The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration announced two public meetings Nov. 12 in Washington, D.C. in preparation for United Nations sessions on dangerous goods transport and chemical classification and labeling (here). From 9 a.m. until noon, PHMSA will meet with stakeholders to discuss proposals in advance of the 46th Session of the UN Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, set for Dec. 1-9. On the same day and in the same room from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will host a meeting to discuss proposals in advance of the 28th Session of the UN Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. Preregistration (here) is requested for both meetings.
The Energy Department is setting new procedures for importers and exporters of natural gas to notify the agency of changes in company ownership (here). The procedures apply to both pending applications and existing authorizations when ownership or management of the importing or exporting entity changes hands, resulting in a change in control. DOE says the procedures are applicable beginning Sept. 26, 2014.
Correction: If U.S. and Japanese negotiators can reach an agreement on outstanding bilateral issues in Trans-Pacific Partnership talks before the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Partnership summit, the remaining agricultural market access disputes among TPP partners will likely wrap up in the near future, said Head of International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Myron Brilliant (see 1410300001).
The Federal Maritime Commission and U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General became the 22nd and 23rd partner agencies in the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, said ICE (here), which runs the center. "The addition of these two key partners greatly enhances our levels of cooperation and leverages even greater resources, skills and authorities," said Acting Director of the IPR Center Bruce Foucart. FMC Chairman Mario Cordero and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Deputy Assistant Inspector General Yvette Savoy joined Foucart on Oct. 30 to sign an agreement outlining cooperation protocols and the investigative-lead dissemination process. "This interagency partnership will play a critical role in FMC's efforts to address and root out bad actors in the global supply chain," said Cordero.
The Fish and Wildlife Service says it intends to list four U.S. freshwater turtle species in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (here). The agency is asking for comments by Dec. 29 on the proposal, which would result in the listing of the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox), smooth softshell turtle (Apalone mutica), and spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera). If listed in Appendix III, exportation of the four species would require an export permit issued by FWS. Permits would only be available if the applicant obtained the specimen legally, and live specimens are packed and shipped in accordance with IATA Live Animals Regulations.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) ranked 125 countries on the amount of taxes and duties applied to information and communications technology goods in a report released on Oct. 27, the organization said (here). Thirty-one countries currently impose taxes and duties that exceed 5 percent of information and communities technology products, and Bangladesh, Turkey, Brazil, Iran and Argentina are considered the “worst offenders,” said the ITIF.
The Labor Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are asking for public comments on labor improvements in countries party to the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which also includes the Dominican Republic (here). The CAFTA requires the Obama administration to reach out to the public for comments to help assess labor conditions in the party countries. Congress approved funding for labor capacity building in CAFTA countries from 2005-13, following CAFTA’s entry into force initially in 2006. Comments are due by Nov. 10 via www.regulations.gov, docket number DOL 2014-0005.
The COOL Reform Coalition, a group of industry and business organizations, posted on its website what it expects the effects of Canadian and Mexican retaliation against U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) would be on U.S. states. The coalition, which includes the Chamber of Commerce and the National Foreign Trade Council, is pressuring Congress to change the labeling regime, which targets meat muscle cuts, to make it World Trade Organization compliant. After the WTO sided with Canada and Mexico in the dispute on Oct. 20, saying the labeling favored U.S. production, U.S. industry is continuing to scramble to avert tariff retaliation (see 1410210024). Retaliation would likely target U.S. manufacturing products, including the auto industry, and a wide range of agriculture.
Two union leaders on Oct. 20 prodded the Obama administration to respond to an AFL-CIO petition against Honduran labor rights violations, and said they expected the Labor Department and the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa to act on the complaint in the near future. The U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is continuously forcing Honduran and other Central American farmers to migrate to urban areas where labor protections are not afforded adequately, Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen and AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre said on a conference call.
Lawmakers and the Obama administration need to extend the tariff preference levels (TPLs) for U.S.-Nicaragua apparel trade in order to strengthen both economies, as well as regional supply chains, said the authors of a 2014 Duke University study on U.S. apparel trade with Nicaragua. The TPLs are poised to expire on Dec. 31, and Congress does not seem positioned to push the trade agenda in the lame-duck session following the early November mid-terms (see 1410150064).