The International Trade Administration's Office of Textiles and Apparel posted a new web page detailing information about the Qualifying Industrial Zones authorized by Congress in 1996. QIZs allow Egypt and Jordan to export products to the U.S. duty-free, as long as the products contain inputs from Israel. In order for QIZ products to be eligible for duty-free entry, the article must be a new and different article of commerce that has been grown, produced or manufactured in the zone, and at least 35 percent of the appraised value of a product at the time it enters into the U.S. must consist of the cost or value of materials produced and direct cost of producing operations performed in the QIZ. U.S. tariffs on textile and apparel goods are generally relatively high, which makes production of these goods in QIZs especially attractive, OTEXA said. The web page is here.

Regulations pertaining to imports of cotton woven fabric and short supply procedures were withdrawn by the International Trade Administration. Effective June 25, 2012, 15 CFR Part 336 and 19 CFR Part 357, which provided for tariff rate quotas for cotton woven fabric and “short supply” voluntary restraints on certain steel imports, respectively, will be removed from the Code of Federal Regulations. The ITA said both sets of regulations are obsolete, because the tariff rate quota on cotton woven fabric expired in 2009, and the short supply voluntary restraints have not affected U.S. trade for over 19 years.

The Foreign Trade Zones Board is issuing the following notices for May 23, 2012:

Aquarium tropical fish imports to the U.S. are often misreported, according to a new NOAA-funded study. The study found 1,802 species imported, or 22 percent higher biodiversity than previously estimated. But the more than 11 million fish imported from 40 countries was less than previously reported because many freshwater fish and marine invertebrates were being mistakenly counted as marine fish, it said. It also said more than half of government importation forms during that time had numerical or other reporting discrepancies, resulting in a 27 percent overestimation of trade volume.

The President’s Export Council will hold an open meeting on June 6, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. to discuss topics and provide recommendations related to the National Export Initiative and export promotion. The meeting will be available via live webcast on the internet at http://whitehouse.gov/live. The public is invited to submit written statements to the President's Export Council by close of business on May 25.

The Foreign Trade Zones Board is issuing the following notices for May 16, 2012:

The International Trade Administration joined leaders from 11 American Chambers of Commerce (AmChams) in Latin America to announce new partnerships under the ITA’s Global Buyers Initiative. Formal memorandums of understanding were signed during a ceremony at the annual Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA) Conference. According to the ITA, through the Global Buyers Initiative a U.S. company identifies potential buyers of U.S. goods and services, and then refers them to the ITA's commercial posts overseas, where ITA staff works to connect the buyers with American companies who can meet their needs. The ITA said the pilot program has been a success, so it's expanding it through this agreement.

The Foreign Trade Zones Board is issuing the following notices for May 15, 2012:

The International Trade Administration announced an open teleconference meeting of the Manufacturing Council on May 22 in Washington, DC. The ITA said the Council will likely deliberate recommendations regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement negotiations and energy policy. To be considered during the meeting, comments are due by May 16, 2012.

"The vast majority of the American solar industry opposes" the SolarWorld campaign to impose antidumping and countervailing duties on imported Chinese solar cells, said Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy in a press statement. The coalition said it's awaiting the International Trade Administration's decision on the tariffs.