The Food and Drug Administration added a new document type for "External Lab Analytical Package" in the Import Trade Auxiliary Communication Systems (ITACS), it said in a CSMS message. The FDA said it prefers to receive private lab results in electronic formats and can process electronically submitted results faster than hard copies.
The Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Ernest Moniz as the Energy Department Secretary on May 16.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., noted the one-year anniversary of the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement's entry into force by touting international trade increases with the country. Between May 2012, when the FTA went into effect, and February 2013, U.S. goods exports to Colombia increased 20 percent to $15.9 billion and agricultural exports to Colombia increased nearly 62 percent to $1.26 billion during the same period, said Baucus' office in a press release. “The export gains the United States is seeing after only one year with the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement in place are just the beginning," said Baucus. “This is a success story for us to remember as we pursue trade agreements with the EU and our partners across the Pacific. These agreements are about supporting jobs in America -- that’s the bottom line.”
The U.S. and Turkey established a bilateral High Level Committee led by the Ministry of Economy of Turkey and the office of the USTR, associated with the 2009 Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation (FSECC), with the "ultimate objective of continuing to deepen our economic relations and liberalize trade." said the White House May 16. The White House also noted that the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union could impact Turkey due to its Customs Union with the EU.
The Importer Security Filing processing system is down and messages are not being processed, said CBP in a CSMS message. The agency will send another message once the system is back up, it said.
A.N. Deringer expanded its full container load (FCL) ocean import services through partnerships around the world, the company said in a press release. Deringer can now "provide additional route options, cost and time savings to its customers," it said.
The Federal Maritime Commission said the following have filed applications for a license as a Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (NVO) and/or Ocean Freight Forwarder (OFF)-Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) pursuant to section 19 of the Shipping Act of 1984. The FMC also gave notice of the filing of applications to amend an existing OTI license or the qualifying individual for a license. Interested persons may contact the Office of Transportation Intermediaries, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, D.C. 20573, at 202-523-5843 or at OTI@fmc.gov.
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 14. The corresponding downloadable rulings are now available.
The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General issued a report containing an independent audit conducted by KPMG LLP that provides observations and recommendations related to CBP's information technology management for FY 2012. The audit showed "a significant deficiency in the areas of Information Technology (IT) security management, access controls, configuration management, segregation of duties, contingency planning, and application controls," said KPMG.
CBP should prohibit the import of cotton yarn and fabric from Uzbekistan because the cotton is harvested by forced labor, said the International Labor Rights Forum and Cotton Campaign in a letter to the agency (here). The groups say cotton processors in Uzbekistan use only forced labor to manufacture the cotton and fabric. The government-run cotton industry requires its citizens to work in the cotton production system or potentially face a number of disciplinary actions, including loss of state welfare and physical abuse, they said. A press release on the complaint is (here).