The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.

The Coast Guard has announced the establishment of an International Port Security Program (security program) that will help it and its maritime trading partners facilitate the implementation of security improvements in ports around the world.

On April 23, 2004, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a general license (new 31 CFR 550.575) which lifts most of the economic embargo that has been in place against Libya since 1986.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has re-issued an administrative message reminding ABI filers that full ABI edits for FDA prior notice (PN) data go into effect on May 13, 2004 as part of Phase 3 of the CBP/Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bioterrorism Act procedures.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released a statement on U.S. China trade relations which announces, among other things, that the administration has rejected a section 301 unfair trade practices petition filed by the AFL-CIO with regard to China's worker's rights policies. The USTR explains while there are serious concerns about labor rights and working conditions in China, the administration believes that trade and economic growth, among other things, will move China faster and further toward achieving results. (USTR Statement, dated 04/28/04, available at http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2004/04/2004-04-28-statement-china.pdf)

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued an interim rule, effective May 24, 2004, establishing a new certification program for foreign production sites in countries where Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 (potato brown rot) is known to occur that wish to export articles of Pelargonium spp. (e.g. geraniums) and/or Solanum spp. (e.g. eggplant, huckleberry) to the U.S.

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), as of April 23, 2004 there are 147 members of the WTO.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued an interim rule, effective April 29, 2004, that amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement (1) President Bush's April 23, 2004, decision to revise U.S. sanctions against Libya; and (2) the transfer to BIS from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the licensing jurisdiction for exports to Libya of items subject to the EAR.

The ITA states that it is rescinding Tancheng from the AD duty new shipper review because Tancheng withdrew its request for review and no other party objected to its withdrawal of that request.