The Energy Department is setting new energy efficiency standards for battery chargers (here), and amending energy efficiency standards already in place for dehumidifiers (here), in two separate final rules. Compliance with the new standard for battery chargers is required beginning on June 13, 2018, while amended standards for dehumidifiers take full effect one year later on June 13, 2019.
The Energy Department recently amended energy efficiency test procedures for central air conditioners and heat pumps, in a final rule issued June 8 (here). Compliance with the amended procedures is required for representations made on or after Dec. 5, 2016.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations to update and clarify certain regulations to foster safer transportation practices, address rulemaking petitions, respond to National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, aid international commerce, make editorial corrections and simplify rules, PHMSA said (here). The amendments include removing the packing group II designation for certain organic peroxides, and providing requirements to allow for shipments of damaged wet electric batteries, among other things, PHMSA said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will host a public webcast from noon to 4 p.m. on Aug. 3 and 4 to discuss import and export permit regulations and exemptions for infectious biological agents, substances and vectors, the CDC said (here). Representatives from the Transportation, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Commerce departments, as well as CBP, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, CDC Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Public Health Agency of Canada will present during the webcast, CDC said.
The Energy Department is setting new energy efficiency test procedures for portable air conditioners, in a final rule (here). The new test procedures apply to any “portable encased assembly, other than a packaged terminal air conditioner, room air conditioner, or dehumidifier, that delivers cooled, conditioned air to an enclosed space, and is powered by single-phase electric current,” including single-duct and dual-duct portable air conditioners. DOE recently determined portable air conditioners are covered by energy efficiency requirements, though the agency has not yet set a standard. Compliance with the new test procedures is required for any representations made on or after Nov. 28.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added tetrachlorvinphos, parathion, and malathion to its list of cancer-causing chemicals (Proposition 65 list), pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, the office said (here). OEHHA intends to propose a safe harbor level for malathion, the office said. Proposition 65 requires warning labels on products that contain certain listed chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects.
An International Trade Commission report on the Trans-Pacific Partnership says the deal’s elimination of technical barriers to trade will benefit express couriers, automotive manufacturers, and the agriculture industry, among others, but some in those industries remain skeptical about whether TPP will live up to the expectation. ITC released its congressionally mandated TPP report (here) on May 18 (see 1605190024). The assessment charted gains for U.S. automakers exporting to Japan, which ITC said would face fewer certification-related hurdles; and it projected success for seed and cheese producers shipping to Canada, which ITC said would encounter fewer registration and standards-related obstacles under the agreement. TPP’s technical trade barrier chapter will be particularly helpful for U.S. exports to Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam, ITC said.
The Energy Department is amending energy efficiency test procedures for battery chargers, in a final rule (here). Use of the new procedures will be mandatory for any representations made beginning Nov. 16.
The Labor Department is renewing the charter for the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy beyond its May 25 expiration date, DOL said (here). The committee consults with and makes recommendations to the Labor Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative on general policy regarding labor and trade negotiations, and operations of any binding free trade agreement, among other things.
The Fish and Wildlife Service and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service have come to an agreement where FWS will inspect and clear import and export shipments containing any wildlife species, that also include non-living plant species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), said FWS (here). FWS said there had been a “recurring issue” over which agency, FWS or APHIS, inspects and clears shipments including both wildlife and CITES-listed plants.