US to blame for trade talks failure: French minister

U.S. protectionism is being blamed by French and German government ministers for important free trade talks between the U.S. and the European Union teetering on the brink of collapse.

“Those who are protectionist are Americans, Europe is very open,” Matthias Fekl, France’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Tourism and French Nationals Abroad, told CNBC on Monday.

France is prepared to walk away from the negotiations for the high-profile Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) if no progress is made, he added.

Fekl’s comments come after Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s Vice-Chancellor, said over the weekend that TTIP has failed, but “nobody is really admitting it”. Gabriel is likely to be campaigning against pro-TTIP Chancellor Angela Merkel next year.

Later on Monday, a spokesperson for the European Commission insisted the “ball is still rolling” on the deal

TTIP – and its Asia-Pacific equivalent, the Trans-Pacific Partnership – are a key tenet of the President Barack Obama’s policies and are designed to make trade simpler by eliminating many of the tariffs in place to protect particular goods and industries. However, they have become a target for fears about the potential negative fallout from globalization.

The political tide has been turning against TTIP and TTP for some time, with U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pledging to “never sign any trade agreement which hurts our workers or which diminishes our freedom and independence” – a swipe at TTIP.

While increased trade and the removal of barriers to trade appear on one hand to benefit both sides of the agreement, negotiations have stalled over whether the benefits would be evenly distributed.

There has been a substantial grassroots campaign in Germany against the deal, fuelled by concerns that the agreement might lower the standards of goods, cause job losses or allow greater powers to big business to sue governments. France’s President Francois Hollande has also criticized the deal for favoring the interests of U.S. businesses over Europeans.

The groundswell of opposition is part of a growing mistrust of elites and globalization around the world, including the surprise vote in June for the U.K. to leave the EU – which means it will not be part of TTIP. The U.K. would have been up to £10 billion a year better off under TTIP if it had stayed within the EU, according to the U.K. business group the Confederation of British Industry.

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Equipmentimes Enlists Credible Machinery Suppliers to Facilitate Offshore Companies in Procuring China Production Lines

Equipmentimes (Dalian) E-Commerce Co., Ltd. endeavors to create a safe purchasing environment for global companies willing to import machinery and equipment from China. The company has a trustworthy, professional team that checks the credibility of the machinery manufacturers in China before listing them on their website. One can find detailed listings of machinery and equipment suppliers online for importing machines to help set up an industry in their own country.

According to the spokesperson of Equipmentimes, they allow a free registration for ChineseMachinery Suppliers to showcase their machinery and production lines before the world. The company’s website has a large number of international visitors who rely on the site for gathering information about machinery and equipment suppliers in China. However, Equipmentimes professionals maintain a strict procedure for verifying the authenticity and credibility of the suppliers. “Only credible suppliers are allowed to enlist their machinery and production lines with us,” the spokesperson reveals.

Besides facilitating the import of China Machinery, Equipmentimes offers a variety of services, such as trade financing and legitimate right protection. They make efforts to simplify the cross-border procurement process and offer a wide variety of solutions to help establish international trade. The spokesperson reveals that they help international companies in overcoming technical difficulties when it comes to importing machinery or equipment from China. The professionals of the company provide match making service, allowing an importing company to get the best machinery with precise specifications.

Equipmentimes has the experience of providing procurement solutions focusing on China Production Lines for global companies to help set up production units for manufacturing a wide variety of items. The spokesperson maintains that they try to offer customized services for offshore clients to establish a business relationship with reliable Chinese suppliers. Based on the requirements of a buyer, they find out a suitable manufacturer or supplier in China that can supply the best machinery at an affordable cost.

To take advantage of the listing of the Chinese machinery and equipment suppliers, one can visit the website http://www.equipmentimes.com/

About Equipmentimes (Dalian) E-Commerce Co., Ltd.

Equipmentimes is wholly-owned subsidiary of Liaoning MEC Group Co., Ltd.

Equipmentimes aims to serve as an international influential third-party service platform, helping SMEs to free them from the tedious import and export business process and enabling them to concentrate on production and development. At the same time, they try to build a dynamic e-commerce industry by strengthening financial services. Equipmentimes helps SMEs to achieve international trade facilitation in a highly efficient and low cost way.

Farmers prepare for big harvest with equipment repairs

The Franklin County farmer is a stickler for preparation. He has a lot of equipment going into the field, and does everything possible to make sure things go smoothly.

“We’re pretty spoiled because we run new equipment,” he said. “Our combines are running in their third season.”

Hood grows corn, soybeans and wheat on 7,000 acres in Franklin County. All that acreage requires a lot of iron, and he has it.

His equipment shed is filled with tractors combines, planters, heads and various other machinery.

The key to being ready for harvest is leaving little to chance before heading out to the field, he believes.

A large shop a short distance from the farm houses offices and space for equipment maintenance and repair. It formerly served as a mine equipment repair shop, but like many other such businesses, couldn’t weather the downturn in the coal mining industry in the region.

“The whole farm gets run out of here,” Hood said. “This keeps it away from the house, which is nice. I bought this thing on the courthouse steps on a foreclosure, and we built a shop. We do all of our maintenance work here.”

Hood and his employees keep his combines running throughout the harvest season largely because they take care of everything during the time between harvest and planting.

“We went through the equipment completely for the winter,” he said.

“We cleaned, polished and waxed them. We’ve got 1,000 acres of wheat. We can cut it in a day and a half, then we put it back in the barn and they’re ready to go. We really do all our maintenance in the winter.”

The Hood farm is self-operated; he doesn’t depend on any custom work. Besides the planters and combines, the farm runs four semis to the grain elevators.

“We do 100 percent farming,” Hood said. “We spread all our own fertilizer, do all of our own spraying and do all of our own trucking. It’s all in-house. That keeps us busy.”


Before moving into the fields, the crew checks tires and brakes on vehicles and makes sure the grain haulers satisfy Department of Transportation regulations. Combines don’t generally require last-minute fixes.

“Every morning we go over everything,” Hood said. “There’s always something, like a loose bolt. Not really much goes wrong. If something does go wrong with a corn head, it’s usually operator error, where it’s run into something, or gets into a ditch.”

Any problems that occur in the field are usually taken care of immediately.

A fully stocked service truck follows combines into the field. In the spring, it carries tractor and planter parts; in the fall, it is equipped with parts for combines, grain buggies and haulers. A mobile air compressor is also on board.

“With a flat tire, we usually fix those right in the field,” Hood said. “It’s hard to get anybody to come out and work on them anymore.”

Prevention is key. There is nearly always something being worked on in the shop. Because of his experience, Hood often joins in.

“I spent several years as an iron worker, so I get to weld,” he said. “That’s not a fun job. I’d rather be doing something else and let someone else weld.”

Hood, who just celebrated his 51st birthday, has been farming since he was 16. That means decades of trial and error.

“You just learn over the years by your mistakes,” he said.

“We’re just now cleaning out the last of our grain out of the bins for hauling our corn off. We have to spray those bins for bugs. They’ll destroy a bin in a hurry. If you stay on top of it, you won’t have a problem.”

After harvest, maintenance begins all over again.

“We have a 24-row corn planter,” Hood said.

“It’s greased, put away and ready to go. I don’t like to put something up that needs to be worked on. Sure as the world, you’ll pull it out next spring and a mouse will have chewed up a wire or something. It will break down sitting there in the building.”

Nat Williams writes for Illinois Farmer Today, a Lee Enterprises sister publication of The Southern Illinoisan.

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Taiwan machinery exports down 10 percent

Taiwan’s large plastics and rubber machinery industry has seen exports drop by more than 10 percent since the beginning of 2015, as the slowdown in mainland China has taken a significant toll on the sector.
While China’s difficulties were acting as a drag, it wasn’t all bad news — Taiwan’s industry reported a significant increase in plastics machinery exports to the United States, which officials attributed to strength in manufacturing there.
At an Aug. 12 news conference on the opening day of the Taipei Plas show, industry officials released statistics that point to struggles for Taiwan’s industry.
Plastics and rubber machinery exports for 2015 fell more than 10 percent, to $1.12 billion, and that trend continued through the first half of this year, with exports down a further 11 percent from what was already a tough 2015.
But there is some early evidence that things are turning around.
Alan Wang, chairman of the plastics and rubber machinery committee of the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry, said that based on recent orders, officials believe the second half of the year will bring the industry back to growth.
Beyond the drop in exports to mainland China, Wang said the industry has been hurt by problems in the electronics and computer manufacturing industries, which are significant customers for Taiwan’s plastics industry.
Exports to China, which is Taiwan’s largest market, plummeted 37 percent in 2015, to $222 million. That almost single-handedly accounted for Taiwan’s global drop last year.
Executives said Taiwanese manufacturers have been trying to diversify into other markets, including Southeast Asia. Vietnam is Taiwan’s second-largest plastics machinery export market, and shipments there rose 14 percent in 2015, to $122 million.
Larry Wei, chairman of Taiwanese blow molding equipment maker Fong Kee International Machinery Co. Ltd., saw a silver lining in increased exports to the United States, which was Taiwan’s third-largest market.
“This not only suggests the U.S. economy was on the mend, but indicates Taiwan’s plastics and rubber machinery had improved in terms of quality and functionality,” Wei said at the news conference.
Exports to the U.S. jumped 67 percent last year, to $83.5 million.
For other key markets, however, sales dropped. Exports to Taiwan’s fourth and fifth largest export markets, Indonesia and Thailand, each dropped more than 8 percent.
“Over the last two years, the global manufacturing business has suffered greatly from the economic downturn,” said Michael Wang, a vice chairman of TAMI’s plastics and rubber committee.
“The currency market has also become very volatile,” said Wang, who is also an executive in the Taiwan factory of Hong Kong-based machine maker Chen Hsong. “All of these have had a significant impact on Taiwan’s plastics and rubber machinery industry.”
According to TAMI statistics, Taiwan, which has a population roughly the same as Texas, is the sixth largest exporter of plastics and rubber machinery worldwide, behind Germany, China, Italy, Japan and the United States.
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