Miscellaneous International Trade Notices
Washington Trade Daily reports that U.S. Trade Representative Zoellick has accused Senate Democrats of holding up quick action on legislation (S. 2529) to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program. The article states that the bill is identical to H.R. 4103 (known as AGOA III) that was recently passed by the House. (WTD dated 06/18/04, www.washingtontradedaily.com )
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1. USTR Says Senate Democrats Holding Up Quick Action on AGOA III Bill
2. Supreme Court Limits Reach of Antitrust Law Outside U.S.
The State Department's Washington File states that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 8-0 that foreign buyers cannot sue an international business in U.S. courts over price fixing unless they can demonstrate that the company's actions in the U.S. directly harmed them. The article states that the Supreme Court's ruling overturned part of an appeals court ruling that was opposed by multinational corporations, the Bush administration and antitrust agencies in Canada, Europe and Japan as amounting to unreasonable extraterritorial reach for U.S. antitrust law. (Washington File, dated 06/15/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=June&x=20040615151905ebyessedo0.1865961&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html )
3. Bush Expands Digital Freedom Initiative to Jordan
The State Department's Washington File states that President Bush has announced that Jordan will be included in the U.S. Digital Freedom Initiative (DFI) which aims to promote the transfer of information and communication technology to entrepreneurs and small businesses in developing countries. (Washington File, dated 06/09/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/Archive/2004/Jun/14-375376.html )
4. Presidential Proclamation Designating Morocco a Major Non-NATO Ally Published in Federal Register
Presidential Proclamation No. 2003-35, which designates the Kingdom of Morocco as a major non-NATO ally of the U.S., has been published in the Federal Register. (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/10/04 news, 04061099 4, for earlier BP summary.) (FR Pub 06/18/04, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-13951.pdf)
5. Notice of President's Intention to Enter into FTA with Bahrain Published in Federal Register
The President's notification to Congress of his intention to enter into a free trade agreement (FTA) with Bahrain has been published in the Federal Register. (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/18/04 news, 04061805, for BP summary of this notification.) (FR Pub 06/18/04, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-13979.pdf)
6. CBP Publishes Corrections to its Notice of Intent to Distribute FY 2004 AD/CV Revenues
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice which makes certain corrections to its June 2, 2004 Federal Register notice announcing its intent to distribute fiscal year (FY) 2004 antidumping and countervailing subsidies to affected domestic producers under the Byrd Amendment. (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/04/04 news, 04060420, for BP summary of CBP's original notice.) (FR Pub 06/18/04, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/C4-12187.pdf)
7. New Documents on Importation of Canadian Beef Available on APHIS' Web Site
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has posted the following new documents to its bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) Web page:
Importation of Processed Canadian Beef Products Regulatory Timeline
Background on Importation of Processed Canadian Beef Products Between August 2003 and April 2004
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Canadian Import Numbers, September 1, 2003 - April 30, 2004.
These and other BSE-related documents are available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html
8. Further Details on NHTSA's Proposed Rule
Sources state that in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) proposed rule, proposed 49 CFR 594.6(c) is incorrectly identified as 49 CFR 594.6(d). No revisions would be made to 49 CFR 594.6(c) by this proposed rule. (See today's issue, 04062110, for BP summary of NHTSA's proposed rule.)