World Trade - April 2009 - (Page 14) TRADEWINDS expanded to take advantage of cross-strait shipping with mainland China. Meanwhile, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said recently that a possible trade agreement with rival China could be discussed this spring—the first time he has put a time frame on negotiations for the politically contentious deal. The so-called “Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement” would open up the free flow of goods, services, and capital between the two countries, although some products such as Chinese agricultural goods would probably be exempted as a concession to Taiwanese farmers. Over the past two decades, Taiwan has invested more than $100 billion on the mainland, however the flow of Chinese investment and talent to Taiwan has largely been banned. Names & News Purolator USA Taps Flanigan Purolator USA has tapped Martin Flanigan as the company’s new director of finance and administration, reporting to president John Costanzo. He will be responsible for the company’s finance function, including controllership, financial planning and analysis, as well as corporate administrative functions. MARK YOUR Calendar Nolan Appointed by NYK Logistics NYK Logistics (Americas) has appointed Timothy J. Nolan to the position of senior vice president and general manager of the NVOCC & CHB Division. Prior to joining NYK Logistics, Nolan was vice president of global customer development for AMB Property. He has experience in the railroad, trucking, domestic distribution, third-party logistics, and consumer product segments. 11th eyefortransport Logistics Technology Forum Chicago, Illinois Apr 20-21 http://events. eyefortransport. com/logisticstechusa/ Clean Technology 2009 Houston, Texas May 3-7 www.csievents.org/cleantech2009 CSCMP’s Fundamentals of Supply Chain Mangement Minneapolis, Minnesota May 4-5 http://cscmp.org/fundamentals/index.asp transport logistic 2009 Munich, Germany May 12-15 www.transportlogistic.de/ en/home World Trade Magazine will be publishing announcements of forthcoming global supply chain events in every issue. For inclusion, please forward event details to laras@ worldtrademag.com Szabo to Head Federal Railroad Administration President Obama plans to nominate Joseph C. Szabo, an Illinois rail labor executive, to head the Federal Railroad Administration. Szabo, a former railroad brakeman and conductor, is Illinois state legislative director for the United Transportation Union, the largest single rail labor organization in the U.S. Behrens-Sørensen to Retire from Maersk China Tom Behrens-Sørensen will step down as chairman of Maersk China after 14 years and leave the A.P. Moller Maersk Group. His retirement comes after a 30-year career with the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group. EU Approves $6.8 Billion in Energy, Infrastructure Projects PART OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN EU leaders have put an end to a three-month long haggle over energy, broadband, and agricultural projects worth 5 billion ($6.8 billion), having come to an agreement last month on the terms and conditions for how to spend funds that are part of the EU’s economic recovery plan. “We have reached an agreement in principle on the allocation of this infrastructure recovery plan—gas, oil, energy infrastructure, broadband and rural development. We’ll be carrying out projects in 2009 and 2010, with finance mechanisms that are sufficiently transparent,” Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek announced during a press conference. The deal was reached after 14 WORLD TRADE APRIL 2009 accepting a demand by Germany that the funding would only run for two years. A ‘sunset clause’ is to be attached under which all other projects that are not ready to go by the end of 2010 are not eligible for funding. European Business Office to Open Ohio Office TRADE MISSION INFLUENCED DECISION A European business organization that helps small- and medium-sized businesses in 38 countries will open an office in Cleveland, Ohio, its first in the U.S. The organization, called the SME Union in Europe, was impressed with the Cleveland region’s commitment to build stronger ties with Europe, said Nadezhda Mihaylova, SME’s vice president. Ms. Mihaylova met with Cleveland’s mayor and business leaders from the region last December when the group went on a trade mission to Brussels. Business Activity Up in Euro Zone OUTLOOK REMAINS UNCERTAIN Business activity in the 16-country euro zone picked up slightly in March although from depressed levels, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) conducted by research firm Markit. The index rose to 37.6 points from 36.2 points in February, with both the manufacturing and services sectors posting an improvement. Nonetheless, analysts cautioned that the latest figures are still well below the index’s key 50-point threshold for measuring business activity in the euro zone. http://events.eyefortransport.com/logisticstechusa/ http://events.eyefortransport.com/logisticstechusa/ http://www.csievents.org/cleantech2009 http://www.csievents.org/cleantech2009 http://cscmp.org/fundamentals/index.asp http://cscmp.org/fundamentals/index.asp http://www.transportlogistic.de/en/home http://www.transportlogistic.de/en/home
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