The Office of Textiles and Apparel has issued monthly reports containing official December 2011 trade data from the Census Bureau for U.S. imports and exports of cotton, wool, man-made fiber (MMF), silk blends, and non-cotton vegetable fiber textile and apparel products.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that a Codex physical working group (pWG) will be meeting to discuss principles and guidelines for national food control systems.
The International Trade Administration is amending the final results for its recently published antidumping duty administrative review of citric acid and certain citrate salts from China (A-570-937) in order to correct an error in the AD cash deposit rate for Yixing Union Biochemical Co., Ltd. The amended rate, which is officially effective February 21, 2012, is expected to be implemented by U.S. Customs and Border Protection soon.
On February 13, 2012, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to non-germane amendments, as well as other procedural tactics, that have delayed consideration of S. 1813 (the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, MAP-21), the surface transportation reauthorization bill currently before the Senate. Senator Boxer also entered into the record a letter sent to all Members of the Senate in opposition to non-germane amendments, which was signed by groups including the Automobile Association of America (AAA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Court of International Trade has ruled that Rack Room Shoes, SKIZ Imports LLC, and Forever 21, Inc., which had challenged the constitutionality of certain tariff provisions of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) on the grounds that the tariffs unconstitutionally discriminate by gender and age, did not plausibly demonstrate government intent to discriminate, dismissing the case with prejudice.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a final rule to amend its registration form requirements for durable infant or toddler products. Among other modifications, the CPSC final rule simplifies and clarifies the text of the regulations, adopts changes to the registration form to ensure that consumers register properly, and allows manufacturers to include brand names and third party processors in mailing addresses and contact information.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that three Codex electronic working groups (eWG) will be meeting to discuss the evaluation of control systems for food exporters, hygiene recommendations for berry production, and discussion papers regarding the fruits Kava and Nonu.
Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) is urging the Departments of Defense and State to expedite the final risk assessment of U.S. space export control policy required by Section 1248 of the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, so Congress can move to lift export restrictions and allow more sales of non-sensitive satellites overseas. Manzullo states that the department’s May 2011 Interim Report not only concluded that transferring commercial communications satellites from the USML to the CCL would not pose an “unacceptable security risk,” but recommended that action.
In a February 13, 2012 letter, Congressman Mike Michaud (D-ME), Chairman of the House Trade Working Group, joined 26 of his colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama urging the Administration to bring a WTO case against China’s levying of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of certain U.S. vehicles with engine capacities over 2.5 liters.
Before the Senate Budget Committee, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated on February 15, 2012 that the President is requesting $74 billion for DOT for fiscal year 2013, that will be paid for with saving achieved from ramping down overseas military operations. Included in DOT’s budget request is over $1 billion in FY 2013 for the NextGen air traffic control system and $4.8 billion over six years for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to ensure that commercial trucks and buses maintain high operational standards, while removing high-risk truck and bus companies and their drivers from operating.