NEWSWEEK US eyes key trade agreement T


he Obama adminis- tration plans to join negotiations for a major trade deal on international services


,which should help boost de- mand for airfreight. According to US trade representative, Ron Kirk, talks with 20 trading partners — who collectively represent nearly two-thirds of global trade in services — are already taking place in Geneva. According to the White House Executive Office, President Obama is seeking to endorse international trade in services. In a letter to legislators, Kirk cited a recent study showing that despite the US’ status as the number-one services


trader, tradable services, which includes transportation and logistics, are five-times less likely to be exported than man- ufactured goods. “If business services achieved the same export potential as manufactured goods globally, US exports could increase by as much as $800 billion,” Kirk wrote to lawmakers. “To begin to realise this potential, we need to surmount a range of barriers that lock out, constrain or disrupt the inter- national supply of services,” he continued. “An ambitious, high-standard


international


services agreement presents a tremendous opportunity remove these impediments and


to


boost US economic growth and support additional jobs.” Ralph Carter, managing director of trade and interna- tional affairs at FedEx Express, applauded this move in a blog post, calling it “great news for the US economy and the world trading system”. After all, Car- ter said, services account for roughly three-quarters of eco- nomic output in the US. “Yet the US services sector only exports about three percent of its gross tradable output,” he wrote, “largely because interna- tional services markets remain heavily restricted and US ser- vice suppliers face a wide range of barriers to doing business in overseas markets.”


KIRK


US exports could increase by $800bn


Carter concluded that the


International Service Agreement will profit FedEx by eliminating “many of the investment and other market-access barriers that our industry faces around the world”.


Cargo Care signs up Neo


FOUNDER member of the Global Charter Alliance, Neo Air Charter, has entered into a strategic partner- ship with Nordic-based general sales and service agent (GSSA) Cargo Care International.


The agreement will see Cargo Care International pro- vide sales coverage throughout Denmark, Sweden and Finland, as well as the Faroe Islands and Iceland. “Marketing Neo’s charter capabilities throughout the region will enable us to offer our freight agent custom- ers a one-stop solution for all their needs. It also gives us access to a much wider selection of charter carriers and aircraft,” said Cargo Care chairman Anders Herr- gaard Jepsen.


Neo managing director, Stefan Kohlmann (pictured), compared the union to his company’s collaboration with Active Airlines Representatives in the Netherlands, which has proved successful.


HAVE YOU SEEN?


TNT MERGER FAILURE TO COST €200: UPS says it will pay TNT Express €200 million in compensation as the European Commission signals it will block a €5.2 billion takeover of the Dutch company.


DHL GETS THE PICTURE: DHL’s supply chain division has won a €120 million contract from Pana- sonic UK to manage its warehousing and transport operation.


HACTL SCORES SECOND-BEST THROUGHPUT: Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals says 2012 was the second-best 12 months in its 37-year history.


HAWAIIAN EXPANDS ASIA NETWORK: Hawaiian Airlines is set to acquire 16 A321 neo aircraft between 2017 and 2020 in anticipation of more long-haul flights to and from Asia.


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ACW 21 JANUARY 2013


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