{"id":73632,"date":"2023-09-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2023\/09\/21\/today-us-joins-gcc-in-pushing-for-resolution-to-iraq-kuwait-maritime-border-debacle-uae-to-finalize-more-cepas-in-the-next-three-months\/"},"modified":"2023-09-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T00:00:00","slug":"today-us-joins-gcc-in-pushing-for-resolution-to-iraq-kuwait-maritime-border-debacle-uae-to-finalize-more-cepas-in-the-next-three-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2023\/09\/21\/today-us-joins-gcc-in-pushing-for-resolution-to-iraq-kuwait-maritime-border-debacle-uae-to-finalize-more-cepas-in-the-next-three-months\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY: US joins GCC in pushing for resolution to Iraq-Kuwait maritime border debacle + UAE to finalize more CEPAs in the next three months"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, lovely people. <\/strong>We wrap the week with another tight issue, with a lot of updates from Egypt and some tidbits from across the region.<\/p>\n

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- <\/strong>Egypt\u2019s Transport Ministry is gearing up to launch a tender for the Alexandria-Cairo railway bypass in 1Q 2024, a ministry source told Enterprise Logistics. So far, some 11 consortia of both Egyptian and global companies have qualified for the tender.<\/p>\n

^^ We have everything on this story and more in the news well, below.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY- <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> The US has joined Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) <\/strong> countries in pushing for a <\/strong> definitive agreement regarding the maritime borders between Kuwait and Iraq <\/strong>in a joint statement<\/a> following a meeting of the six-nation GCC's foreign ministers, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and GCC Secretary-General Jasem al Budaiwi in New York. This comes a day after the GCC FMs urged<\/a> Iraq to address the potential negative repercussions of its annulment of a law governing its Khor Abdullah maritime agreement<\/a> with Kuwait. \u201cThey called for the complete demarcation of the Kuwait-Iraq maritime boundary... and called on the government of Iraq to expeditiously resolve the domestic legal status of the 2012 Kuwait-Iraq agreement,\u201d the joint statement said.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER- <\/strong>The Iraqi court had ruled that the agreement \u2014 signed by former Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in 2013 \u2014 was unconstitutional because it should have been ratified by a two-thirds majority of the Iraqi parliament rather than a simple majority.<\/p>\n

<\/a> WATCH THIS SPACE #1- <\/strong> The UAE is set to finalize six more comprehensi <\/strong> ve <\/strong> economic partnership agreements (CEPAs) in the next quarter<\/strong>,the National<\/a> cites the UAE\u2019s Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi as saying in a speech during the Global Trade and Supply Chain Summit in Dubai. The UAE is looking to conclude CEPAs with Pakistan, South Korea and Thailand within the next three weeks, with plans to follow those agreements with ones with Costa Rica, Chile and Vietnam. The UAE has so far concluded CEPA agreements with India,<\/a> Indonesia<\/a>, Israel<\/a>, Turkey<\/a>, Cambodia<\/a> and Georgia<\/a>, with the first four agreements already in force. The UAE and Serbia also kickstarted negotiations<\/a> to establish a CEPA agreement earlier this week.<\/p>\n

<\/a> WATCH THIS SPACE #2- <\/strong> New Iraqi gas pipeline to Europe? <\/strong> Iraq\u2019s Transport Ministry will build a new gas pipeline towards Europe that will include non-European countries such as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, as part of its USD 17 bn Development Road project<\/a>, Iraqi news agency<\/a> INA reports. Although the project is still in its preliminary design stage, an initial meeting to discuss the mechanism for implementing the project will take place this week, Director of the Iraqi Republic Railways Younis Al Kaabi told INA. <\/p>\n

MARKET WATCH- <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> Has the peak season come and gone? <\/strong>According to DHL, it has. Peak container shipping this year has been showing mixed signs of irregular movement rates, unclear shipping demands, and lower-than-expected volume levels, DHL said in its latest blog post<\/a>. The peak season arrived early and ended early with spot markets on key East-West trades tapering downwards in early September, instead of building up into the golden holidays in China, DHL explains, citing the Wall Street Journal. Freight rates, as a result, experienced a minor boost from rates in the beginning of September.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re in for potentially another year marked by a capacity glut: <\/strong>\u201cShip deliveries will remain high over the next months,\u201d DHL\u2019s CEO of Global Forwarding in the Asia Pacific Niki Frank,. \u201cBut while the new CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator) and EEXI (Energy Efficiency eXisting ship Index) environmental regulations have created some tonnage demand through mandated slow steaming, cargo volumes will likely not grow enough to absorb all new deliveries.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about manufacturing and inventory levels? <\/strong>The US has seen a sharp drop in containerized imports from Asia due to reduced demand and inventory drawdowns, and is undergoing the \u201clargest inventory correction cycle in its economic history,\u201d DHL cites supply chain academic expert Jason Miller as saying. Miller expects this correction cycle to continue for another nine to twelve months before it returns to its regular levels.<\/p>\n

Shippers need to plan ahead and be strategic: <\/strong>\u201cGiven the stabilizing freight rates and demand and capacity conditions, we foresee that utilization will likely remain balanced for the rest of the year,\u201d Frank said. \u201cBut while we may not be anticipating a peak season surge in the fourth quarter, shippers should still prioritize adaptability and plan ahead in advance to address any possible surge in volumes toward the year-end,\u201d concluded Frank.<\/p>\n

Supply crunch and boosted demand increased global ammonia prices in August: <\/strong>Global blue ammonia production costs saw increases in August, while supply limits edged up prices for conventional ammonia, S&P Global<\/a> reported, citing Platts tracking data. Blue ammonia prices in the Middle East rose more than 20% m-o-m in August, hitting USD 369 per metric ton. Plant off-time due to maintenance, record low inventories, and greater demand underpinned the rally in ammonia prices in the region, S&P Global said. <\/p>\n

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