The Environmental Protection Agency has released interim guidance on the agency’s chemical safety inspections process. Under the interim guidance, EPA inspectors will offer employees and employee representatives the opportunity to participate in chemical safety inspections. In addition, EPA will request that state and local agencies adopt similar procedures under the Risk Management Program. A final guidance document will be available later this year. More information on EPA’s interim guidance and RMP available here.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a closed meeting on June 30, 2010, in which the staff will brief the Commission on various compliance matters.
U.S. Trade Representative Kirk met with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on June 22 to review progress on the U.S.-India bilateral trade agenda. The two agreed to continue to work together to meet the objectives set out in the Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment (signed on March 17, 2010) and to enhance opportunities for bilateral trade and investment . In addition, Kirk urged India to address longstanding impediments, such as investment caps, agricultural market access barriers, high tariffs, intellectual property rights, and the need for continuing regulatory streamlining and transparency.
U.S. Trade Representative Kirk and Deputy USTR Marantis met with members of the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (TEPAC). They were joined by Environmental Policy Agency Administrator Jackson as the group discussed trade issues with regard to the environment. The Committee’s agenda included a summary of the latest Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations in San Francisco, a discussion of the current status of the World Trade Organization Doha Round talks, climate change developments, and USTR’s expectations for the 2011 APEC meetings.
Transportation Secretary LaHood has awarded $6 million to help address the parking shortage for commercial trucks on five U.S. interstates: I-15 in Utah, I-10 in Mississippi, I-5 in Oregon, I-40 in Tennessee, and I-81 in Pennsylvania. The funds will be used to add parking capacity and continue to develop innovative ways to provide updated information on space availability to commercial truck drivers along these heavily traveled freight corridors.
The State Department, World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently issued the following travel warnings, travel alerts, country specific information sheets, and disease outbreak-related information:
The Fish and Wildlife Service announces a 90-day finding that a petition to list the Honduran emerald hummingbird (Amazilia luciae) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 may be warranted and is initiating a status review. FWS requests comments on its finding by August 23, 2010.
The State Department announces its designation of Doku Umarov, and other aliases, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224.
The International Trade Administration issued its quarterly update to its annual list of foreign government subsidies on articles of cheese subject to an in-quota rate of duty that were imported during the period January 1 through March 31, 2010.
The State Department announces three Shipping Coordinating Committee meetings on July 7, July 28, and August 18, 2010 to prepare for the upcoming sessions of the International Mobile Satellite Organization Assembly; the International Maritime Organization Subcommittee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels Safety; and the IMO Facilitation Committee.