The House Ways and Means Committee has issued an advisory stating that its Subcommittee on Trade will hold a hearing on April 29, 2004 on trade with sub-Saharan Africa and H.R. 4103, the "African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Acceleration Act of 2004" (also known as AGOA III).
The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a final rule stating that Beluga Sturgeon (Huso huso) will have a "threatened" status under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), effective October 21, 2004.
Washington Trade Daily reports that Senate leaders have admitted that they had not made much progress over the Easter break to reduce the list of 80 amendments to the Extraterritorial Income Tax (ETI) repeal bill, which is needed in order to end escalating trade sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) in March 2004 after the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that the tax break amounts to a prohibited export subsidy. (WTD dated 04/21/04, www.washingtontradedaily.com)
On April 1, 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a first set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and responses regarding the mandatory advance electronic information requirements for inbound air cargo.
On March 4, 2004, the Senate passed its version of H.R. 1047, the "Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003."
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued a press release announcing that on April 9, 2004 it implemented another element of its Air Cargo Strategic Plan by moving to enhance its Known Shipper database. The TSA explains that it is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to industry experts so that TSA can evaluate the latest techniques and technologies for identifying at-risk air cargo.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a press release announcing a contract with Northrop Grumman to design, implement and operate the Homeland Secure Data Network (HSDN). The HSDN will provide DHS officials with a modern IT infrastructure for securely communicating classified information. According to DHS, when completed, the HSDN will be a private, certified, and accredited network that will fully support the DHS' mission goals. (DHS press release dated 04/12/04, available at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=3444)
| The budget overview for the Department of Treasury | 04/20/04 | Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury and General Government; Senate Committee on Appropriations |
| A ten year perspective and implications for the future regarding NAFTA | 04/20/04 | Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion; Senate Committee on Foreign Relations |
| U.S.-China relations and the status of reforms in China | 04/22/04 | Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Senate Committee on Foreign Relations |
| The effectiveness of the federal government's current efforts to enforce existing intellectual property rights and how current U.S. intellectual property enforcement policies relates to the loss of manufacturing jobs | 04/20/04 | Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia; Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs |
| The Taiwan Relations Act: The Next Twenty-Five Years | 04/21/04 | House Committee on International Relations |
| Standards, Sharing, Collaboration: Tools of Trade | 04/22/04 | Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security; House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence |
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified and corrected a system problem which caused erroneous transmission of the error message "Warning - PN Not Required" for transmissions which do require prior notice (PN). CBP states that any such messages transmitted on April 15, 2004 should be disregarded. According to CBP, no PN confirmation numbers will be issued for the lines affected by the message.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated antidumping (AD) duty investigations of bottle-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin from India, Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand, and countervailing (CV) duty investigations of subject merchandise from India and Thailand.