The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has added a sentence to its announcement that a metric unit of measure and quantity is required for the Lacey Act declaration as of May 1, 2010. The new sentence states that in response to industry concerns, APHIS will implement a grace period of two months (ending July 1, 2010), to allow industry to make the needed changes to declaration procedures. (Notice, posted 05/17/10, available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/downloads/ClarificationQuantityandUnitofMeasure.pdf)
Consumer Product Safety Commission Commissioners Nord and Northup have both posted blogs criticizing the draft House legislation put forth by Representative Waxman, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, to fix the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Both say the reform bill would not provide sufficient relief. (Nord and Northup blogs available at http://nancynord.wordpress.com and http://safetyandcommonsense.blogspot.com/2010/05/survival-of-fewest.html)
On May 14, 2010, the President issued a proclamation proclaiming May 16-22, 2010 as World Trade Week. The President encourages all Americans to observe this week with events, trade shows, and educational programs that celebrate the benefits of trade to the U.S., American workers, and the global economy. The President has also proclaimed May 16-22, 2010 as National Transportation Week. (World Trade Week proclamation, dated 05/14/10,. available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamations-world-trade-week.)
The International Trade Administration has issued a fact sheet announcing its affirmative final determinations in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of prestressed concrete steel wire strand (PC strand) from China (A-570-945 and C-570-946).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an ADD/CVD message which contains adjusted antidumping duty rates under the International Trade Administration's preliminary affirmative AD duty determination on certain seamless carbon and alloy steel standard, line, and pressure pipe from China (A-570-956).
The International Trade Commission has instituted a section 337 patent-based investigation of certain electronic paper towel dispensing devices and components thereof, pursuant to a complaint (Inv. No. 337-TA-718).
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety has launched its Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP), which allows commercial motor carrier companies to electronically access driver inspection and crash records as a part of the hiring process.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Family Dollar Stores Inc., of Charlotte, NC, is announcing the voluntary recall of 1.8 million toy dart gun sets, due to an aspiration hazard.
The Office of Textiles and Apparel has posted to its website monthly reports containing official March 2010 trade data from the Census Department for U.S. imports and exports of textiles and apparel.
The International Trade Commission has launched two investigations to assess the probable economic effect of providing duty-free treatment for imports of certain environmental goods, and to examine U.S. international trade in such products and the competitive conditions facing U.S. industries.