As you may be aware, Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are currently in negotiations regarding a new collective bargaining agreement. In April, CUPW members across Canada voted 94.5 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. If an agreement is not reached by May 24, 2011, it is possible that Canada Post's mail service will be interrupted for an indefinite period of time.

If you have U.S. mailing requirements, GHY may be able to help you. We can arrange daily deliveries from our Canadian office in Winnipeg MB to our US office in Pembina ND. Contact darin@ghy.com for more information on this service. 

In its "draft final report" on the social, environmental and economic consequences of a free-trade agreement with Canada, a European Union-commissioned panel of trade experts has calculated that the
economic gains would be only half as large as economists imagined when negotiations began in 2008.

As calculated by the EU panel, the trade agreement would boost GDP only marginally: perhaps by 0.29%, perhaps - best case - by 0.36%. For the moment, let's assume 0.3%. With Canadian GDP at $1.3-trillion, this would mean an annual GDP gain of $4.9-billion. For the EU, with its larger GDP, the panel put the gain at one-tenth of that percentage: 0.03. This means that, in dollar terms, the Canadian and European gains in GDP would precisely match: 0.03% of the EU's $16.4-trillion GDP is precisely $4.9-billion.

Version v1.4.1 of the ACI/eManifest Highway Electronic Requirements Document (ECCRD) is now available on the CBSA Web site here. 

The ACI/eManifest Highway ECCRD is designed to provide clients with technical user information and to assist clients with

their internal systems' implementation.

The document contains information relevant to providing advance highway cargo and conveyance

information for imported goods (including in-bond shipments) to the Agency using EDI.

You never know when you'll need a precise definition of an obscure shipping term. The International 

Trade Dictionary is a new digital reference for importers and exporters using Apple's iPhone or iPad 

that puts that information at your fingertips for peanuts. 

The app is available for download from Apple's App Store here. The next time you get a quote that gives 

the price CIFI&E, it won't faze you in the slightest.

Should the 4th amendment - protection against unwarranted search and seizure - apply to digital property? The Ninth Circuit seems to think not. It has recently ruled to uphold the right of the US government to seize any personal digital device coming into the US and hold it for up to 48 hours at a remote location without suspicion.

Specifically, it stated: "reasonable suspicion is not needed for customs officials to search a laptop or other personal electronic storage devices at the border." So, essentially, if you enter the United States - for example, returning from an overseas business trip or vacation - customs officials can take your laptop, smartphone, hard drives, iPod, or any number of other devices without reason.

In addition, this decision reaffirms the right of the government to mirror any data stored on your

devices for future access. So while your device might (eventually) be returned to you, all of your personal files might be held in a government server. This is a problem for those who work with sensitive documents; e.g.,lawyers with clients' personal information, businessmen with corporate secrets. In fact, for the sake of clients' privacy, some lawyers have taken to mailing hard drives back into the US rather than risk seizure at the border.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has advised this week that the pre-publication in Canada Gazette, Part I, of the regulatory proposal for the Imported Food Sector, including Food Importer Licensing, to be enforced by the Imported and Manufactured Food Program is now targeted for Fall 2011.

The delay is to allow the Imported and Manufactured Food Division further time to assess the proposed regulations in light of the feedback from the pre-consultation with the industry.

This regulatory proposal is part of Canada's Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan which was announced in December 2007.

The Federal Government has proposed regulations which would prohibit the manufacture, import and sale of products containing mercury, with exceptions for essential products which have no viable alternatives (for example, lamps, certain health, safety and research applications and dental amalgam). Exempted products would be listed in the schedule to the Regulations. The proposed regulations would come into force in 2012. 

During the annual Trade Symposium in Washington, D.C.,.earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin announced the CBP's objective to increase the number of companies

that voluntarily participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) from slightly more than 10,000 today to 40,000 within five years.

The C-TPAT security program is promoted as being a force multiplier in the post 9/11 environment to keep contraband and terrorist weapons out of the supply chain. C-TPAT is also touted as helping

facilitate trade by allowing the CBP to better manage its resources and not waste time having to check cargo in which it has a reasonably high-level of confidence.

Shippers who implement approved security plans for their international supply chains are certified and studies have shown their cargo on average is five times less likely to be subjected to customs

examination than non-certified companies. Even so, the CBP has found it a challenging task to promote the security program's advantages beyond its core constituency of large transnational corporations,

carriers and related service providers.

Many companies, especially SMEs, are still wary about the program and regard with skepticism the CBP's claims of faster clearance and priority treatment at the border.  In fact, slightly less than half of C-TPAT members recently surveyed feel the benefits of participation outweigh the costs. As such, Bersin and the CBP will obviously have some significant obstacles to overcome - both real and perceived - if

their ambitious expansion goal for the security program is to be realized.

A recent study by Trien Nguyen of the University of Waterloo and Randy Wigle of Wilfrid Laurier University and published in last month's issue of Canadian Public Policy provides some estimates for the economic costs of border crossing delays. The study's findings suggest that the cost of border delays could be much higher than previously thought.

In addition to the role played by added resource costs associated to border delays, another key element of the cost is attributable to the high degree of economic integration of the manufacturing industries

in Canada and the United States. This is especially true in the auto sector where many auto-part sub-assemblies cross the border more than once. For example, brake pads made in Canada can be assembled

in Michigan into brake assemblies that are subsequently incorporated into a vehicle built in Ontario.

To illustrate the border disadvantage facing North American producers, an offshore shipment of 4,000 imported cars is only required to give a 24hour advance notice and go through a single security check before rolling off a ship and on to car dealerships. On the other hand, vehicles produced in North America may have effectively crossed the border back and forth seven times during their production life cycle. In the end, the finished vehicles cross the border one truckload at a time. The automotive industry is so integrated that the production of 4,000 vehicles in North America may involve over 28,200 customs transactions. These customs rules and border delays could easily add an extra cost of C$800 per vehicle compared to imported vehicles.

Previous studies treated border delays as a form of tax that increases the cost of sending goods across the border. In addition to this, the Nguyen-Wigle study also takes into account the costs associated

with resources made idle (such as the time truck drivers are obliged to spend waiting at the border) or devoted to extra expenditures on warehousing and inventories. By this measure, the cost of border

delays is estimated to be as high as 2 per cent of total GDP or $30-billion a year. A cost of this magnitude is large enough to offset - perhaps even more than offset - the economic gains produced by

the North American Free Trade Agreement. 
 
The study can be downloaded from our website.  

Canada has a window of opportunity to show global leadership as the world grapples with the changes that digitization presents for global trade. A new Conference Board of Canada report argues that 

digitization has opened up new trading possibilities, but Canada has not yet put forward a leading-edge, clear digital trade strategy.
 
Digitization - translation of real-world information into a form that can be sent anywhere in the world using information and communication technologies - is now fundamental to every kind of international 

trade and investment. However, Canadian and global trade policy and research have focused largely on traditional trade barriers, such as tariffs. In a digital world, barriers to information flows - such as threats by India, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and other countries to ban access for Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices - can frustrate the expansion of trade.

"With thoughtful and forward-thinking policies, Canada could have a major impact on emerging policy in this area. Where Canada has a strong stake, it could shape policies that support greater confidence in
digital technologies and trade, while balancing other public interest goals, such as privacy and security," said Danielle Goldfarb, Associate Director, International Trade and Investment Centre, author of Canada's Trade in a Digital World.

Compared to its international peers, Canada has a solid foundation in terms of its technology infrastructure and ability to use it. But Canada was once considered a global leader in terms of its digital economy strategy. In recent years, our position has slipped as other countries have made concerted investments in infrastructure and adopted leading-edge technology practices. 

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has reently issued its annual National Trade Estimate report, which describes significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services, foreign direct investment and intellectual property rights protection as well as the actions being taken to address those barriers. The NTE report covers significant barriers, whether or not they are consistent with international trading rules, in 58 countries, the European Union, Taiwan, Hong Kong and one regional body.