On March 2, 2004, the U.S. reached agreement with Morocco on a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA). On March 8, 2004, President Bush notified Congress of his intent to sign an FTA with Morocco. (Under the provisions of the Trade Act of 2002's Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002, the President is required to notify Congress at least 90 days in advance of signing an FTA with Morocco.)
The Web site of the International Trade Administration's (ITA's) Trade Information Center (TIC, www.ita.doc.gov/tic) contains a publication entitled, Tariff and Tax Information which contains certain information, online resources, and contact information for U.S. exports, etc.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice stating that it is postponing until May 13, 2004 (from March 23, 2004) its preliminary antidumping (AD) duty determination on certain aluminum plate from South Africa.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice requesting public comments by March 26, 2004 regarding a "commercial availability" petition it received under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA), the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) from S. Schwab Company, Inc.:
On March 4, 2004, the Senate passed its version of H.R. 1047, the "Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003."
The Canada Border Services Agency 1 (CBSA) has modified its previous instructions regarding the implementation schedule for the Advance Commercial Information (ACI) initiative for inbound marine cargo in order to change the advance reporting timeframes for i) conveyances for containerized cargo, ii) conveyances for non-authorized break bulk cargo and iii) empty containers.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its weekly quota commodity report as of March 1, 2004. This report includes tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on various products such as beef, tuna, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa powder, tobacco, certain JFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TRQs, etc. This report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, CBTPA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA tariff preference levels (TPLs) for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics under HTS 9902.51.11 & 9902.51.12, etc. (CBP's weekly quota commodity report, dated 03/01/04, available at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a proposed rule which would amend its regulations at 7 CFR Part 319 regarding the importation of wheat from regions affected with Karnal bunt.
The State Department's Washington File reports that chief negotiators in the U.S.-Bahrain free trade discussions announced the successful conclusion of the second round of talks on March 5, 2004, and voiced expectations that negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would be concluded in the first half of 2004. (Washington File Pub 03/05/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=March&x=20040305180207ndyblehs0.8560602&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a press release announcing that it has made a negative determination with regard to its safeguard investigation involving uncovered innerspring units from China.