KWTC News :

Kentucky World Trade Center Welcomes New Staff

The Kentucky World Trade Center is pleased to welcome Darren Srebnick as International Trade Specialist for its Louisville Office. Darren has extensive international trade compliance experience. He is fluent in Japanese and is a licensed US Customs broker. He came from Nissan North America in Nashville where he worked for four years as a Customs and Trade Analyst with the Trade Compliance Department.  Before joining Nissan, he was a Customs broker with Nippon Express where he performed US customs entry on behalf of automotive suppliers located in the southeast US. 

Darren majored in Japanese studies with a concentration in Japanese language at Connecticut College in New London, CT.  He studied abroad for one year at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan and upon graduation completed a 3-year contract as a Coordinator for International Relations with Hiroshima City.

Darren will start his work at the KWTC on March 22. He is looking forward to meeting and assisting companies in the region.

KWTC Staff Also Available for Trade Assistance- Ying Juan Rogers

Ying Juan Rogers is the Executive Vice President of the Kentucky World Trade Center.   She has over 10 year’s international trade experience in market research and export/import regulations. Before joining KWTC, she worked at the World Trade Center San Diego and Foreign Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce in China.

Ying Juan is native Chinese and is fluent in English and French. She holds a Master’ Degree in International Commerce from the University of Kentucky, as well as a Certificate of International Business Studies from the Science and Political Institute in Paris, France.  In addition, we are pleased to announce that Ying Juan will be honored by Business Lexington in their second annual Leading Women in Central Kentucky publication. For a complete list of KWTC International Trade Services please click here.

International Trade News :

Mexico Increases VAT Rate (23 Oct 2009)

Mexico is set to raise its rate of VAT from 15 per cent to 16 per cent, it has been announced. The country’s lower house finance committee approved the one percentage point VAT increase as part of the government’s plans to reduce its dependence on oil revenues.
A three per cent tax will also be levied on telecommunications, while duties will be implemented on cigarettes, beer and gambling. However, a government proposal to add a new two per cent sales tax to all goods including medicine and food, which are currently exempt, was rejected. Opposition lawmakers stressing that such a move would hit low-income families particularly hard. Mexico’s finance committee also plans to implement an increase in income tax for high earners from 28 per cent to 30 per cent. The vote in favour of the tax changes is thought to be a victory for president Felipe Calderon, who is striving to prevent threatened upgrades to the country’s debt ratings. Reuters reported this week that the Mexican peso has surged to its strongest point since late August.

Automated Export System Changes ID Policy

Exporters signing up for the Automated Export System or AESDirect will no longer be able to use their Social Security number as identification, according to the Census Bureau.

Exporters or their agents will only be able to use an Internal Revenue Service Employer Identification Number or a Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) number when registering for the Automated Export System.

Census made electronic filing of export documents mandatory in June 2008. The agency said elimination of Social Security ID was done to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974.

The new rule takes effect March 24. Further information is available in the Feb. 22 Federal Register at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-3365.htm .

Export Controls Revised on Select Agents

The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule that, effective Feb. 22, amends the Export Administration Regulations by revising the controls on certain select agents identified in Export Control Classification Number 1C360 to reflect changes that the Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service recently made to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs list of select agents and toxins. more...

Trade-Related Issues for Congress and the Obama Administration in 2010

Trade issues, relatively neglected in 2009 as a new president and a strengthened Democratic majority in Congress focused on other issues, are set to take on a larger profile in 2010 as policymakers look to trade to help boost domestic employment. The Obama administration is expected to focus on negotiating two multilateral agreements and strengthening enforcement of existing pacts. Congress, meanwhile, will consider issues such as trade preference reform and food safety as well as a customs reauthorization bill. more...

U.S. Customs Broker Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Defrauding Importer

An unusual criminal case involving a customs broker illustrates the need for U.S. importers to be vigilant in exercising oversight over the activity of their customs brokers.
Earlier this week a New York-based customs broker was sentenced to 24 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution for defrauding an importer of medical equipment by submitting false customs documents that indicated that the importer owed customs duties on goods that were actually duty free.More...

China Becomes a Net Coal Importer in 2009

China's net import volume of coal surged to 103 million tons in 2009, the first time for the country to become a net importer of its staple fuel, the Securities Daily reported today, citing statistics from the China National Energy Administration (NEA).

China imported 130 million tons of coal in 2009, almost twice the volume for 2008. During the same period, its coal exports fell 50.7 percent year-on-year to 22.4 million tons, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs. more...

Did you know?
KWTC members have access to a full database of trade leads, available at wtca.org. For questions, contact sarah.darnall@kwtc.org.

KWTC Events:

Thursday, April 27th, 2010
8:30am - 4:00pm

Stoll Keenon Ogden
2000 PNC Plaza
500 West Jefferson Street
Louisville, KY 40202

$150 - Members
$195 - Members

Sponsored by:

Click here for the flyer with more information and here to register

SAVE THE DATE!!!!  

World Trade Day

Lexington, KY

September 1st, 2010

Expeditors Tradewin:
2010 Basic Export Compliance Seminar

April 1, 2010
9:00am -4:00pm

Expeditors
4800 Crittenden Drive
Louisville, KY

Registration fee of $150/person covers continental breakfast and lunch.

For more information click here

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Member News :

Los Monitos Expands Services

In 2009 Los Monitos expanded to meet local demand and now offers language instruction in ten different languages, including: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Japanese, and English as a Second Language (ESL).

Los Monitos has been providing schools, businesses, hospitals and other organizations customized on-site Spanish language training to meet a wide variety of professional goals Since 2001.

The Los Monitos Language Center training facilities are located at two locations, in Crescent Hill and Prospect in Louisville, Kentucky. Instruction is offered at Los Monitos facilities or at client location. Besides customized industry-specific courses, such as foreign language for health care, construction, restaurants, manufacturing and law, Los Monitos also offers language courses for adults and children.

ROI from Language Instruction

Los Monitos supports businesses in their creation of a multi-lingual workforce, an essential competency for successful internal operations with diverse personnel and for global competitiveness. Los Monitos recognizes that an investment in foreign language skills produces a positive and direct impact upon productivity, expanded market share and reduced liability in the areas of safety and human resource law.

For more about Los Monitos click here

http://www.losmonitos.com/

KWTC membership means global business opportunities.
Don't miss out! For membership information, click here.