World Trade - December 2008 - (Page 16)

TRADEWINDS from the 14 percent tax rebate, which started on November 1. Under the deal, the government will raise export tax rebates for 3,486 products including textiles, clothing, furniture, and toys. In July, the tax rebate was raised from 11 to 13 percent to help exporters cope with lower demand. Rebates lead to lower costs for producers, but they do not directly affect demand from overseas. “The move may help some companies, but how much it benefits exporters remains questionable as the trend of shrinking foreign demand is unlikely to reverse,” remarked one analyst. During the first 9 months of this year, China’s exports grew 22.3 percent year-onyear, almost 5 percent less than a year ago. Bush Remains Hopeful on U.S.Colombia FTA LAME-DUCK CONGRESS POSES OBSTACLE Although the lame-duck congressional session will undoubtedly make for a tough political climate, President Bush has not ruled out the possibility of trying to pass the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement before the end of his term. Ofﬁcials say that Bush and President-elect Obama discussed the proposed trade deal during their first postelection meeting at the White House in November. The free trade agreement has languished in Congress for two years, mostly over objec- tions to Colombia’s human rights record. Meanwhile, a U.S. free trade agreement with Peru is set to take effect on January 1. The U.S. has also signed similar accords with Chile, Mexico, and most Central American countries. Panama Canal Expansion PORT OF MOBILE HOPES TO CASH IN The port of Mobile, Alabama—the nation’s tenth biggest port—has begun operations at a newly built container terminal, which ofﬁcials say will help the port attract more business once the Panama Canal expansion project is completed in 2014. Expansion of the Panama Canal will bring vessels twice as large as those now being serviced at Mobile, with new ocean commerce expected to come from Asia, said the Port Authority CEO Jimmy Lyons. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley noted the significance of the port’s expansion, remarking that, “We’ve never had this type of access to the rest of the world.” At the same time, a spokesman for the American Association of Port Authorities described the Panama Canal expansion as “one of the leading industry events of our lifetime.” He said a third set of locks on the Canal will allow the largest ships in the world to get through them, and that other port cities are expanding container operations to prepare for them. WT Bring us your biggest supply chain problems and we’ll help you ﬁnd the service provider to ﬁx them > 16 RFPAd_HalfPage_1208.indd 1 WORLD TRADE DECEMBER 2008 Contact multiple suppliers at one time with all your supply chain service needs O V E R 3 0 S E R V I C E C AT E G O R I E S W I T H O V E R 5 0 L E A D I N G S E R V I C E P R O V I D E R S 11/14/08 10:14:53 AM http://www.worldtrademag.com/rfp

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Trade - December 2008

World Trade - December 2008 Contents The Promise of Peril The Current Reality with IP in China Supply Chain Watch Tradewinds Performance Partners: Awards of Excellence Managing With Mobility What 2009 Bodes for the Supply Chain Small Business Takes to Export Green is Here for Good Fast Fashion

World Trade - December 2008

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