The Fish and Wildlife Service has again delayed implementation of its partner government agency (PGA) message set in ACE, now until March 2021, CBP said in a CSMS message. “FWS is still in the process of formulating regulations requiring the utilization of ACE to submit import data for FWS regulated commodities, and currently expects enforcement of mandatory submission in ACE to take effect in March 2021. A future [CSMS] message will announce the specific date of mandatory filing,” it said. FWS previously said it hoped to complete a rulemaking to allow for the implementation by the end of 2020 (see 2006230058).
The Drug Enforcement Administration is placing the newly approved drug oliceridine in Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in an interim final rule released Oct. 29. Effective Oct. 30, oliceridine, which was granted approval by FDA in August, is subject to new registration, labeling, record-keeping, and import and export requirements. DEA is accepting comments on the rule until Nov. 30.
The International Trade Commission updated the tariff schedule late Oct. 26 to restore an exemption for bifacial panels from safeguard duties on crystalline solar photovoltaic cells pursuant an order from the Court of International Trade. Revision 25 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States again adds U.S. note 18(c)(iii)(15), which provides for the exemption, to subchapter III of chapter 99. The provision had been removed in the prior HTS revision (see 2010260025).
The International Trade Commission on Oct. 14 issued Revision 23 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The latest edition implements extensions to exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on products from China under new subheadings 9903.88.60 and 9903.88.61 (see 2010010038). A few technical corrections are also made to General Note 11 on USMCA.
The Fish and Wildlife Service on Oct. 14 released a final rule reclassifying the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus), a carrion beetle native to most of the U.S., as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The species had been listed as endangered. Though the agency recently ended blanket import-export restrictions for threatened species, FWS is including a 4(d) rule that prohibits imports and exports without a permit. The agency's final rule takes effect Nov. 16.
The European Union and the U.S. should negotiate a limited trade deal on medical supplies and equipment, and environmental goods and services that is open to other World Trade Organization members that agree to the commitments, according to a think tank report issued Oct. 6. The German Marshall Fund of the United States also called for consultation between the EU and the U.S. on financial sanctions on third countries when those sanctions “will have an adverse impact on alliance partners,” and it said those sanctions should have limits.
The Fish and Wildlife Service on Oct. 7 released final rules listing a small mammal and a bird as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. One rule lists coastal populations of the Pacific marten (Martes caurina), a small mammal from coastal California and Oregon. The other rule adds the eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis), a bird subspecies known from the eastern and central U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Brazil and several countries in the Caribbean and Central America as threatened. FWS includes in both notices a 4(d) rule that prohibits importation and exportation without a permit. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rules take effect Nov. 9.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is placing the newly approved drug remimazolam in Schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in an interim final rule. Effective Oct. 6, remimazolam, which was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration in June, is subject to new registration, labeling, record-keeping, and import and export requirements. DEA is accepting comments on the rule until Nov. 5.
A Brazilian government official said that a U.S.-Brazil agreement that covers trade facilitation, best regulatory practices and anti-corruption chapters is in legal scrub, and that should be done by mid-October. “We hope to have them signed this month,” said Yana Dumaresq, assistant deputy minister for foreign trade and international affairs. Joseph Semsar, the lead negotiator from the Commerce Department on this agreement, said that the two administrations are aligned, and “this is a unique opportunity to get things done that seemed unattainable.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration permanently placed the synthetic opioid crotonyl fentanyl into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, in a final rule. The substance had already been temporarily listed in Schedule I since 2018. The final rule takes effect Oct. 2, when it is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register.