U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published in the Federal Register its revised compliance schedule for the required advance electronic submission of information for cargo brought into the U.S. by air.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that on March 2, 2004, the U.S. and Morocco reached agreement on a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA).

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice announcing the opportunity to request administrative reviews of the following antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders:

President Bush has issued Proclamation 7758 in order to delete ten countries from, and add one country to, the list of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) beneficiary developing countries.

In the February 25, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 9), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to modify a classification ruling on ink jet printer cartridges, and (b) revoking a ruling regarding the port where a protest was filed. CBP states that it is also revoking, or proposing to revoke, any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.

The Journal of Commerce reports that the Panama Canal Authority is testing its Automated Data Collection System, which will let officials analyze and assess the risk that ships, crews, passengers, or cargo could pose to the canal. The article notes that like U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) Automated Manifest System (AMS), the Panamanian system will collect electronic data about ships and their cargo; however, the Panamanian system will emphasize information about the vessel. (JoC dated 02/16-22/04, www.joc.com.)

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has issued a press release announcing that on February 24, 2004, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedures for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (Rotterdam Convention) became international law and thus legally binding on its members.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its first version (dated February 12, 2004) of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on its final rule requiring the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site the Winter 2003 issue of its "ACE Modernization Monitor" newsletter.