The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has posted to its Web site a notice detailing its next upcoming informational seminars entitled, Navigating the Regulations, which will be held in St. Louis, MO and Des Plaines, IL on April 6 & 8, 2004, respectively. The FMC states that these seminars provide an overview of the responsibilities of vessel operators, ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs) and maritime shipping services users in U.S. foreign trades.

Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department decides, based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. The following have been issued since BP's most recent update:

According to government sources and the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is planning to detain certain knit-to-shape garments claiming a country of origin other than China, whose entry package claims their panels were knit-to-shape in a country other than China, and then sent to China to be linked and looped.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing that on December 23, 2003, the U.S. requested World Trade Organization (WTO) consultations with Egypt regarding the import duties that Egypt applies to textile and apparel products. The USTR believes that the duties Egypt actually applies (on a "per article" basis) greatly exceed the ad valorem bound rates that Egypt agreed to apply in the Uruguay Round of WTO negotiations.

On November 11, 2003, President Bush signed into law the "Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003" (Public Law (P.L.) 108-121) which, among other things, extended the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF, both formal and informal) and the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) user fees through March 1, 2005.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice stating that it has been directed by the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) to allow entry of textiles and apparel from Daewoo El Salvador, S.A. de. C.V. and to cancel an earlier December 2003 directive denying entries from this manufacturer. (See ITT's Online Archives or 02/25/04 news, 04022530, for BP summary of CITA notice allowing entry from this manufacturer.) (TBT-04-005, dated 02/27/04, available at http://www.cbp.gov/ImageCache/cgov/content/import/textiles/tbt/tbt2004/tbt_5f04_5f005_2edoc/v1/tbt_5f04_5f005.doc)

According to a State Department Washington File article, the third and final round of negotiations aimed at integrating the Dominican Republic into the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) began in Washington, DC on March 8, 2004. The article states that during the week of March 8, 2004, U.S. and Dominican officials hope to conclude negotiations to add the Dominican Republic to the CAFTA accord reached between the U.S. and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. (Washington File article dated 03/08/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=March&x=20040308162754ASrelliM5.480593e-02&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html.)

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has preliminarily determined to revoke the antidumping (AD) duty order on extruded rubber thread from Malaysia for all entries with a time of entry on or after October 1, 2003, the first day of the most recent period of administrative review and the only period for which an administrative review has not been completed.

Sources at the Bureau of Census (Census) have stated that the Costa Rican government has delayed implementation of a new requirement that exporters furnish a copy of the Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) or Automated Export System (AES) record for exports from the U.S. to Costa Rica. Prior to the delay, this new requirement was scheduled for implementation starting March 5, 2004.

On February 12, 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued its first version 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.