The World Shipping Council (WSC) has sent a letter to the House Homeland Security Committee urging the Committee to defeat H.R. 4899, the "Sail Only if Scanned Act," if it is offered as an amendment when the Committee considers H.R. 4954, the SAFE Port Act. According to the WSC, H.R. 4899 would require every ocean shipping container to be "scanned" in a foreign port before the container is loaded on the vessel for shipment to the U.S. (WSC letter, dated 04/18/06, available at http://www.worldshipping.org/king_letter.pdf.)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a press release announcing that it has successfully completed e-Passport technology testing in a live environment. According to the press release, the U.S. anticipates the deployment of e-Passport readers for processing Visa Waiver Program visitors by the October 26, 2006 deadline. (DHS press release, dated 04/18/06, available at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=5541.)
The Washington Post reports that President Bush's move to nominate current U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been widely viewed as indicating that the Bush Administration holds little hope for secure a far-reaching deal in the Doha round of trade talks in 2006 and possibly for much longer than that. (WP dated 04/19/06, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801488.html.)
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has announced an open meeting of the Information Systems Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC) on April 26-27, 2006 in Washington, DC. ISTAC advises the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Export Administration on technical questions that affect the level of export controls applicable to computer systems and technology. (BIS notice, FR Pub 04/13/06, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/06-3555.pdf)
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has announced a two-week prototype (April 3-14, 2006) of the Simplified Network Application Process (SNAP) redesign (SNAP-R).
PierPASS Inc. has issued a press release stating that effective April 24, 2006, it will adjust the current Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) assessed on container traffic using marine terminal day gates under the OffPeak program to $50 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) or $100 per FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit or larger), an amendment from the program's original $40 per TEU rate. (Note that PierPASS had originally issued a press release setting the effective date for this increase as April 3, 2006.) (PierPass, dated 03/24/06, available at http://www.pierpass.org/press_room/releases/?id=26 )
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule, effective March 21, 2006, which revises the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to clarify certain provisions or to update technical information. BIS notes that these revisions were identified through internal review or questions from the public. The following are highlights of the revisions made by BIS' final rule:
Shippers' NewsWire reports that Starbucks Corp. has said that it will install a security device that detects unauthorized opening of container doors on all shipments of coffee beans from Guatemala to the U.S. and Europe. According to the article, Starbucks is the first commercial customer for CommerceGuard, the container security device manufactured by GE Security. The article notes that Starbucks is moving out on its own with the security device even though U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is still evaluating it as part of its Smart Box initiative. (SNW, dated 03/16/06, www.americanshipper.com.)
On March 15, 2006, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4944, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2006. After being passed by the House, H.R. 4944 now goes to the Senate. (Congressional Record, dated 03/15/06, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r109:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20060315).)
The Joint Industry Group (JIG) is participating in a coalition of trade associations in order to address proposed legislation related to cargo security. According to JIG, the group recently compiled comments on S. 2008, the GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act. (JIG email, dated 03/14/06, www.jig.org.)