The Bureau of Industry and Security is working on three problems that new fast-advancing technologies are posing for export controls, said Bob Rarog, special adviser to Assistant Secretary for Export Administration Kevin Wolf, at an open session on Export Control Reform on the last day of the Update 2012 Conference on Export Controls and Policy. The advent of radiation-hardened integrated circuits for commercial applications, advances in high-performance computing that are outrunning performance based controls, and the rise of cloud computing all pose challenges for BIS’ export control regime. BIS is now looking into ways to confront these challenges through changes to the Export Administration Regulations.
China said it will make a new revised offer of market access by the end of this year on the Government Procurement Agreement, at the meeting of the World Trade Organization Committee on Government Procurement July 18. According to the WTO, this is a new step in China’s process of acceding to the agreement. China said it would take into account all the requests made by the parties to the agreement for an improvement of its previous offer, submitted in November 2011, which had been considered insufficient, the WTO said.
The U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel plans a webinar on CBP’s requirements for importing hangers on Aug. 14 from 2-3 p.m. The webinar will include a presentation and a Q&A session for specific questions about your hangers. USA-ITA members may attend for $50, and non-members for $85.
The U.S. International Trade Commission released “The Year in Trade 2011,” its annual overview of the previous year's trade-related activities. The Year in Trade 2011 includes complete listings of antidumping, countervailing duty, safeguard, intellectual property rights infringement, and section 301 cases undertaken by the U.S. government in 2010. In addition, the 2011 report covers:
The International Trade Commission said it's considering what the effects of a limited exclusion order directed against certain integrated circuits, chipsets, and products containing the same including televisions (337-TA-786) imported by MediaTek and Zoran would have upon the public welfare, competition conditions in the U.S., and U.S. consumers, in light of a July 12 administrative law judge recommended determination on remedy and bonding. Comments are due by Aug. 13.
The Food and Drug Administration issued its weekly Enforcement Report for July 18 that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.
On July 17-18 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails July 18 announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The report of the 76th Session of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which met in Rome June 5-14, has been published on the websites of the Food and Agriculture Organization (here) and the World Health Organization (here), said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The JECFA session evaluated food additives including flavoring agents.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced its determination of nonregulated status for Monsanto sugar beets genetically engineered for tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate. This variety is commonly referred to as Roundup Ready sugar beets, APHIS said. The sugar beets will no longer be considered a regulated article under APHIS’ regulations governing the introduction (importation, interstate movement, or release into the environment) of organisms and products altered or produced through genetic engineering that are plant pests or that there is reason to believe are plant pests. APHIS press release available here.