News out of the European Union these days seems to be all about divisiveness and imminent economic chaos. So it's easy to overlook the latest reforms that promise to make life easier for traders doing business in the region.

A range of shipping organizations are putting pressure on the International Maritime Organization to act on air emissions ahead of the marine environmental committee meeting (MEPC 70) in late October. The meeting is scheduled to discuss policy measures for the shipping sector in terms of CO2 reduction and whether or not to postpone the global 0.5 percent sulfur cap planned for 2020.

China's September exports fell 10 percent from a year earlier, while imports shrank 1.9 percent after picking up in August, suggesting signs of steadying in the world's second-largest economy may be short-lived.

Global companies today live or die by the effectiveness of their social compliance programs.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that sluggish economic growth throughout the world could bolster an anti-trade backlash that has become a feature of politics in both the United States and Europe.

The last three months have been some of the worst the multipurpose and project carrier sector has endured in years. The breakbulk and project cargo sector remain weak, with little suggestion that volumes will improve significantly until the end of 2017, according to a recent report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.

First-time exporters in the U.S. understandably find Canada to be an attractive market, but cross-border trade between the two is far from simple.