Breaking Waves
- Having trouble finding a freight forwarder, or need a forwarder with special expertise in a market? Take a look at Freightbook, a free on-line search engine for finding freight forwarders, couriers, customs brokers and many other types of international trade service firms. Freightbook says they have more than 400 companies listed in 120 countries, which should be enough. If you are a forwarder or similar firm, you can get your company listed, but that isn’t free. Hey, they have to make money somehow. (This is another tip from the Federation of International Trade Associations.)
- Little noticed, but with big potential, China has apparently agreed to consider signing on to the WTO’s government procurement code. If so, this could solve a lot of issues that foreign companies have in selling to Chinese government agencies and could obviate things like the “indigenous innovation” rules. If this develops, you’ll see more posts about it here. I was one of the negotiators of the procurement code and will watch this one closely.
- More good news. Russia could be in the WTO within a year, says the European Union. This should loosen some things up.
- I really should do a post on the many “chicken wars”. Hardly any other product has been subject to as many trade disputes as chickens and chicken parts. My first one was the famous U.S.-EU chicken war decades ago. The latest chicken war is between the United States and Russia and it appears to be nearing resolution. Chickens were involved, too, in the great turkey ball war between the United States and Taiwan (read about it here).
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I’m still on the road, in Sandbridge, Virginia, this morning. Posts will continue to be sparse for a while. Our goddaughter is getting married and we are kneedeep in all the hoopla. We are also waiting for our daughter to deliver our first grandchildren. She is due to deliver twins at virtually any moment! That takes precedence over blogging, so bear with me.
