The State Department approved two potential military sales -- to Australia and Morocco -- worth more than a combined $2 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Aug. 25.
The Federal Maritime Commission has made publicly available on its website its FY 2019 Service Contract Inventory Analysis, the agency said in a Federal Register notice. FMC said the analysis includes “Scope, Methodology, Findings, Actions Taken or Planned, and Accountable Officials.”
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed by one month a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced Aug. 26. The ports had planned to begin imposing the fee in November 2021 but postponed it each week until July 29, when the ports announced their first one-month postponement (see 2207290053). The latest one-month extension delays the effective date until Sept. 23.
DOJ is seeking public comments on an information collection involving applications to temporarily export certain firearms. The collection includes information on the Application to Transport Interstate or Temporarily Export Certain National Firearms Act -- ATF Form 5320.20, which is used by “persons other than a qualified Federal firearms licensee” to request approval to transport certain NFA firearms. Comments are due Oct. 24.
A U.S.-based shipper said a Taiwanese container shipping company violated Shipping Act regulations when it failed to supply agreed upon cargo capacity. MSRF, based in Illinois, said Yang Ming Transport “refused to provide more than a fraction of the cargo capacity that MSRF requested and needed” and violated the terms of their contract, forcing MSRF to buy cargo space on the “inflated” spot market. In an August complaint filed to the Federal Maritime Commission, MSRF said the FMC should investigate Yang Ming’s practices and order the container shipping company to pay “reparations.”
The Commerce Department this week appointed members to the U.S. Investment Advisory Council, which will advise the agency on foreign direct investment issues. The council's 34 international business representatives work in a range of technology, manufacturing, electronics and investment sectors. The council will “play a vital role in providing recommendations on programs and policies to continue to attract and retain foreign investment in the United States,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.
Ongoing labor negotiations between West Coast ports and their dockworkers’ union (see 2207140062) are at a “standstill” over a disagreement surrounding who maintains equipment at a cargo terminal at the Port of Seattle, The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 19. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union wants its next labor contract to ensure that the Seattle cargo-handling terminal uses ILWU workers to maintain and repair equipment, the report said, but the Pacific Maritime Association has said it can’t deliver that promise. The PMA said the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has jurisdiction at the terminal, the report said. The ILWU won’t move to other negotiating topics until the Seattle disagreement is resolved, the report said.
The State Department Aug. 19 authorized another drawdown of up to $775 million worth of U.S. arms and defense equipment to Ukraine. The package includes weapons, munitions and equipment from Defense Department inventories, the agency said, and brings to $10.6 billion U.S. security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration.
The U.S. and the European Commission will hold a “stakeholder session” on the U.S.-EU Collaboration Platform on Agriculture in December, where industry representatives can share information on agriculture trade challenges and “map out an even more robust CPA work plan” for 2023, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said this week. In-person sessions will be held Dec. 6-7 in Brussels, with a virtual attendance option for the Dec. 6 session. Registration will open Sept. 14, with in-person space for 35 non-USDA U.S. stakeholders.
The State Department announced the release of the 38th and last edition of the "World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers" report, covering arms transfers from 2009 through 2019. The publication's mandate was repealed in December. The report was “designed to be a convenient reference on annual military expenditures, arms transfers, armed forces, selected economic data, and relative indicators consisting of pertinent military-economic ratios,” the State Department said Aug. 18. All past publications are archived.