Importers, exporters and customs brokers have until June 11 to file objections to the release of data on shipments of plants and wildlife regulated by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999 and from 2015 to 2020, FWS said in a notice on its website. The agency says it has received a Freedom of Information Act request for data on shipments in its Law Enforcement Management Information System database, and will release the data if no objections are received by that date.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will again postpone full implementation of its partner government agency (PGA) message set in ACE, Myra Reynolds of John S. James Co. said during a panel discussion May 3. Already the subject of several delays, the last until June (see 2102040031), the PGA message set is currently being used for about 40% of FWS-regulated entries, and FWS would like to get it “up and running,” Reynolds said during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference. But while FWS had thought it would have a rulemaking required for implementation completed by June, it now appears that the notice won’t come out until early fall, meaning full implementation of the FWS message set would come in late fall 2021, Reynolds said.

The State Department on April 30 published its updated list of countries certified to have a regulatory program for protection of sea turtles that is comparable to that of the U.S., or to fish in conditions that pose no risk to sea turtles, and therefore eligible to export shrimp to the U.S. without a certification from a government official on State Form DS-2031. Notably, the agency removed Mexico from the list, after finding its sea turtle protection program is no longer comparable to that of the U.S., meaning Mexican shrimp can only by imported if harvested from aquaculture. The notice takes effect April 30.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is listing four fentanyl-related substances -- fentanyl carbamate, ortho-fluoroacryl fentanyl, ortho-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl and para-fluoro furanyl fentanyl -- under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a final rule released May 3. The four substances had already been temporarily controlled under a 2018 order that's set to expire May 6 (see 2004090045). The permanent listing takes effect May 4. “The regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possess), or propose to handle any of these four specified fentanyl-related substances will continue to be applicable permanently as a result of this action.”

The International Trade Commission on April 26 issued Revision 3 to the 2021 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The only change was the addition of language to apply Section 301 exclusions to goods on the water in May-June 2019 at the time an increase in the tariffs, from 10% to 25%, was announced (see 2104230047). U.S. Note 20(l) to Subchapter III of Chapter 99 is amended to add the following: “the product exclusions provided by headings 9903.88.13, 9903.88.18, 9903.88.33, 9903.88.34, 9903.88.35, 9903.88.36, 9903.88.37, 9903.88.38, 9903.88.40, 9903.88.41, 9903.88.43, 9903.88.45, 9903.88.46 and 9903.88.48 shall apply to articles the product of China that were entered under heading 9903.88.09 and that are provided for in this subdivision." A compiler’s note says: “The last sentence of this paragraph applied to such articles exported before May 10, 2019, and entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, into the United States on or after May 10, 2019, and before June 15, 2019.”

The Federal Communications Commission is exploring whether untrusted vendors should be excluded from the FCC equipment authorization program, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said April 26 at a virtual workshop on supply chain security, held in conjunction with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “When it comes to network security, the threats are real, the stakes are high, and our defenses need to constantly evolve and improve,” Rosenworcel said. Just saying no isn’t a strategy, “so we’re moving fast,” she said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration permanently placed the synthetic opioids 2'-fluoro ortho-fluorofentanyl, 4'-methyl acetyl fentanyl, β'-phenyl fentanyl, β-methyl fentanyl, ortho-fluorobutyryl fentanyl, ortho-methyl acetylfentanyl, ortho-methyl methoxyacetyl fentanyl, para-methylfentanyl, phenyl fentanyl, and thiofuranyl fentanyl into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, in a final rule released April. 26. The substances had been temporarily listed in Schedule I since 2018. The final rule takes effect April 27.

A former Trump political appointee said that he believes the concentration of solar panel making and inputs in China is a major concern for the U.S. as it looks to an energy transition, and suggested the campaign against blood diamonds could be a model for how to deal with human rights abuses alleged in the production of polysilicon in China's Xinjiang province. That campaign relied on traders' desire to avoid reputational risk, and self-policing among distributors. But Keith Krach, formerly State Department undersecretary for economic growth, energy and the environment from 2019 to the end of the Trump administration, also suggested that a forced labor ban could be a future action.

The Federal Maritime Commission plans to permanently revise its regulations to give shippers and carriers more flexibility surrounding service contract filing requirements. The change, outlined in an upcoming final rule, will allow ocean carriers to file original service contracts with the FMC up to 30 days after they take effect, the FMC said April 19. The commission had introduced this change on a temporary basis over the past year to help carriers mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but will make it permanent after receiving “positive” feedback from industry. Previously, FMC required carriers to file initial service contracts before they were allowed to receive and move cargo under the terms of that contract. The FMC expects to publish the rule in the “coming weeks” and said it will take effect June 2. It also published an unofficial copy of the rule.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is removing samidorphan from schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a final rule released April 16. DEA said the drug has no abuse potential. The removal eliminates “regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to controlled substances, including those specific to schedule II controlled substances, on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, dispense, conduct research, import, export, or conduct chemical analysis) or propose to handle samidorphan,” the DEA said. The delisting is effective April 19.