King & Spalding added Iain MacVay to lead its new international trade and customs practice in London, the law firm said in a press release. MacVay comes from Bird & Bird, the release said.
A group of six U.S. and Canadian clothing-related trade associations urged Bangladesh to provide information on inspected factories as part of an increased commitment to factory safety following the recent collapse of a clothing factory in the country that killed over a thousand people. The groups -- the American Apparel and Footwear Association, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, the Retail Council of Canada and the Canadian Apparel Federation -- pushed for the disclosures in a letter to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister in a May 17 letter.
An advanced notice of proposed rulemaking meant to update rules for Ocean Transportation Intermediaries (OTI) is expected to run in the Federal Register this week following approval by the Federal Maritime Commission on May 15, said an FMC spokeswoman. The notice will begin a 60-day comment cycle, she said. The proposal would require OTI licensees to renew licenses every two years and extend regulations to foreign-based nonvessel-operating common carriers. FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye and Commissioner Michael Khoir voted against the proposal. Dye lodged some objections to the proposal at the meeting, calling into question the need for additional OTI regulations and new OTI bonding levels (here).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP posted its draft agenda and 14 other documents for the upcoming Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) meeting on May 22, which include draft recommendations, and other documents on trade modernization, the global supply chain, trade enforcement and other topics. The draft agenda is (here).
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CBP is planning to initiate a pilot program that consolidates its Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Importer Self Assessment (ISA) trusted trader programs by September, said an update on trusted trader programs released ahead of the May 22 Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of CBP (COAC). CBP has said its plans for the combined trusted trader programs would allow for a single validation and management approach (see 12120321). The executive summary is (here).
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending security regulations for transportation of spent nuclear fuel, it said in a final rule. The rulemaking also creates performance standards for the protection of spent fuel shipments from theft diversion or radiological sabotage, it said. The amended rules are effective Aug. 19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scheduled a Webinar for July 12 from 1-5 p.m. on new import permit regulations, it said in a notice. Discussion topics include import permit regulations for infectious biological agents, standards, and vectors; import permit inspections; and import permit exemptions. A question and answer session will take place after each topic, the notice said. The CDC issued new import regulations earlier this year (see 13020124).