The International Trade Comission (ITC) has issued a limited exclusion order in its section 337 consolidated investigation of certain display controllers and products containing same and certain display controllers with upscaling functionality and products containing same. The ITC has also announced that these consolidated investigations are terminated.

In August 2004, President Bush, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) took actions regarding a number of immigration- and travel-related issues, highlights of which include:

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release stating that China has assured both the USTR and USDA that new Chinese import regulations will not interfere with trade in U.S. soybeans and other commodities. (USTR Press Release, dated 08/26/04, available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2004/August/USTR_USDA_Receive_Assurances_from_China_on_Soybean_Shipments.html)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice regarding the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreement's (CITA's) designation that certain 100% cotton yarn-dyed woven flannel fabrics, classified in HTS 5208.43.00, for use in apparel articles, excluding gloves, are in short supply ("commercially unavailable") under the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). CBP states that claims for short supply under HTS 9820.11.27 may be accepted on or after August 13, 2004, provided that the apparel articles, excluding gloves, meet certain requirements. (See notice for requirements.) (See ITT's Online Archives or 08/23/04 news, 04082315, for BP summary of CITA's designation.) (TBT-04-026, dated 08/23/04, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/tbts/TBT2004/tbt_04_026.ctt/tbt_04_026.doc)

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has published a notice denying a petition submitted by Pressman-Gutman Co., Inc. which had alleged that certain dyed, two way stretch twill woven fabric, of three ply yarns composed of 62% staple polyester, 33% staple rayon and 5% filament spandex, of certain specifications, classified in HTS 5515.11.0040 and for use in apparel articles, could not be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice announcing that, effective August 25, 2004, the above-listed Vietnam categories were increased for carryover.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued messages on a number of antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty actions, many of which (marked by an * in the action column) were previously published in the Federal Register by the International Trade Administration (ITA) and summarized in International Trade Today.

On August 12, 2004, CBP issued an ABI administrative message regarding the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS') final and temporary regulations designed to ensure the collection of the appropriate amount of excise tax on imported gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene (HTS Chapter 27). According to CBP, the IRS' regulations are effective on September 28, 2004. (See ITT's Online Archives or today's ITT, 04082710, for BP summary of IRS final and temporary regulations.)

Shippers NewsWire reports that a Cuban refugee who hid herself in a small wooden crate arrived at Miami International Airport on August 24, 2004 aboard an all-cargo aircraft from the Bahamas. According to the article, this is the second time in a year that a stowaway has been discovered flying in the hold of a cargo plane and critics are pointing to the incident as another example of how U.S. air cargo security measures have lagged passenger screening. (SNW dated 08/26/04, www.americanshipper.com.)