The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule, effective November 19, 2007, which amends the Export Administration Regulations to list the names of five end-users in China who are approved to receive exports, reexports, and transfers of certain items to certain destinations, under authorization Validated End-User (VEU).
In early October 2007 the Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule, effective October 2, 2007, amending 15 CFR 748.15(b) by adding India as an eligible destination for exports, reexports and transfers under Authorization Validated End-User.
eTrucker reports that drivers representing the top Mexican trucking association parked their trucks on October 4th on the Mexican side of the Matamoros-Brownsville border to protest the cross-border trucking program. The drivers demanded equal treatment for Mexican and American truckers, claiming that American truckers get preferential treatment in Mexico, while Mexican truckers on the U.S. side of the border get tickets for no reason at all, etc. (eTrucker, dated 10/05/07, available at http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=63764)
Accountability Central reports that Europe's maritime industries and individual shipowners have swung behind European Commission opposition to U.S. 100% container scanning legislation. An open letter from industries representing the "European maritime cluster" said the American law requiring all U.S.-bound boxes to be scanned would be disastrous if it was ever applied. (AC, dated 09/28/07, available at http://www.accountability-central.com/single-view-default/single-view-lexis-nexis/article/europe-stands-firm-against-us-box-scans-joint-letter-to-the-eu-expresses-their-concerns/?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1&cHash=6d3048529c)
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective October 2, 2007, which amends 15 CFR 748.15(b) by adding India as an eligible destination for exports, reexports and transfers under Authorization Validated End-User (VEU).
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a final rule, effective September 12, 2007, which amends the Export Administration Regulations to, among other things, implement the understandings reached at the June 2007 plenary meeting of the Australia Group1.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a notice which extends the comment period on its July 17, 2007 notice of inquiry requesting comments regarding the Commerce Control List in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) as part of a systematic review of the CCL.
The International Herald Tribune reports that the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement signed 18 months ago may have difficulty passing a hostile U.S. Congress. Critics of the FTA argue that Colombia does not merit a trade deal because of murders of Colombian labor leaders, among other things. (IHT, dated 09/10/07, available at http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/09/bloomberg/bxtrade.php)
The Department of Transportation states that Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution from El Paso, Texas was given approval to operate in Mexico, and Transportes Olympic of Nuevo Leon was cleared to operate in the U.S., marking the start of a year-long cross border demonstration project that will allow U.S. selected trucking companies to operate in Mexico for the first time, and change the way a select group of Mexican trucking companies operate in the U.S.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a notice stating that it is reviewing the "foreign policy-based" export controls in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to determine whether they should be modified, rescinded or extended.