The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress for April 18, 2012:
On April 19, 2012, the following trade-related bills and resolutions were introduced:
A group of 65 House freshman members said the miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) will be an important vehicle to prevent the tax hike that would result if the expiration of duty suspensions and reductions provisions that were approved by the last congress. The legislators wrote Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) a letter April 20, 2012, explaining their support of the MTB process.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved April 19, 2012, a 2013 appropriations draft bill to fund the new Interagency Trade Enforcement Center (ITEC). The bill would give $24.2 million to the Commerce Department and $1.8 million to the USTR for the creation of ITEC, equaling the administration's full requested amount of $26 million. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and related agencies proposed the bill earlier this week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will update its list of airports approved to accept aircraft traveling to or from Cuba, according to a notice to be published in the Federal Register April 20, 2012. Part 122, subpart O, of the CBP regulations sets forth special procedures that apply to all aircraft (except public aircraft) entering or departing the U.S. to or from Cuba. On January 28, 2011, CBP published a final rule in the Federal Register (76 FR 5058) that amended the CBP regulations to establish such procedures and airport eligibility criteria.
This summary report highlights the most active textile and apparel tariff preference levels from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s April 16, 2012, “Quota Weekly Commodity Status Report.” It also lists the TRQ commodities on CBP’s weekly April 16, 2012 “TRQ/TPL Threshold to Fill List.”1
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released its April 18 Customs Bulletin. While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does list recent information collection notices and recent Court of International Trade decisions.
The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress for April 18, 2012:
On April 18, 2012, the following trade-related bills and resolutions were introduced:
The Commerce Department will expand the SelectUSA program in an effort to increase support of advanced manufacturing and aid exporters, said Commerce Secretary John Bryson during a April 19, 2012, House Subcommittee on Commerce Manufacturing and Trade hearing on American Manufacturing. SelectUSA, which was created through executive order last year, coordinates existing resources and functions across all Federal agencies that have operations relevant to business investment decisions, said Bryson. As a central point of contact within the U.S. government, SelectUSA serves as an advocate and ombudsman for the investor community, he said.