Twitter is Killing Me
OK, I have bad news for the Twitter side: I like my blog and my blog readers like me. I'm having a hard time balancing both. In the morning, I scour my usual sources to look for items to tweet. In the past, those would have been blog fodder. Well, they need to be again. So, here is a catch up post. After this, I'll do my best to get back to more substantive posts here. Whether that means fewer tweets, we'll have to see.
First thing, according to testimony at a House Committee on Small Business, fraud and lax enforcement of laws relating to textile imports and preference programs is harming U.S. producers. I have no serious reason to doubt this, but I do wonder about what level of diligence can reasonably be expected of importers. I think importers need to spend some time thinking about their purchase order terms and conditions. I'd be looking for enforceable indemnity clauses for civil penalties and associated costs. I'd also try and negotiate a contract that does not require payment until the conditional release period is up. Is that commercially feasible? If you are an 800 pound gorilla in your industry, maybe. Otherwise, maybe not, but it is a place to start.
Second thing, the U.S. and Japan have agreed to provide mutual recognition to their respective cargo security programs. It's not clear exactly when and how this will be implemented.
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