The Fish and Wildlife Service is reclassifying the West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus, from an endangered species to a threatened species, in a final rule (here). The reclassification takes effect May 5.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the scarlet-chested parrot (Neophema splendida) and the turquoise parrot (Neophema pulchella) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, it said (here). The agency’s final rule takes effect May 5. However, both species are still listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Appendix II, so export permits still will be required.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration finalized changes to its hazardous materials (hazmat) regulations intended to harmonize the regulations with international agreements, it said (here). The final rule implements recent changes to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, and the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods -- Model Regulations, PHMSA said. Also included are changes to align U.S. and Canadian regulations agreed to by the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council. The changes affect proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations and vessel stowage requirements, PHMSA said. Compliance with most provisions of the amended regulations is required beginning Jan. 1, 2018, though compliance with one provision is delayed until Jan. 2, 2019. PHMSA withdrew the final rule from publication in January (see 1701190073).

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) is concerned that the miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) process is being “abused” through the filing of hundreds of petitions on finished goods, especially apparel, outgoing Chairman Robert Chapman said March 23 at the group's annual meeting (here). “On principle, NCTO opposes MTBs on finished goods because they often compete with like products made with U.S. inputs,” Chapman said. “Duty reductions on finished textile items from any source can also undermine U.S. free trade agreements that grant duty relief through a yarn forward rule of origin.” But Chapman added that NCTO strongly supports duty relief on domestically unavailable manufacturing inputs that don’t compete with other U.S.-made products. The International Trade Commission is in the process of reviewing the petitions and comments (see 1703230052).

The Drug Enforcement Administration said it intends to temporarily add the synthetic opioid 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (here). DEA can issue a final order temporarily adding the substance after a period of 30 days passes. If issued, the final order will take effect immediately and will stay in effect for a maximum of three years, pending completion of a permanent scheduling order.

The Drug Enforcement Administration placed oral solutions containing the cannabinoid dronabinol into Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, in an interim final rule (here). Effective March 23, oral solutions containing dronabinol are subject to new registration, labeling, recordkeeping, and import and export requirements. DEA is accepting comments on the rule until April 24.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should reconsider its conflict minerals reporting rule, which has imposed huge expenses on the apparel and footwear industry with few ground-level impacts, the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) said in March 16 comments to the SEC (here). The AAFA recommended that the agency “reconsider” the 2012 rule and 2014 guidance (see 14040907), which set reporting requirements. The rule demonstrates "that spending a lot of resources and time to implement a poorly designed regulation, instead of focusing on voluntary initiatives that work, has created questionable results,” the group said. “This is particularly true for the apparel and footwear industry, where the physical nexus to the issue of conflict minerals is tenuous at best.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service seeks comments on a draft risk assessment (here) it has prepared in connection with a review of its Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Export Program for furbearing species, it said (here). FWS is proposing to continue unchanged its export program, which requires tagging of skins of bobcat, river otter, Canada lynx, gray wolf and brown bear to be exported from the U.S. The agency is also considering several alternatives to the current approach, including an end to tagging requirements, no longer permitting export of furbearing species taken from the wild, and terminating state and tribe programs approved by FWS. Comments are due April 10.

Low average tariff rates give the U.S. little leverage to negotiate bilateral free trade agreements, which could lead to the U.S. government reverting back to a multilateral agenda, Georgetown University Law professor Jennifer Hillman said during a trade panel session at the school. “How is that going to draw in a really powerful bilateral agreement from all of these countries that can’t negotiate with us anyway?” she said. “This bilateral strategy, I think, really is going to rub up against the economic reality.” Overall, bilateral negotiations would follow a very narrow agenda with a very small likelihood of passing a Congress where members sometimes embellish the negatives of FTA signatories when they consider implementation legislation, Hillman said. If this chronology takes place, the U.S. could pivot back to a multilateral negotiating posture, she said. “It’s only a question of how long is that going to take.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration permanently placed 10 synthetic cathinones -- 4-MEC, 4- MePPP, a-PVP, butylone, pentedrone, pentylone, 4-FMC, 3-FMC, naphyrone and a-PBP -- into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, in a final rule (here). Though the final rule takes effect March 1, these substances were already temporarily listed in Schedule I and subject to registration, labeling, recordkeeping, and import and export requirements, the DEA said.