The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is finalizing the removal from the U.S. Munitions Import List (USMIL) of articles that the agency has deemed readily available through domestic commercial sources (here). The final rule adopts without change an interim rule that took effect in April 2014 (see 14032622). Articles removed from the USMIL include military rifle scopes, ammunition belting and loading machines, mine sweeping equipment, and engines for tanks and other military vehicles.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is poised to put into effect weak rules of origin for products from a wide variety of industries, and China is likely to use it to boost exports and further undermine U.S. manufacturing, the AFL-CIO said in a report on TPP published on May 22 (here). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, as well as other TPP negotiating partners, continue to keep TPP negotiating terms shielded behind closed doors, despite growing calls for the U.S. to make the text public. The details that have come to light, however, indicate rules of origin are expected to be weak, meaning China could export a near-fully assembled product to a TPP country, and that product will still get preferential duty treatment when shipped to the U.S., said the report.

The International Trade Commission released its sixth annual compilation of biweekly data on textile and apparel imports from China for 2008-2014 (here). The data in the report are shown on an annual and quarterly basis, by category and by Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 10-digit numbers. It consists of a series of tables which provide Chinese textile and apparel import statistics, including: import value by category and HTS number; Chinese market share; quantity of imports from China; unit value of imports from China; unit value of imports from the world.

President Barack Obama’s speech to Nike on May 8, coupled with the Nike announcement to expand domestic production if negotiations reach a final Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, may indicate the company expects TPP to quickly reduce footwear tariffs, said the Rubber and Plastic Footwear Manufacturers Association in a press release on the same day. That “rapid tariff reduction” could imperil U.S. domestic manufacturing, said RPFMA trade counsel, Marc Fleischaker, in the release. “We have been very flexible in trying to come to an understanding with [the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative] that would ultimately accomplish the goal of reducing and eventually eliminating tariffs, without doing so in a way that threatens the existence of the current manufacturing base,” said Fleischaker. “In an exchange for such an approach, we have been careful to remain neutral on both [Trade Promotion Authority] and TPP.” U.S. domestic footwear manufacturing continues to rely on protective tariffs to stay competitive, said RPFMA. “These existing tariffs have not adversely affected imports of footwear,” said the association. “Imports from Vietnam have doubled in the last five years, and continue to increase.”

Lumber Liquidators suspended sales of all laminate flooring it sourced from China while it conducts a review of formaldehyde certification and labeling practices at its Chinese suppliers, it said in a May 7 press release (here). The company is under investigation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and faces several class action lawsuits based on allegations of excessive formaldehyde in its wood flooring products (see 1503260020). The Justice Department also plans to file charges against the company for Lacey Act violations (see 1504300019). Lumber Liquidators has been sending out home formaldehyde test kits to purchasers of its laminate flooring products, and found “over 97%” of its customers’ homes “were within the protective guidelines established by the World Health Organization for formaldehyde levels in indoor air,” it said in the press release.

The U.S. and Japan are unlikely to strike a bilateral agreement on market access terms in the Trans-Pacific Partnership until Congress delivers Trade Promotion Authority to President Barack Obama, said several high-ranking Japanese government officials and U.S. trade analysts at May 5 event at the Brookings Institution. Japan is eagerly awaiting TPA passage and the country is intent on quickly closing a Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, said Japanese Minister of the Cabinet Yasutoshi Nishimura, along with his colleagues.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely offer U.S. officials a Trans-Pacific Partnership market access proposal during his visit to Washington over the coming days, said Adam Posen and Jeff Schott, both with the Peterson Institute of International Economics, on an April 27 conference call. Abe will meet with President Barack Obama on April 28 and speak to Congress the next day (see 1503280002). The U.S. and Japan continue to hammer out details on an agriculture and auto market access deal that would allow more U.S. exports to Japan.

Tyler Wood was named general counsel for the Federal Maritime Commission, said the FMC (here). Wood was previously deputy general counsel, it said.

Trade Promotion Authority provides the opportunity for the textile industry to advance its interests, said National Council of Textile Organizations in a statement in recent days (here). “We are pleased to lend our support to this renewal of [TPA],” said NCTO President Auggie Tantillo. “We look forward to working with both the Executive Branch and Congress as we advocate for trade agreements that fully incorporate the interests of U.S. textile manufacturers. It is critical that these trade agreements help to level the international playing field and boost American exports, create manufacturing jobs, and strengthen the U.S. economy.”

The Federal Trade Commission has dropped an investigation of Office Depot for making misleading “Made in USA” claims, it said in a letter to the company dated April 13 (here). The FTC said Office Depot failed to remove U.S.-origin claims from its website after it moved production of its private brand desks overseas. The FTC dropped the investigation after Office Depot implemented a “remedial action plan to correct its representations and avoid future mislabeling,” it said.