On October 27, 2003, the State Department published a final rule that amended the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to indicate that exporters that are required to report shippers export information for U.S. Munitions List (USML) hardware must use the Automated Export System (AES).
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued two notices announcing that it has received two new, similar petitions as described below. According the FMC, interested persons are requested to submit comments on these petitions on or before February 13, 2004.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has posted to its Web site the draft text of the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which is dated January 28, 2004.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice announcing the opportunity to request administrative reviews of the following antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders or suspended investigations:
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that the European Union (EU) is poised to impose trade sanctions on billions of dollars of U.S. goods starting in March 2004, as congressional leaders signaled their inability to reach agreement on repeal of the U.S. Foreign Sales Corp./Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (FSC/ETI) tax regime. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled this tax deduction illegal and given the EU permission to impose as much as $4 billion in sanctions a year. According to an EU official, if the law isn't repealed, the EU is certain to retaliate starting March 1, 2004. (WSJ Pub, 01/26/04, www.wallstreetjournal.com)
| The President's fiscal year (FY) 2005 budget proposals | 02/03/04 | Senate Committee on the Budget |
| The President's FY 2005 budget proposals | 02/04/04 | Senate Committee on the Budget |
| Maintaining confidence in consumer products relating to mad cow disease | 02/05/04 | Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions |
| The Administration's Budget for FY 2005 | 02/03/04 | House Committee on the Budget |
| The Department of the Treasury Budget Priorities FY 2005 | 02/04/04 | House Committee on the Budget |
| Effective Strategies Against Terrorism | 02/03/04 | Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations; House Committee on Government Reform |
| Law Enforcement Efforts within the Department of Homeland Security | 02/03/04 | Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations; House Committee on the Judiciary |
| The Administration's Budget Proposals for FY 2005 | 02/03/04 & 02/04/04 | House Committee on Ways and Means |
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has issued a report entitled, International Trade: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Faces Challenges in Addressing Illegal Textile Transshipment in response to requests from the Chairmen and Ranking Minority Members of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued two notices requesting public comments by February 17, 2004 regarding "commercial availability" requests it received, variously, under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA), and the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) from Levi Strauss and Co.:
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice stating that it is postponing until no later than April 19, 2004 (from February 14, 2004) the preliminary countervailing (CV) duty determination on carbazole violet pigment 23.
On January 23, 2004, President Bush signed into law (Public Law (P.L.) 108-199) the conference version of the fiscal year (FY) 2004 omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 2673), entitled the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004." P.L. 108-199 includes eight separate appropriations measures, including the 2004 Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (Act), which provides, among other things, FY 2004 appropriations for the Commerce Department.