NEXUS and FAST membership cards now accepted as proof of identity

NEXUS and FAST membership cards now accepted as proof of identity

NEXUS and FAST membership cards will now be accepted as proof of identity and as documents that denote citizenship when entering Canada at all land and marine ports of entry. This means that citizens of Canada and the United States who are NEXUS or FAST members, and are carrying with them valid membership cards, are no longer required to carry other supplementary documents such as passports or birth certificates with them when entering Canada by boat or by land, when using non-NEXUS or non-FAST lanes.

NEXUS and FAST members who are permanent residents of Canada or the United States are still required to travel with a passport and proof of permanent residence, and may be requested to present these documents to a border services officer upon arrival at the border.

It should be noted that program members who choose to use their card in non-NEXUS or non-FAST lanes will be processed as regular travellers and will not receive the benefit of expedited entry.

Please note that the new policy concerning the use of the NEXUS card as proof of identity and documents that denote citizenship does not pertain to the air mode of transportation. Members of the NEXUS program will still be required to carry the appropriate documentation when travelling by air.

http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexus/proofid-preuveid-eng.html

November 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

November 2009 Edition

BUDGETS

 
A majority of American employees are finding themselves hard-pressed to live up to their household budgets. A survey of more than 4,4000 full-time U.S. staffers found that 61 per cent of respondents reported that they always or usually live paycheck to paycheck. This is an increase from 47 per cent in 2008. One in five workers (21 per cent) polled said they are taking money from their long-term savings to satisfy financial burdens and have decreased their personal savings.

TARIFFS

The Canadian government plans to permanently eliminate all remaining tariffs on imports of machinery and equipment used by manufacturers, offering some relief to businesses pained by a sharp rise in the currency. It is claimed that these new measures could generate C$250-million to $300-million in savings. Exporters have been particularly hurt by the Canadian dollar's rise of more than 20 per cent against the U.S. dollar.

ADVERTISING

For the past few years, New York and London have been engaged in a transatlantic catfight over which is the superior city. Now the two are banding together to boost tourism to each other. Each will hand over about US$380,000 worth of their advertising space to their rival which works out to about 71 New York bus shelters and 250 posters for the London Underground.

AUDIO

A device that allows blind people to attach and read audio labels on everyday objects has been developed. The PenFriend uses minute barcodes which, when scanned by a digital pen, trigger MP3 files recorded on the unit. It costs about C$120 and can be used to label foods and medication as well as clothing, personal documentation and music collections. It uses optical identification technology (OID) to print microdots on to adhesive labels which are then read by the scanner in the tip of the PenFriend which can hold up to 70 hours of audio recordings.

FREIGHT

France is to invest C$12.3-billion to develop freight transport by rail and reduce road traffic. At a crossroads between northern and southern Europe, France plans to nearly double freight transport by 2022, in particular through a system of "rail highways" for truck carrying trains.

INVESTMENT

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APFC) suggests that Canada should be ready for a growing influx of Chinese investment over the next few years. A survey of 1,100 Chinese companies found that Canada is near the top, just after the U.S., of the list of overseas investment targets for Chinese companies. The third target country is Australia. China is most interested in Canada's energy and natural resources, agrifood and biotech sectors.

DRIVING

Canadians drove less in the first quarter of this year. Compared to the same quarter last year, there were fewer vehicles on the road at the start of 2009 and they were not driven as far, meaning the average for vehicle driving was down 4 per cent. Canadians were also driving more small cars and fewer gas guzzlers like SUVs. This follows two quarters in a row when driving had increased.

DIAMONDS

After virtually abandoning diamonds last year amid the global economic crisis, consumers are once again buying the shiny stones, albeit cautiously. Industry executives say diamond buyers are sticking to modest stones measuring between 3/4 carats and three carats in size, the type most commonly used for engagement rings. There has also been stronger than expected sales to China, India and Japan.

CAMELS

Some experts feel that the camel is an incredible resource for the planet and are ideally placed to become the "new livestock animal" as countries such as Australia become hotter and drier with global warming. Drought-adapted camels are highly resistant to disease and produce lean meat and milk loaded with vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting compounds. Meanwhile, camel racing in the United Arab Emirates and Quatar alone is now worth US$1-billion a year.

BANKS

Canada retained its position as home to the world's soundest banks according to the World Economic Forum which supports the country's efforts to trumpet its industry as a model for the world's largest economies. Canada was No. 1 for the second consecutive year, followed by New Zealand and Australia. The U.S. was 108th out of 133 countries, one below Tanzania. None of Canada's banks have sought government funding since the credit problems of last year.

SOLAR

A U.S. company has received approval from the Chinese government to build what may become the largest solar field in the world. First Solar, which makes more solar cells than any other company, has struck a 10-year deal to build in China's vast desert north of the Great Wall. The project will eventually cover 65 square kilometres of Inner Mongolia, slightly larger than the size of Manhattan, with a sea of black, light-absorbing glass. The solar field will dwarf anything in operation in the U.S. or Europe. The plant will pump enough energy into China's grid to light up three million homes.

COUPONS

The Neilson Company reports that coupon enthusiasts in the U.S. are the driving force behind exploding redemption rates. Eighty-one percent of units purchased using manufacturers coupons came from just 19 per cent of U.S. households during the first half of this year. The most avid users, called "coupon enthusiasts" are households that purchased 104 or more items using coupons.The 10 per cent of shoppers that fall into this category account for 62 per cent of manufacturers' coupon units. They also accounted for 16 per cent of total unit sales, making them an attractive and important consumer target.

SCRAP

Maritime experts report that the number of container vessels sold for demolition so far this year has reached record highs. A total of 148 ships have been scrapped this year which exceeds 275,000 twenty-equivalent units (TEU), with increasing numbers of larger ships among them. The number of idle ships continues to climb which has now reached over 10 per cent of the global fleet.

VACANCIES

Hotels in most big cities around the world are emptier than they were last year. London has weathered the global downturn better than most cities. Almost 79 per cent of its hotel rooms were taken by paying customers in the seven months to July, the highest occupancy rate of the 87 cities in a survey. Fewer business visitors and the trend for taking holidays closer to home have hurt the hotel trade in the capitals of Argentina, Mexico and Spain. In Mexico City more then half the hotel rooms are empty.

THEFT

Retailers in the U.S. lost US$6-billion to theft by shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2008. Apprehension of thieves rose 7.26 per cent last year while recoveries were up 21.64 per cent versus last year. This is the third consecutive year to see a rise in both these factors. The data for this survey came from 22 major department stores, mass merchants and big-box retailers, representing 19,151 store locations and nearly $572-billion in annual retail sales for 2008.

POLLUTION

Western governments pushing China to use clean-coal technology may need to lower their expectations for the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases. It will cost as much as US$400-billion over 30 years to install systems to capture carbon dioxide from power plant smokestacks in China and bury it underground. China has little incentive to invest because the technology will raise power prices and it's unclear if wealthier nations will pick up the bill.

GARMENTS

Bangladeshi entrepreneurs say the garment sector, a mainstay of the country's exports, is feeling the pinch of the global economic crisis with about 30 factories shutting in the past three months. Prices for Bangladeshi garments have fallen nearly 25 per cent in the global market. Bangladesh annually earns US$12-billion, or almost 75 per cent of the country's export earnings from garment making.

BIKES

Harley-Davidson Inc. is to start selling motorcycles in India next year, the world's second-largest motorcycle market, hoping that the iconic heavyweight bikes will find a niche among the country's rising middle class. In 2008, motorcycle shipments within the United States fell 15 per cent to 206,000 units, while international shipments climbed 9 per cent to 97,000. Harley shipped 32 per cent of its motorcycles overseas in 2008, up from 27 per cent in 2007.

TRENDS

The Swiss postal service is offering a new service to customers wanting to receive their physical letters over the Internet. For C$25.00 a month, letters are redirected to a secret location in Zurich where the envelopes are scanned and an image e-mailed out to customers. They can then decide whether the letter should be opened and scanned for the client by personnel sworn to secrecy or simply shredded.

GREEN

A washing machine using thousands of nylon beads and just a cup of water has been developed to provide a greener way to do laundry. The system, developed by Xeros, a spin-off from the University of Leeds, uses thousands of tiny nylon beads each measuring a few millimetres across. They are placed inside the smaller of two concentric drums along with dirty laundry, a cup of water and a squirt of detergent. As the drums rotate, the water wets the clothes and the detergent loosens the dirt. Then the nylon beads mop it up.

TRADE

In 2001, there were just 49 bilateral and regional free-trade agreements (FTAs) in place. After a deal signed in August between India and South Korea, there are now a total of 167 FTAs. South Korean firms are keen to make more use of India as a manufacturing base from which to export to the rest of the world. In return, Indian programmers will more easily be able to set up shop in South Korea.

EATING

A U.S.survey of nearly 2,200 shoppers has found that 68 per cent of adults have changed their cooking and eating behaviours due to the economy. Over half of the respondents eat at home more often, while 37 per cent are more careful about budgeting their food shopping trips. 45 per cent say they are now more likely to buy private labels and half of the consumers are more likely to comparison shop.

VANILLA

Some vanilla growers In Madagascar, the world's biggest producer of the flavourant, are demanding a minimum price for their crop that would see a return to a marketing system abandoned two decades ago. The producers want a floor price to be set around US$27.00 a kilogram. This could force up the price of exports to the U.S. by as much as a quarter. Vanilla comes from the only edible fruit produced by the orchid family of plants and accounts for a quarter of Madagascar's export income.

CONGESTION

There has been traffic chaos recently in two Paris suburbs after their feuding mayors declared the same street one-way, but in opposite directions.

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