation here and here.) A second investigation focused on PRCB exporters in China, Malaysia and Thailand is also underway, with a final report due May 24 (ITC files here).
King & Spalding, legal counsel for the petitioners requesting both investigations, provides company-specific details of the ITC determination that sets dumping margins ranging from 69.64% to 85.17% for Indonesian producers, and 52.30% to 76.11% for Vietnamese producers. An earlier release covers the Taiwanese margins, which range from 36.54% to 95.81%.
Dumping margins of this dimension effectively bar the affected exporters from the U.S. market. When game-changers like this occur, The Datamyne’s bill of lading database can provide the transaction-level detail needed to locate supply-chain disruptions — and new opportunities to source or supply, ask us how.
The Department of Commerce has issued final determinations of anti-dumping duties to be imposed on plastic grocery bags made in Taiwan, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Polyethylene retail carrier bags — or PRCBs — have been the source of trade disputes between U.S. domestic producers and Asian manufacturers for years. These latest duties are the result of an International Trade Commission (ITC) import injury investigation launched last year. The ITC is expected to announce its final decision April 14. (Access the files on the preliminary and final phases of the ITC investigation here and here.) A second investigation focused on PRCB exporters in China, Malaysia and Thailand is also underway, with a final report due May 24 (ITC files here).
King & Spalding, legal counsel for the petitioners requesting both investigations, provides company-specific details of the ITC determination that sets dumping margins ranging from 69.64% to 85.17% for Indonesian producers, and 52.30% to 76.11% for Vietnamese producers. An earlier release covers the Taiwanese margins, which range from 36.54% to 95.81%.
Dumping margins of this dimension effectively bar the affected exporters from the U.S. market. When game-changers like this occur, The Datamyne’s bill of lading database can provide the transaction-level detail needed to locate supply-chain disruptions — and new opportunities to source or supply, ask us how.
Plastic Bags Upstream & Down
PRCBs are once and future export drivers
Stepping back from the trade tug of war over the U.S. market for polyethylene retail carrier bags, overseas suppliers make a positive contribution to growth in U.S. export sales of the low density polyethylene resins from which PRCBs are made.
PlasticNews reports that LDPEs, along with five other major commodity resins tracked by the American Chemistry Council, showed domestic sales losses in 2009, but posted overall growth thanks to big boosts in sales to export markets.
Downstream, discarded PRCBs have become such an environmental headache that some localities are outlawing them. While the American Chemistry Council reports recycling has reached an all-time high, only about 13% of plastic bags are recycled annually. And yet … the major market for the recycled material is the nascent composite-lumber sector. As composite lumber builds share in home and commercial construction, international demand for scrap plastic has begun to edge up. This new video explores both sides of the recycling issue.
Stepping back from the trade tug of war over the U.S. market for polyethylene retail carrier bags, overseas suppliers make a positive contribution to growth in U.S. export sales of the low density polyethylene resins from which PRCBs are made.
PlasticNews reports that LDPEs, along with five other major commodity resins tracked by the American Chemistry Council, showed domestic sales losses in 2009, but posted overall growth thanks to big boosts in sales to export markets.
Downstream, discarded PRCBs have become such an environmental headache that some localities are outlawing them. While the American Chemistry Council reports recycling has reached an all-time high, only about 13% of plastic bags are recycled annually. And yet … the major market for the recycled material is the nascent composite-lumber sector. As composite lumber builds share in home and commercial construction, international demand for scrap plastic has begun to edge up. This new video explores both sides of the recycling issue.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Global Bounce Back
WTO forecasts 9.5% growth in trade volumes
The World Trade Organization (WTO) projects a rebound in world trade in 2010, recovering some, but by no means all, ground lost in 2009, when global trade volumes contracted 12.2% — the largest decline since World War II. If growth keeps to the current pace, it will take another year for trade volumes to surpass 2008 peak levels.
The WTO report measures trade on a volume basis because it provides a more reliable point of year-by-year comparison, undistorted by changes in commodity prices or currency fluctuations.
One good thing about the dismal year just past: no significant new barriers to trade were raised. Trade volumes tumbled because global demand contracted. The mix of products involved, the presence of global supply chains, and the synchronization of decline across countries were factors that steepened the fall.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) projects a rebound in world trade in 2010, recovering some, but by no means all, ground lost in 2009, when global trade volumes contracted 12.2% — the largest decline since World War II. If growth keeps to the current pace, it will take another year for trade volumes to surpass 2008 peak levels.
The WTO report measures trade on a volume basis because it provides a more reliable point of year-by-year comparison, undistorted by changes in commodity prices or currency fluctuations.
One good thing about the dismal year just past: no significant new barriers to trade were raised. Trade volumes tumbled because global demand contracted. The mix of products involved, the presence of global supply chains, and the synchronization of decline across countries were factors that steepened the fall.
Friday, March 26, 2010
U.S. Imports Surge
Latest stats from The Datamyne show 15.9% jump in February
The Datamyne’s latest statistics from its U.S. imports bill of lading database show imports recovering this February as compared with February 2009, but still short of prerecession levels.
Here are the TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) tallies:
Feb. 2010 1,120,239
Feb. 2009 966,942
Feb. 2008 1,394,173
Feb. 2007 1,442,657
Container shipments from China, the top source for U.S. imports, were up 3.5% in January, and 23.2% in February, compared to the same months one year ago, final figures show.
Earlier data on increased imports coupled with discouraging returns on such indicators as consumer confidence and disposable income led Bill Armbruster to wonder whether the surge in imports is a triumph of hope over reality (see Cockeyed Optimism).
The Datamyne’s latest statistics from its U.S. imports bill of lading database show imports recovering this February as compared with February 2009, but still short of prerecession levels.
Here are the TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) tallies:
Feb. 2010 1,120,239
Feb. 2009 966,942
Feb. 2008 1,394,173
Feb. 2007 1,442,657
Container shipments from China, the top source for U.S. imports, were up 3.5% in January, and 23.2% in February, compared to the same months one year ago, final figures show.
Earlier data on increased imports coupled with discouraging returns on such indicators as consumer confidence and disposable income led Bill Armbruster to wonder whether the surge in imports is a triumph of hope over reality (see Cockeyed Optimism).
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Bands of Gold ...
… already tie U.S. & India as they sign trade framework
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma signed a “Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment” March 17, and followed up by launching the “Integrating U.S. and Indian Small Businesses into the Global Supply Chain” initiative. Both governments have recently implemented policies aimed at getting more small businesses to engage in cross-border trade, the U.S. with the National Export Initiative, and India in the form of 2010-11 budget objectives that extend a subsidy for small and medium exporters. U.S.-India trade has more than doubled in the last five years.
The Datamyne ranks “petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals” (HS 270900) as India’s leading import from the U.S. Ranked number 2 and 3 are “gold, nonmonetary, unwrought” (710812) and “gold, nonmonetary, semimanufactured” (710813) — to be expected, given that India is the leading consumer and the U.S. one of the leading sources for gold (although The Datamyne top 5 U.S. exporting districts may surprise).
India is also one of the largest exporters of gold jewelery items in the world. India’s export of gold jewelery products in February 2010 saw a big jump of 37.51% compared to the same period last year, according to provisional figures released by India’s Gem and Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Closing the circle, U.S. is the largest importer of India-made gold jewelery items.
The Datamyne can help you learn more about opportunities to buy and sell in India. Contact us.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma signed a “Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment” March 17, and followed up by launching the “Integrating U.S. and Indian Small Businesses into the Global Supply Chain” initiative. Both governments have recently implemented policies aimed at getting more small businesses to engage in cross-border trade, the U.S. with the National Export Initiative, and India in the form of 2010-11 budget objectives that extend a subsidy for small and medium exporters. U.S.-India trade has more than doubled in the last five years.
The Datamyne ranks “petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals” (HS 270900) as India’s leading import from the U.S. Ranked number 2 and 3 are “gold, nonmonetary, unwrought” (710812) and “gold, nonmonetary, semimanufactured” (710813) — to be expected, given that India is the leading consumer and the U.S. one of the leading sources for gold (although The Datamyne top 5 U.S. exporting districts may surprise).
India is also one of the largest exporters of gold jewelery items in the world. India’s export of gold jewelery products in February 2010 saw a big jump of 37.51% compared to the same period last year, according to provisional figures released by India’s Gem and Jewelery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Closing the circle, U.S. is the largest importer of India-made gold jewelery items.
The Datamyne can help you learn more about opportunities to buy and sell in India. Contact us.
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