The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has renewed a $37 million loan facility for a Canonsburg, Penn., green technology company to enable it to complete existing export contracts in Oman and Italy and pursue new business.

On January 29, Ex-Im Bank’s board of directors approved the guarantee of a revolving working capital loan from PNC Bank, Pittsburgh, Penn., to support Aquatech International Corporation’s export of water purification solutions involving zero liquid discharge treatment, water reuse, and desalination.

“This financing will help sustain and potentially grow U.S. jobs at Aquatech and its extended supply network at this critical economic time,” said Aquatech President and CEO Venkee Sharma. “Aquatech’s near-20-year relationship with Ex-Im Bank clearly demonstrates the Bank’s commitment to support small and mid-size businesses like ours, to preserve and grow U.S. employment, and to facilitate U.S. environmental technology exports.”

Ex-Im Bank’s Office of Renewable Energy & Environmental Exports works with companies across a wide range of environmental sectors, including renewable energy, wastewater treatment, air pollution technologies and waste management services. The Bank offers enhanced financing, including special extended repayment terms, for certain categories of U.S. goods and services including environmentally beneficial exports.

The Bank’s environmental exports program has grown from five transactions in 1994 to 87 transactions in 2008, with a total current portfolio in excess of nearly $3 billion. In fiscal year 2008, the Bank authorized $226.9 million in financing to support an estimated $434.2 million of U.S. environmentally beneficial goods and services.

The value of trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico dropped 13.8% in November 2008 from November 2007, to $60.7 billion, the biggest year-to-year decline in almost 8 years, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to the agency, this was the second largest decline since North American surface freight data collection began in April 1994, 3 months after the implementation of NAFTA. Freight value declined 14.6% from December 2000 to December 2001 in the post-9/11 period.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico fell 16.5%in November from October, as well. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade totaled $37.8 billion in November, down 16.4% compared to November 2007. The value of imports carried by truck was 24.3% lower, and the value of exports carried by truck was 16.8% lower. Michigan as usual led all states in surface trade with Canada in November, with $4.4 billion.

U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $22.9 billion in November, down 9.0% compared to November 2007. The value of imports carried by truck was 19.6% lower, but the value of exports carried by truck was 3.4% higher. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in November with $7.3 billion.

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline.  About 88 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land.

Höegh Autoliners is adding the Port of Galveston as a load port for the carrier’s U.S. to Middle East service. This service will call on Galveston twice a month with port calls in the Middle East including Abu Dhabi, Aqaba, Bahrain, Beirut, Dammam, Doha, Jebel Ali, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Iraq and Tripoli, depending on cargo requirements.

The first vessel to accept outbound cargo will be the Höegh Trooper, scheduled to call Galveston on February 28, 2009. Cargo deliveries will begin on Friday January 30, 2009. Ports America will be the terminal operator for Höegh Autoliners.

On January 27, 2009, U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) Acting Director Leocadia Zak visited the manufacturing facilities of Integrated Manufacturing Technologies (IMT) in Red Bud, Ill., to meet with employees who are benefiting from USTDA’s commercially focused foreign assistance program. Working with IMT’s parent company, Roeslein & Associates (St. Louis, Mo.), USTDA funded the early investment analysis on the establishment of new local can manufacturing capacity in Nigeria utilizing U.S.-manufactured equipment.

“This project is a prime example of the way USTDA collaborates with U.S. businesses in bringing U.S. private sector solutions to bear in meeting overseas development opportunities,” stated Acting Director Zak. “As a result, Nigerians will soon have access to a local, cost-effective canning facility. Just as important, U.S. jobs are supported here at home by manufacturing the new facility in Red Bud, Illinois.”

Rudi Roeslein, CEO of Roeslein & Associates, presented Acting Director Zak with a check to USTDA for $240,330 that, together with a check previously received from Roeslein for $10,750, fully repays the original grant.

“This project was a priority for our company and presented a real opportunity for our employees to apply their expertise and experience in establishing a world-class can manufacturing facility in Nigeria,” said Mr. Roeslein. “USTDA’s support served as a catalyst in moving the project forward and in providing the bankable documents necessary for the project to succeed.”

USTDA supported the project with a $251,080 grant in early 2003 that funded a study, carried out by Roeslein & Associates, that established the viability of developing a two-piece aluminum can manufacturing facility in Lagos State, Nigeria. The results of the study were used to attract an investor to the project, GZ Industries, and to secure a loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank of the United States valued at $26.4 million.

In 2008, Roeslein & Associates completed the engineering design for the project and was awarded a $30 million contract to furnish equipment and to supply its modular system. IMT is currently manufacturing the modular system and is finishing the manufacturing line, which will be shipped to Nigeria in February.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is planning to create a Web page listing sources of publicly available information on commodity classifications. The agency is inviting companies to participate by providing information on where commodity classification information related to their products may be obtained.

BIS has said that it will not validate or be responsible for the accuracy of the classification information, and that inclusion on the Web page will not denote BIS endorsement of any company, its employees, or its products or services.

Companies interested in participating can contact BIS at CommodityClassifications@bis.doc.gov.  The e-mail should provide some or all of the following information to be posted on the BIS Web site:

• Company name.
• General description of the products/services.
• Commodity classification information Web site address.
• Export control point of contact (may be a general phone number or e-mail address).

In a published statement, the Cairns Group has expressed their concern regarding a recent decision by the EU to reintroduce export refunds for a number of agricultural products.

“The Cairns Group believes that this decision by the EU sends an extremely negative signal at a time when it is important to resist pressures for increased support and protection in the wake of the global financial and economic crisis,” the Cairns Group ambassadors stated. “We call on the EU to reverse its decision to re-introduce export subsidies. We also urge countries to resist domestic pressures to retaliate with their own export subsidies.”

The full text of the statement is available on the Cairns Group Web site.

The Cairns Group was founded in 1986 and is a coalition of 19 countries from Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Ken Torok, 55, is rejoining UPS as president of the company’s global freight forwarding operations. Torok most recently served as president of the company’s Asia Pacific Region, from 2003 through mid-2008. In his new capacity, Torok will direct the UPS global organization responsible for strategy, performance and revenue growth for forwarding services. He will oversee commercial air and ocean carrier relationships as well as coordinate trade lane development and international freight sales.

“Ken brings a wide range of knowledge and experience to the job,” said Dan Brutto, president of UPS International. “During his 33 years with UPS, Ken successfully directed many UPS operations outside the United States, developing important relationships in the process that will serve us well in his new capacity.”

The United States intends to initiate negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement with Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Australia, Peru, and Vietnam. The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) will convene a public hearing and seek public comment to assist the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in amplifying and clarifying negotiating objectives for the proposed agreements and to provide advice on how specific goods and services and other matters should be treated under the proposed agreement. Written comments are due by noon, March 11, 2009. For further details, see notice published in the Federal Register.

Persons wishing to testify orally at the hearing must provide written notification of their intent to testify, as well as their testimony, by February 25, 2009. A hearing will be held on March 4, 2009, in Rooms 1 and 2, 1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC and will continue as necessary on subsequent.

For procedural questions concerning written comments or participation in the public hearing, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee; Phone: (202) 395-3475. All other questions regarding the TPP should be directed to Douglas Bell, Deputy Assistant USTR for Southeast Asia and the Pacific; Phone: (202) 395-6813.

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United States and Trans-Pacific Partners Launch FTA Negotiations

Coyne Airways has appointed Air Logistics Group as its general sales agent in the United States in an effort to increase its share of air cargo shipments to the Caspian region and the Middle East.

Under the terms of the new contract, effective immediately, Air Logistics will be responsible for all U.S. sales with the exception of those in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C., where the company will continue its sales and marketing activities with Ray Wach.

Larry Coyne, CEO of Coyne Airways, said, “In Air Logistics, we are confident we have chosen a partner capable of providing the selling expertise, fast response times and service levels that are synonymous with Coyne’s services. Through its US locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Miami and New York, Air Logistics will provide wider geographical coverage and local contacts to meet the growing demand for the destinations we serve.”

Coyne Airways operates a weekly Boeing 747 freighter from London Stansted and Cologne to its Caspian hub of Tbilisi. From Tbilisi, Coyne operates regional all-cargo flights to Aktau, Atyrau and Uralsk in Kazakhstan as well as an RFS to Baku in Azerbaijan and Yerevan in Armenia. Other destinations in the Caspian region are served on request by air and road services.

From its Middle East hub in Dubai, Coyne operates freighters to major cities across Iraq and Afghanistan, including Baghdad, Balad, Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, Kandahar, Kabul and Bagram.

Coyne Airways has provided services from the U.S. market for 15 years. The company states that its major interline partners now include Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Qatar Airways, Qantas, Emirates, Delta, and British Airways to the Gulf and Air France, Continental Airlines, Virgin, and Asiana Airlines to the Caspian.

On January 27, the Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a public meeting to discuss information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the 41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, to be held in Shanghai, China, March 16–20, 2009. For further information, see the notice published in the Federal Register.

The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building Auditorium (Room 1A003), FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), 5100 Paint Branch Highway, College Park, Md.

Attendees should register electronically at ccfa@fda.hhs.gov by Feb. 6. Pre-registration is not required but is encouraged to expedite entry in the building and its parking area. Attendees must present photo identification at the door to gain admittance to the building. If you require parking, please include your vehicle make and tag number at the time of registration.

Agenda items and documents related to the 41st Session of the CCFA may be accessed prior to the public meeting at the Codex Web site.

For further details regarding the 41st Session of the CCFA, contact: Dr. Dennis Keefe, Office of Food Additive Safety, FDA, CFSAN; Phone: (301) 436-1284 or E-Mail: Dennis.Keefe@fda.hhs.gov.

For further information about the public meeting or to request a sign language interpreter or any other special accommodation, contact: Doreen Chen-Moulec, International Issues Analyst, Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Codex Office; Phone: (202) 205-7760 or E-Mail: Doreen.Chen-moulec@fsis.usda.gov.