The CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) released a set of recommendations for CBP as the agency develops proposed rules for Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS) (see 13072425). The COAC is scheduled to meet on Aug. 7. The ACAS recommendations and CBP responses include:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 29-Aug 2 in case they were missed.
DHL Freight chose Marc Bernitt, previously a manager of KPMG Switzerland's Trade and Customs practice, as head of Customs Management, the company said in a press release.
European Union customs officers stopped nearly 40 million fake products at the border in 2012, the European Commission said in an annual report on customs actions for enforcement of intellectual property rights. While less than the 2011 figure, the value of the intercepted goods was around 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), it said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that most of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hours-of-service (HOS) rules regarding commercial truck drivers may stand. The court did strike down an FMSCA rule that would have required short-haul drivers to take a 30-minute off-duty break. The American Trucking Associations brought the suit against the FMSCA (see 12021420). "While we are disappointed the Court chose to give unlimited deference to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s agenda-driving rulemaking, the striking down of the short-haul break provision is an important victory,” said Dave Osiecki, ATA senior vice president of policy and regulatory affairs, in a press release (here). "The court recognized on numerous occasions the shortcomings of the agency’s deliberations, so despite upholding most of the rule, we hope this opinion will serve as a warning to FMCSA not to rely on similarly unsubstantiated rulemakings in the future.”
In the July 31 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 32), CBP published two notices of revocation of rulings and treatment regarding wetted aluminum powder and MP3 player docking stations with built-in radios.
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Rovi restarted patent licensing discussions with Netflix after an International Trade Commission (ITC) administrative law judge ruled the video streaming service didn't violate one of four patents at the heart of a 2012 case, Rovi said. Still Rovi is prepared to take the case to a federal trial, CEO Thomas Carson said on an earnings call.
CBP posted its draft agenda and 8 other documents for the upcoming Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) meeting on Aug. 7, which include status reports, and other documents on trade modernization, the global supply chain, trade enforcement and other topics. The draft agenda is (here) and a summary of the previous May 22 meeting is (here).
President Barack Obama nominated Gil Kerlikowske to be Commissioner of Customs and Border Patrol, the White House said in a press release Aug. 1. Kerlikowske is currently the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position often referred to as the drug czar. The nomination, which will require Senate confirmation, marks a major step toward placing a political appointee at the top of CBP. Kerlikowske has been mentioned as a possible nominee for several months (see 13061213 and 13021125).