Trans Pacific Partnership News

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach and C40 Cities have begun discussions to establish a green and digital shipping corridor between Singapore and the San Pedro Bay port complex. The corridor will focus on low- and zero-carbon fuels for bunkering, as well as digital tools to support deployment of low- and zero-carbon ships.This collaborative effort supports the Green Shipping Challenge launched during the World Leaders’ Summit at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, this week.

U.S. ports are positioned for another solid year of growth, though the Trump administration's evolving stance on both domestic and international trade is a long-term development worth a close watch, according to Fitch Ratings in its latest sector briefing. This after a strong 2017 in which ports on both coasts saw overall growth through the year. "Moving to larger ships and implementing operational alliances have helped drive volume growth on both coasts in 2017," said Emma Griffith, Director.

New alliances, structural change and positive economic trends have transformed the container shipping market over the past year, driving growth and pushing business performance figures from deep red into black. However, despite long-term rates that are, in some cases, up 120 percent year on year, the future remains uncertain due to a looming shadow on the horizon. And, according to Xeneta, it’s not being cast by the ‘usual suspect’. Xeneta, the global benchmarking and market intelligence platform for containerized ocean freight, says a recovery of the container segment is well underway.

Vietnam has approved a foreign consortium's plan to invest around $315 million in a seaport and industrial zone complex in northern Quang Ninh province, the government said on Saturday. The licence was handed on Friday to the consortium including CDC International Corp from Cayman Island, Asia Infrastructure Development Co from Hong Kong and Singapore's Tien Ich Trung Dong Co, said in a report on the government's website. Construction is slated to start next year with full completion in 2036, it said. While the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, with Vietnam one of the 12 signatory nations, looks uncertain after the U.S. presidential election, the Southeast Asian nation is still receiving record foreign investment due to its numerous trade accords, cheap labour and relative stability.

The White House on Monday said it was hopeful it could win congressional approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact before President Barack Obama leaves office, and warned that failing to do so would undermine U.S. leadership in the region. "The president is going to make a strong case that we have made progress and there is a path for us to get this done before the president leaves office," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told a new briefing ahead of a trip by Obama to Asia this week. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Throughput at Cai Mep International Terminal, the APM Terminals facility in Vietnam’s Ba Ria‐Vung Tau province, southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, expanded by 130 percent in the first quarter as new service calls added in 2015 began to impact volumes. The container volume has surged by 130% to 277,303 TEUs for the first three months of 2016, as compared with the same period a year ago. This growth follows an 80% expansion in container traffic at CMIT in 2015 over the year prior, to 724,768 TEUs. CMIT, part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, is a deep-water facility located in the Ba Ria‐Vung Tau Province, southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, and is capable of accommodating larger deep draft vessels of up to 15,000 TEU capacity, now cascading into Vietnamese trade routes.

Cai Mep, Vietnam - With five new services calls added to Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) since May of 2015, container volume has surged by 130% to 277,303 TEUs for the first three months of 2016, as compared with the same period a year ago. This growth follows an 80% expansion in container traffic at CMIT in 2015 over the year prior, to 724,768 TEUs. CMIT, part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, is a deep-water facility located in the Ba Ria‐Vung Tau Province, southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, and is capable of accommodating larger deep-draft vessels of up to 15,000 TEU capacity, now cascading into Vietnamese trade routes.

The growing worldwide demand for marine technologies, port construction and shipbuilding is generating new export opportunities for U.S. companies. As more firms look to boost their bottom line by maximizing their reach to the more than 95 percent of world consumers who live outside of the United States, many are taking advantage of numerous export resources along the way. At the same time, many other businesses have yet to export. International Trade Specialist Maryanne Burke leads the U.S. Commercial Service’s Marine Technology Team, and is based at the Boston U.S.

U.S. U.S. ports and our marine transportation system – and the hardworking men and women behind these operations – are essential drivers of the American economy. Every day, our ports and waterways handle millions of tons of domestic and international cargo, including food and agricultural products, petrochemicals and automobiles. In 2014 alone, $1.7 trillion worth of U.S. goods moved through our ports, representing 75 percent of imports and exports by weight. But ports, like our highways and bridges, face challenges.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday that countries should stop building artificial islands and militarising their claims in the disputed South China Sea. "For the sake of regional stability the claimants should halt reclamation, construction and militarisation of disputed areas," Obama told a meeting between the United States and leaders of the 10 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). China insists it has undisputed sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, a claim that overlaps with four ASEAN countries. China has been transforming reefs in the Spratly archipelago into artificial islands and has built airfields and other facililties on them.

The World Trade Organization's Appellate Body ruled against the United States on Friday in a dispute with Mexico over tuna labelling, upholding an earlier ruling issued in April that found U.S. rules discriminated against Mexico. "The Appellate Body concludes that the United States has not brought its dolphin-safe labelling regime for tuna products into conformity with the recommendations and rulings of the (WTO's dispute settlement body)," the WTO's appeals judges said at the end of their 144-page ruling on the case. The appeal ruling is final, and could lead to Mexico making a claim for retaliation against U.S. exports if it believes the United States has not brought its rules into line with the WTO ruling.

US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott Swift  has fired a broadside at China and other regional nations who are flouting international law in the South China Sea. Admiral Scott has warned that if bullying behaviour at sea of the kind shown by China is not confronted, it will spread to land and become a "friction point" there. His remarks are part of an escalating US campaign directed against Chinese land reclamation on reefs under Beijing’s administration. Swift’s speech came just a day after the Obama administration finalised the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)—a trade and investment bloc aimed at strengthening US economic dominance in Asia and undermining China’s economic clout.

Twelve Pacific Rim countries on Monday reached the most ambitious trade pact in a generation, aiming to liberalize commerce in 40 percent of the world's economy in a deal that faces skepticism from U.S. lawmakers. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact struck in Atlanta after marathon talks could reshape industries, change the cost of products from cheese to cancer treatments and have repercussions for drug companies and automakers. Tired negotiators worked round the clock over the weekend to settle tough issues such as monopoly rights for new biotech drugs.

“The prosperity of the United States is inextricably entwined with that of the rest of the world and international trade agreements provide stability and equity enabling increased trade,” said American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President and CEO Kurt Nagle in support of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015), which the Senate just approved and the House approved on June 18. He added, “Port cargo activity accounts for over a quarter of the U.S. economy and provides more than 23 million American jobs. As the unified and recognized voice of seaports in the Americas, AAPA has both independently, and in partnership with the Trade Benefits America coalition, strongly urged federal lawmakers to make TPA-2015 a priority.

Eddy Hayes, Chairman of the Board of Directors, World Trade Center of New Orleans, and Gary LaGrange, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Port of New Orleans, discuss New Orleans’ role as a key U.S. port city and address opportunities for  trade expansion. As New Orleans approaches her 2018 tricentennial we are reminded of New Orleans’ metamorphosis from accidental trading post to key port city. New Orleans has always been a port city, whether feeding the westward expansion of our nascent country through the Mississippi River…

Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman is joining APEC economic leaders, business decision-makers and academics to discuss opportunities to strengthen regional economic integration and the global multilateral trade system during the 2014 APEC CEO Summit in Beijing. As a U.S. member company of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), Caterpillar has been working with business leaders from the 21 economies of APEC to provide recommendations to APEC leaders on priorities including infrastructure investment, connectivity, mining, remanufacturing, trade facilitation and sustainable development. “APEC leaders showed great vision when they committed…

The Japanese technology firms are using their experience in saving energy and in cloud technology to help farmers cope with changes in climate, cheaper imports and declining labor. Panasonic, Fujitsu and others looking for an opportunity in a niche market to offset the decline in demand for consumer electronics, are working in greenhouses and controlled by automatic sensors to ensure constant conditions to produce high quality vegetables all year fields . Fujitsu says its agricultural system Akisai cloud means users can sit behind a desk in Tokyo, or even in New York, while cultivating vegetables in Shizuoka, using a tablet to control sprinklers, fans and heaters in response to changes in the temperature and humidity detected by the sensors in fields or greenhouses.

Reuters - Ministers in 12-nation Trans-Pacific trade talks said on Tuesday they have made progress trying to finalize a deal during a four-day meeting in Singapore, but several issues remain, particularly questions over market access. "While some issues remain, we have charted a path forward to resolve them," said New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser, reading from a joint media release at the end of the meeting. "Market access" issues remain one of the main sticking points, the ministers said. Ministers involved in the talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which aims to break down trade barriers across a wide range of sectors, had signalled ahead of the meeting that they were close to reaching a deal.

Canada's largest and most diverse port has released its 2013 year-end results showing continued growth, including a repeat of record volumes in the container and bulk sectors. In 2013, Port Metro Vancouver also advanced several ongoing capacity building infrastructure projects, updated and extended environmental initiatives and participated in substantial community engagement activities. The 2013 year-end statistics report shows that Port Metro Vancouver handled 135 million metric tons of cargo, a record for the Port, and an overall increase of nine percent over 2012.