U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) Office of Information and Technology has posted a notice to its Web site containing (a) a list, updated as of February 12, 2004, of companies/persons offering Sea Automated Manifest System (AMS) data processing services to the trade community, and (b) the Sea AMS Respondent Checklist, as follows:

The State Department has issued a final rule, effective February 17, 2004, which amends the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) by modifying the U.S.' denial policy regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) so that it is consistent with United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1493 of July 2003.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) has recently posted to its Web site an updated list of current antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders.

Broker Power provides quota prices on a monthly basis for certain textile and apparel categories from the People's Republic of China (China) that are publicly traded. (These publicly traded quota prices have been provided by a Hong Kong quota broker.)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently posted to its Web site certain new Trade Support Network (TSN) committee Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) user requirement recommendations.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has recently posted to the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) Web site (http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/corr.htm) the 2004 Correlation: Textile and Apparel Categories with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

A recent Journal of Commerce editorial stated that U.S. Customs and Border Protection's December 2003 regulations on the advance electronic presentation of cargo information for inbound ocean cargo have provoked a firestorm of criticism among trade groups by defining the shipper in the transport contract as the "foreign vendor, supplier, manufacturer, or other similar party," and specifically not a freight forwarder or other logistics provider. (JoC dated 02/16-22/04, www.joc.com.)

The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a report entitled, Textiles and Apparel: Assessment of the Competitiveness of Certain Foreign Suppliers to the U.S. Market.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is extending until February 27, 2004 (from February 20, 2004) the comment period on its proposed rule to amend its regulations governing proof of financial responsibility for ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs) by allowing an optional rider for additional coverage to be filed with a licensed non-vessel operating common carrier's (NVOCC's) proof of financial responsibility for such carriers serving the U.S. oceanborne trade with China.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has amended its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of tapered roller bearings and parts thereof, finished and unfinished from Japan for the period of October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1997 as there is now a final and conclusive court decision with respect to NTN Corporation (NTN).