Us Department Of Commerce News

On May 5, 2023, the White House announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was “taking the next step to invest $3 billion in its Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission port equipment and technology and to help ports develop climate action plans to reduce air pollutants, improve air quality and public health in neighboring communities, and advance environmental justice.” That “next step” was the issuance of a Request for Information to inform EPA of the availability…

Recent changes have opened up the Capital Construction Fund program to owners and operators of vessels on the U.S. inland waterways.Among the programs offered by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Maritime Administration (MARAD) to promote the growth and modernization of the U.S. maritime industry, the Capital Construction Fund (CCF) program is one that has remained largely unavailable to the owners and operators of vessels on the inland waterways—until now.Created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936…

NOAA has selected Mike Brennan, Ph.D., to serve as the next director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, as preparations continue ahead of the 2023 hurricane season. He will assume this new role effective today, April 10, 2023.“The NHC director is one of the most visible and important jobs in the nation, and Mike possesses the right combination of experience, leadership and personal traits to prepare and guide us through major storms,” said Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator.

U.S. Commercial Service previews September 20-22 export forum  The growing demand for marine technologies is generating new export possibilities for U.S. companies. To help American businesses pursue these opportunities, the Department of Commerce is hosting Discover Global Markets: The Blue Economy, in Providence, R.I., Sept. 20-22, 2022. International Trade Specialist Maryanne Burke leads the Marine Technology Team of the International Trade Administration (ITA). Maryanne is part of ITA’s U.S.

Marcus Jadotte has joined Crowley as senior vice president of government relations, leading the company’s advocacy activities across all its businesses.Jadotte will spearhead the company’s continuing advocacy for laws and regulations that support the domestic maritime industry, while expanding awareness of Crowley’s growing defense and civilian government services among federal, state and local officials. He will be based in Washington, D.C.Jadotte comes to Crowley after his tenure as vice president of federal government relations at Raytheon Technologies.

An Iraqi national has appeared in U.S. District Court in Savannah after his indictment on charges related to the attempted smuggling of firearms to Iraq.Nihad Al Jaberi, a Clarkston, Ga., resident, is charged with smuggling, failure to notify a common carrier and submitting false or misleading export information. The smuggling charge carries upon conviction a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and substantial financial penalties. There is no parole in the federal system.Al Jaberi, an Iraqi citizen and legal permanent resident of the United States, was arraigned last week.

Vestdavit won a frame agreement to provide service, support and spares for the variety of marine davits it has supplied to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).NOAA operates a fleet of research and survey vessels that conduct a wide variety of missions, including oceanographic research, marine life studies and hydrographic surveys. Davits are needed to handle RHIBS of different sizes and 30ft Hydrographic Survey Launches, depending on the NOAA mission.The all-embracing five-year contract is valued at up to US$2.5 million and aligns with U.S.

The U.S. maintains a comprehensive sanctions program against Cuba, generally prohibiting all trade between the two nations, subject to multiple exceptions. In a previous article we addressed U.S. comprehensive sanctions generally, focusing on Iran, Syria and North Korea. Because the Cuba sanctions program has several idiosyncrasies that are unique to Cuba we address the Cuba sanctions program on its own.Background to Cuba sanctionsThe Cuba sanctions program is the oldest U.S. sanctions program still in existence.

Export Control Lists Include Key Marine Tech Categories  Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce receives thousands of inquiries from businesses looking to export, many of which involve licensing questions. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), together with other USG agencies, is responsible for export licensing and controls. BIS export licenses may be required for items (commodities, software, or technology) with proliferation, military, or terrorist uses, or which warrant control for other reasons.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce receives thousands of inquiries from businesses looking to export, many of which involve licensing questions. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), together with other USG agencies, is responsible for export licensing and controls. BIS export licenses may be required for items (commodities, software, or technology) with proliferation, military, or terrorist uses, or which warrant control for other reasons. Export licensing requirements can apply to a wide array of products, including marine technologies.

Marine organisms such as barnacles and zebra mussels have been a long-standing nuisance to ship hulls, causing exterior damage, increased power and fuel consumption and environmental concerns. While anti-fouling coatings help to prevent biofouling,  a new research study suggests that an innovative approach to marine coatings may solve the problem of barnacle and zebra mussel fouling, an approach stems from the MOSI (Marine Organism Sensory Interference) concept. MOSI uses a unique coating tech to interfere with the sensory ability of juvenile barnacles…

As a member of the President’s Advisory Council – Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA), Bob Wetta attended the September 26, 2018 Fact-Finding Trip Report meeting in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and 13 other U.S. Government officials. Their purpose was to deliberate and adopt the final report of the 2016-2018 term of the PAC-DBIA. Prepared by IBM’s Takreem El-Tohamy, but unfortunately unable to attend the meeting, Bob Wetta presented the Ghana information…

Russian steelmaker NLMK has told the U.S. Department of Commerce that it could be forced to shut down its U.S. business due to the impact of new U.S. tariffs."Without an exclusion for semi-finished steel slabs, the tariffs will have the perverse effect of killing U.S. steelmaking jobs and potentially putting our company out of business," NLMK USA's Chief Executive Robert Miller wrote in a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce dated March 23, 2018.Reporting by Polina Ivanova and Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Polina Ivanova

The aging Pacific Northwest fishing fleet is either undergoing or about to undergo a long-overdo upgrade, judging by a major economic report commissioned by the Port of Seattle. Fisheries managers, seafood suppliers, yards and the supply chain all hope an accompanying surge in ship finance “lifts all boats”. For now, the newbuild count is growing apace, slowed just a bit by owners opting for major retrofits amid rich fish harvests. This fisheries upsurge comes with some rising stars of ship design-and-build for vessels set to ply the Bering and Beaufort seas.

A shipment of artisanal charcoal made its way from Cuba to Port Everglades aboard Crowley’s container ship K Storm, marking the first truly commercial shipment from a Cuban cooperative to a private U.S. business since the U.S.-Cuba trade embargo was imposed more than 50 years ago. Crowley was the first U.S. carrier to obtain a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury to provide regularly scheduled common carrier services for licensed cargo from the U.S. to Cuba. Crowley launched its Cuba service in December 2001, becoming the first U.S. carrier to reenter the country in nearly 40 years, and has maintained a regularly scheduled service ever since, currently operating from Port Everglades in Florida.

The Maritime Alliance (TMA) has partnered with the International Trade Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, to organize and partially fund an initiative to increase exports from small maritime technology companies (typically $2 million revenue and 20 people or below with limited trade show experience) from throughout the United States.   With partial funding through the Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP), this three-year export initiative will focus on markets primarily in Europe and Latin America, with a secondary focus in Asia. There will be separate applications for each year of the initiatives.   Applications are due by December 23 at www.bluetechexports.org.

Expansion of Virginia’s Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ 20) into northeast North Carolina was approved by the US Department of Commerce and the decision provides another means of attracting cargo to The Port of Virginia, the port’s CEO says. “This is an incentive that can be used to attract business to the port and investment and jobs to locations within the FTZ,” said John F. Reinhart, CEO an executive director of the Virginia Port Authority (VPA). “The benefits of the FTZ can be significant and this decision opens the door in northeast North Carolina to those benefits. Companies operating in Foreign-Trade Zones can defer, reduce or eliminate US Customs duties on imported products.

The Port of Los Angeles and GE Transportation are partnering to digitize maritime shipping to help goods reach consumers faster. First-of-its-kind port information portal delivers fast, data-driven insights to enhance maritime supply chain performance and better serve ultra-large container vessels. With consumer spending on the rise, U.S. businesses need greater reliability and visibility from the supply chain to maintain their edge in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Given that 90 percent of global trade moves on the ocean, seaports are critical nodes of the supply chain. However, today’s major ports face the growing challenge…

Newly-elected Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb will provide special keynote remarks at next week's Indiana Logistics Summit. The two-day event is scheduled for Nov. 16-17 at the Indiana Convention Center and the Governor-elect will speak at 9 a.m. in the Sagamore Ballroom on Thursday, Nov. 17. Hosted by Ports of Indiana, Purdue University and Conexus Indiana, the Summit brings together over 350 executives from the logistics and advanced manufacturing sector to discuss critical issues facing all modes of transportation, and will also include 150 high school students participating in "Logistics U," a parallel program exploring 200 years of logistics in honor of Indiana's bicentennial.

On September 01, 2016, Bob Wetta, President and CEO of DSC Dredge, LLC, along with the other Louisiana E-Award winners, held a meeting in Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy’s office. The purpose of the meeting was to recognize the winners for their accomplishments that led to receiving this award. The President’s “E” Award is the highest recognition any U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. In 1961, President Kennedy signed…

DSC Dredge, LLC, based in Reserve, La., has received the 2016 President’s “E-Star” Award for exports. In a ceremony held on May 16, 2016, at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said, “These companies demonstrate the opportunity inherent in selling Made-in-America products to the broad customer base that exists outside our borders. During her remarks, Secretary Pritzker singled out several companies, including DSC.

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.

The North American spat pitting Canada and Mexico against the United States over meat labels has sown confusion among producers and shippers in all three countries, with a trade war potentially just weeks away. The World Trade Organization on Monday authorized Canada and Mexico, the biggest markets for exported U.S. goods, to retaliate against the United States' meat-labeling rules, setting the annual level at C$1.055 billion for Canada and $228 million for Mexico. The United States took a step towards defusing the row on Wednesday when the U.S. Congress approved a spending bill that includes the repeal of federal laws mandating meatpackers identify where animals are raised and slaughtered.