The Energy Department is amending energy efficiency test procedures for electric and gas cooking tops, ovens and other conventional cooking products, in a final rule (here). The amended test procedures are mandatory for all representations of energy or power consumption of cooking products on or after June 14, 2017, DOE said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is setting a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard for hybrid and electric passenger cars, light trucks and vans, and low speed vehicles to produce sounds at a minimum level, it said (here). “This standard will help to ensure that blind, visually impaired, and other pedestrians are able to detect and recognize nearby hybrid and electric vehicles,” it said. Compliance with the standard will be phased in beginning Sept. 1, 2018, with full compliance required Sept. 1, 2019.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will again issue Designated Port Exception Permits (DPEP) to authorize entries at ports with no FWS staff present, it said in a bulletin issued Dec. 13 (here). The agency had done away with the permits in October (see 1610240012), but “due to feedback received from the trade, the Service has rescinded that decision,” it said. FWS "has begun the process of consulting with CBP to determine the necessary programming changes to ACE needed to implement the DPEP process,” it said. Changes may not be complete until February, it said. Until ACE is updated, importers will not be able to pilot in ACE with the FWS at non-staffed port locations, but they will be able to obtain clearance at non-staffed ports through eDecs, FWS said. Trade groups had asked FWS to reinstate the permits (see 1611140019 and 1612050011).

The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list alpha-phenylacetoacetonitrile (APAAN) as a list I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act, it said (here). The chemical is used as a precursor in the manufacture of amphetamines and methamphetamines, it said. Comments are due Jan. 11.

The Federal Communications Commission will extend its waiver of Form 740 certification requirements for imported radio frequency (RF) devices until June 30, 2017, it said in an order adopted Dec. 8 (here). The FCC is still considering its 2015 proposal to eliminate filing at time of entry of importer certifications (see 1508110024), and it “does not appear” that the rulemaking will be complete by the time the current waiver of Form 740 filing requirements expires on Dec. 31 (see 1510200035), it said in the order.

The International Trade Commission released descriptions of upcoming changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to implement the 2017 edition of the Harmonized System. Detailed in an annex to ITC Publication 4653 (here), “Modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States under Section 1206 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and for Other Purposes,” the changes will take effect Jan. 1. President Barack Obama mandated the changes via Presidential Proclamation 9549, which also implements staged duty reductions under the Information Technology Agreement and several bilateral trade agreements (see 1612020015).

The Energy Department is reissuing a corrected final rule (here) setting energy efficiency test procedures for commercial packaged boilers. The agency had withdrawn a final rule it issued in November to fix errors (see 1612060011). Compliance with the corrected final rule will be required for all representations of energy efficiency or use made on or after Dec. 4, 2017, about one month later than previously announced in the original final rule (see 1611100058).

The Energy Department is withdrawing its recently published final rule amending energy efficiency test procedures for commercial packaged boilers, it said (here). The final rule, published Nov. 10 (see 1611100058), contained errors, DOE said. DOE will republish the final rule, it said.

Trade industry representatives suggested to Fish and Wildlife Service officials during a recent meeting that it use a trusted trader program to help reduce some ACE data reporting requirements that are set to expand in 2017 (see 1611140019). Trade leaders met with the FWS officials during the East Coast Trade Symposium, according to an email from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. Several trade groups recently wrote a letter to FWS about the added data requirements (see 1611210004). During the meeting, "numerous proposals surfaced -- including a trusted trader concept that allowed companies to be vetted in advance," the NCBFAA said. William Woody, chief of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement "promised to address the issues raised and requested examples from the trade of where data would be required for regulated components of minimal value," the trade group said. Also discussed was the end to the Designated Port Exception Permit program, which allowed for FWS-regulated goods to enter at ports with no FWS staff present. "Woody acknowledged the consternation of ports such as Savannah and promised to work to resolve the budgetary and other issues that prompted the proposal," according to the NCBFAA. The meeting was led by Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs for the National Retail Federation, and Woody, the NCBFAA said.

Seekers of miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) duty reductions for garment ensembles should include the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings and descriptions of individual, constituent garments in the “article description” part of their petitions for duty relief so that the International Trade Commission can accurately calculate revenue loss, ITC attorney-adviser Jan Summers said during a Nov. 29 webinar. ITC officials hosted the webinar to clarify information to include in MTB petitions after it received several improper filings since the opening of ITC’s online petition portal on Oct. 14 (see 1611090012). Filers can narrow the scope of apparel filings by defining fabric types more specifically, Summers said. “But you’d want to be careful,” she said. “Don’t add a requirement that would force the product to be classified in another rate line, or that causes interpretive issues.” After the ITC received a question about whether to include fabric sourcing information in petitions, Summers said that data isn’t appropriate for including in article descriptions. Filers also shouldn’t describe an apparel article according to the company that makes it, Summers added.