The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has determined that certain faux suede bonded to faux fur pile fabric classifiable under HTS subheading 6001.10.2000 cannot be supplied in commercial quantities in a timely manner by Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement countries. The product will be added to the list in Annex 3.25 of the DR-CAFTA in unrestricted quantities. (See ITT's Online Archives or 03/01/11 news, 11030154, for BP summary of the "commercial availability" request by Levy Group, Inc.)

The International Trade Commission has posted its February 2011 report for Addendum Investigation 1205-8, which recommends a second group of new Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers for the classification of certain Chapter 64 footwear featuring an outer sole of rubber or plastic with an added textile layer (textile-bottomed footwear). The recommended changes are intended to retain the affected footwear's lower HTS 6405 duty rates, once they are classified in other subheadings (6404.11, 6404.19, and 6402.99) due to a new chapter note.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is correcting a March 17, 2011 Federal Register notice of a final rule that finalized, with changes, an earlier interim rule that eliminated the textile declaration and added new Manufacturer Identification Code (MID) requirements for textiles and apparel. The final rule contained two errors: (1) a reference to imported “antique Persian carpets” in an example, as Iranian carpets are currently prohibited from importation into the U.S. (the new reference is to antique Turkish carpets); and (2) an outdated Internet address that was provided by CBP relating to certain instructions for the completion of CBP Form 7501. (See ITT's Online Archives or 03/16/11 and 03/17/11 news, 11031629 and 11031721, for BP summaries of the final rule, which have been updated to include the correct information.)

According to the Office of Textiles and Apparel, Argentina has expanded the product coverage of imports that are subject to its non-automatic import licensing requirement. The expanded coverage took effect March 7, 2011.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a final rule, which adopts its October 2005 interim rule, with changes, in order to finalize its amendments to 19 CFR Parts 12, 102, 141, 144, 146 and 163 relating to the country of origin of textile and apparel products.

The Federal Trade Commission is giving advance notice that it will propose amendments to its Fur Rules (16 CFR 301) to reflect the March 18 elimination of the fur-content labeling and disclosure exemption for "apparel with fur" that contains relatively small quantities or values of fur. The FTC is also requesting comments on its Fur Act regulations (Fur Rules) and Fur Products Name Guide by May 16, 2011.

The Office of Textiles and Apparel has announced that effective March 1, 2011, a 10% excise tax will be collected on branded apparel and textile made-ups for retail sale in India.

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved California’s regulations banning the use of the toxic air contaminant perchloroethylene (PERC) from the state’s dry cleaning operations by 2023, which means that the current federal regulations will be replaced with California’s more stringent approach to be enforced by the EPA. PERC, a possible human carcinogen, is a man-made liquid solvent often used in the dry cleaning industry, in textile mill operations, by chlorofluorocarbon producers, for vapor degreasing and in metal cleaning operations.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a press release announcing that a number of changes to the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) were agreed to at the February 22-23, 2011 Free Trade Commission meeting in San Salvador, El Salvador.

In mid February 2011, the International Trade Commission sent a finalized set of recommended HTS changes to the U.S. Trade Representative under Investigation 1205-8 (Addendum), for the purpose of modifying the classification of a second group of Chapter 64 footwear that features an outer sole of rubber or plastic with an added textile layer. This finalized set was sent to Congress for a 60 legislative-day layover period on March 2, 2011, according to USTR sources.