Miscellaneous International Trade Notices
Washington Trade Daily reports that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman hopes to see action on H.R. 2896, his bill that would repeal the Extraterritorial Income Tax Exclusion (ETI) before the House adjourns for the Easter recess in late March/early April. According to the article, H.R. 2896 would replace ETI with a new tax cut for domestic manufacturers and propose an array of international law changes aimed at making U.S. businesses more competitive abroad. The article notes that Congress is under pressure to repeal ETI in order to end sanctions against certain U.S. goods which the European Union imposed as of March 1, 2004. (WTD dated 03/18/04, www.washingtontradedaily.com.)
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1. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Hopes to Move ETI Replacement Bill Before Easter Recess
2. Senate Asked to Approve Additional Protocols to Preserve Investment Treaties with 6 Countries Joining the EU in May
The State Department's Washington File reports in separate articles that on March 12, 2004, the President asked the Senate to approve ratification of bilateral Additional Protocols between the U.S. and the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the Slovak Republic designed to preserve the Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) between the U.S. and each of these countries after they join the European Union (EU) on May 1, 2004. (Washington File Pub 03/12/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/products/washfile.html)
3. ITA Policy Bulletin on Surrogate Countries for NME Investigations
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a policy bulletin which provides guidance regarding the Department of Commerce's (DOC's) selection of surrogate market economy countries in non-market economy (NME) cases. The policy bulletin states, among other things, that per capita income is a primary means of determining economic compatibility. (ITA Policy Bulletin No. 04.1, available at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/policy/bull04-1.html)
4. FDA Boosts its Efforts to Inform Foreign Food Facilities of New Security Rules
The State Department's Washington File has reported that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is enhancing its efforts to assist foreign food facilities that export food for consumption in the U.S. with new security rules. Among other outreach efforts planned, U.S. officials will travel to Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, and Bangkok in April 2004 to explain new security rules and discuss mistakes facilities have been making in registering with the FDA. (Washington File Pub, dated 03/16/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=March&x=20040316162539AKllennoCcM2.372378e-02&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)