The Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration amended its Hazardous Materials Regulations to maintain alignment with international standards. The changes incorporate various amendments, including changes to proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations, and vessel stowage requirements, according to a Federal Register notice scheduled for Jan. 7. PHMSA authorized voluntary compliance with the final rule beginning Jan. 1, 2013, with compliance required beginning Jan. 1, 2014.
Dugie Standeford
Dugie Standeford, European Correspondent, Communications Daily and Privacy Daily, is a former lawyer. She joined Warren Communications News in 2000 to report on internet policy and regulation. In 2003 she moved to the U.K. and since then has covered European telecommunications issues. She previously covered the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and intellectual property law matters. She has a degree in psychology from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Unified Carrier Registration Plan board will meet Jan. 14 to continue work on developing and implementing the unified carriers registration plan and agreement. For further information: Avelino Guttierez, Chairman, (505) 827-4565.
Trade using surface transportation between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico was 7.9 percent higher in October 2012 than in October 2011, at $85.3 billion, said the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Adjusted for inflation and exchange rates, the October 2012 total was $61.7 billion in 2004 dollars, up 7.6 percent from October 2011, BTS said. Surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones, and other modes of transport. The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico increased 9.8 percent in October 2012 from September 2012, possibly due to seasonal variations and other factors. U.S. surface trade with Mexico has increased at a faster pace than with Canada, according to BTS figures. U.S.-Canada trade reached $48.4 billion in October, up 4.3 percent over October 2011, while U.S.-Mexico trade was $36.9 billion, a 13.1 percent increase from the previous October. The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Canada by surface modes of transportation in October was vehicles, valued at $9.8 billion. The top commodity transported between the U.S. and Mexico that month was electrical machinery, valued at $8.2 billion, BTS said.
The Coast Guard is seeking applications for membership on the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee, it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for Jan. 8. MERPAC advises the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on matters relating to personnel in the U.S. merchant marine, including training, qualifications, certification, documentation and fitness standards. The panel is expected to meet about twice a year. Six positions will expire or become vacant on June 1. Committee members serve a three-year term.
The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is opening a 25-day comment period on an application for final commitment for a long-term loan or financial guarantee in excess of $100, it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for Jan. 8. The loan is to support the export of U.S.-manufactured commercial aircraft to Luxembourg for global cargo services. The principal supplier is the Boeing Company. Comments are due by Feb. 2 to WWW.REGULATIONS.GOV.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comment by Jan. 31 on whether to recommend that duty-free treatment for imports from Bangladesh under the Generalized Systems of Preferences be withdrawn, suspended or limited because Bangladesh isn't taking steps to give workers internationally recognized worker rights, specifically the rights of association and to organize and bargain collectively.
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls notification of name/address changes:
New Zealand's data protection standards are compatible with EU law, paving the way for more trade with Europe, the European Commission said Wednesday. Personal data is increasingly transferred across borders and stored on servers in countries within and outside the EU, and stable rules for such transfers beyond Europe are needed, it said. There are also benefits for the economy and trade, it said. Rules which recognize the adequacy of data protection standards make life easier for EU businesses by giving them legal certainty in their international operations, it said. New Zealand is a key member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum; total trade in goods between it and the EU comes to $8.9 billion annually.
The European Commission proposed new rules to deal with EU trade responses in cases of illegal trade measures in other countries. Ensuring that its trading partners respect agreed rules is key to making international trade agreements work for the European economy, it said. Under the plan, the EC will be authorized to take executive action when EU trade interests are at stake rather than having to react on a case-by-case basis, it said. European trade responses will be made more streamlined and efficient to encourage offending nations to remove their illegal measures, it said. In cases of last resort, the EU will be able to impose trade sanctions. It could also act to compensate for import restrictions set on EU products in exceptional situations, or react to situations where a WTO member country changes its trade regime in a way that hurts EU trade without adequate compensation. The proposals need approval from the European Parliament and Council of Ministers.
The EU and Singapore finalized talks on a free trade agreement, the European Commission said. The pact, one of the most comprehensive the EU has negotiated, will help open Singapore’s growing market to many service sectors, such as banking, insurance and other financial services industries, it said. It will also cut down on red tape and is a first in promoting “green growth,” it said. If approved by the respective governing bodies, the FTA could be signed in the spring.