The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelids suwanniensis), a large, freshwater turtle species from the Suwannee River basin in Florida and Georgia, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing includes a 4(d) rule for this species that prohibits importation and exportation without a permit. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect July 29.
The gaps in trade policies between the U.S. and Europe, despite their agreement on the problems, and the difficulty of improving trade relations with major developing countries were grappled with this week by a panel of experts from the U.S. and Europe.
FTC on June 11 released final amendments to its trade regulation rule related to power output claims for amplifiers utilized in home entertainment products. The changes take effect Aug. 12. The amendments, which had undergone a public review and comment period, require sellers making power-related claims to calculate power output using uniform testing methods to allow consumers to easily compare amplifier sound quality; prescribe disclosure language that improves differentiation between power output claims that comply with the rule’s testing methods and those that do not; and modernize as well as clarify rule language considering these modifications. The amendments also formalize prior FTC guidance on applying the rule to multichannel amplifiers. FTC first promulgated the Amplifier Rule in 1974 to address sellers’ failure to provide essential pre-purchase information regarding the performance of home entertainment amplifiers.
The Federal Maritime Commission this week updated its record of cases and decisions related to shipping violations “that may be significant or establish legal precedent.” The 132-page document covers cases that took place from June through December 2023, including various settlement approvals, orders not to review, a charge complaint and more.
The Federal Maritime Commission recently sent the shipping and freight forwarding industry guidance about the FMC’s February final rule that set new demurrage and detention billing requirements (see 2402230049). The six-page document, provided to us by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, includes 19 frequently asked questions and answers related to the rule, covering questions including timelines for disputing detention and demurrage invoices issued by ocean carriers and terminal operators, extended dwell fees assessed by U.S. ports and the definition of “billed party.”
The Federal Maritime Commission launched an updated website this week that it said is easier to navigate and will better allow members of the public to “identify and request assistance from the agency.” The site now includes a dedicated gateway to share information with the FMC, submit a complaint and more.
The Federal Maritime Commission is considering whether to push back the effective date of a final rule it issued in February that set new demurrage and detention billing requirements (see 2402230049), it said in a notice released June 7. The commission said the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association asked it to extend the rule’s May 28 effective date “by at least 90 days or such longer period as may be deemed appropriate.” The FMC is accepting public comments by July 1 about whether it should delay the rule.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing six species of freshwater mussels found in Texas -- the Guadalupe fatmucket (Lampsilis bergmanni), Texas fatmucket (Lampsilis bracteata), Guadalupe orb (Cyclonaias necki), Texas pimpleback (Cyclonaias [Quadrula] petrina), Balcones spike (Fusconaia (Quincuncina) iheringi), and false spike (Fusconaia [Quincuncina] mitchelli), as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It also listed another Texas freshwater mussel, the Texas fawnsfoot (Truncilla macrodon), as threatened, with a 4(d) rule for this species that prohibits importation and exportation without a permit. New and export reimport strictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect July 5.
Following a Wall Street Journal report that U.S.-China tensions have derailed Shein's hopes of becoming a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, the Coalition for a Prosperous America said British authorities should also block the fast-fashion company from London's stock exchange. Zach Mottl, the coalition's chairman, said, "Given Shein’s well-documented ties to slave labor, as well as its ongoing exploitation of the de minimis loophole, it’s overwhelmingly clear that Shein should not be allowed to move forward with an IPO in the U.S. or in London."
Detention and demurrage billings appear to have returned to pre-pandemic levels after spiking during the last few years, said Jason Guthrie, an official with the Federal Maritime Commission's Bureau of Trade Analysis.