Miscellaneous International Trade Notices
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') Science and Technology Directorate has announced that Analytic Services Incorporated (ANSER) has been selected to operate the Homeland Security Institute, which is DHS' first Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). According to DHS, the FFRDC will particularly focus on those matters involving policy and security where scientific, technical, and analytical expertise is required such as those in the extremely complex threat and vulnerability assessment areas. (DHS press release, dated 04/23/04, available at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=3509)
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
1. DHS Establishes "Think Tank" for Scientific and Technical Issues
2. USTR Announces U.S. & South Korea Solve Dispute Over Wireless Internet Technology
The State Department's Washington File reports that the U.S. and South Korea have resolved a long-standing trade dispute that threatened to shut U.S. firms out of the Korean telecommunications market. The USTR stated that American telecommunications companies can now be assured of unimpeded access to the Korean market. (Washington File Pub 04/23/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=April&x=20040423140950AJesroM0.6332056&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)
3. FDA Announces Meeting to Prepare for Upcoming ICH Meetings
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice announcing that a public meeting entitled, Preparation for ICH Meetings in Washington, DC, will be held on May 17, 2004. According to the notice, the topics to be discussed are topics for discussion at the upcoming International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) Steering Committee Meeting. According to FDA, the ICH was established in 1990 as a joint regulatory/industry project to improve, through harmonization, the efficiency of the process for developing and registering new medicinal products in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. without compromising regulatory obligations of safety and effectiveness. (D/N 2004N-0176, FR Pub 04/26/04, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-9323.pdf)
4. China Agrees to Trade in Certain Beef Products, Biotech Corn & Canola Varieties, Etc.
According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) transcript from the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), China has: agreed to open its market again to certain U.S. beef products (i.e., embryos, semen, and tallow; approved an additional four biotech corn and seven biotech canola varieties; and agreed to provide the recipient names of tariff-rate quota (TRQ) holder companies upon written request. (USDA transcript, Release No. 0160.04, dated 04/21/04, available at http://www.usda.gov/Newsroom/0160.04.html)
5. USDA Opens New FSIS Biosafety Level 3 Facility in Athens, GA
The USDA has announced the opening of a new Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) facility in Athens, GA that will conduct analyses on a wide range of potential biological threat agents. (Release No. 0157.04, dated 04/22/04, available at http://www.usda.gov/Newsroom/0157.04.html)