The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a notice requesting comments on a petition it received requesting the imposition of export monitoring and export controls on copper scrap and copper-alloy scrap.
Reuters reports that U.S. officials have warned Asia to be on guard against terror attacks in crowded sea lanes, such as the Malacca and Singapore Straits, and in financial centers, such as Hong Kong. According to Reuters, the U.S. warnings coincided with a threat to attack Asia-Pacific countries that have backed the U.S.' war on terror. (Reuters Pub 04/22/04, available at http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4904596)
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a notice, effective April 23, 2004, announcing that it has updated its Unverified List by removing one Chinese entity.
Washington Trade Daily reports that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently decided to cancel the next round of technical level talks on steel subsidies and to delay a meeting of senior officials that had been scheduled for early May 2004. According to the article, a U.S. trade official stated that the multilateral talks on curbing government subsidies to the steel sectors and global overcapacity have hit a stalemate, and may need to be moved to another forum to find an agreement. (WTD dated 04/21/04, www.washingtontradedaily.com)
According to a Washington File report, the Treasury Department has found that no major U.S. trading partner manipulated its currency in the last six months of 2003 to gain unfair competitive advantage or prevent balance of payment adjustments. Treasury's report also reiterated the U.S. position endorsed by major industrialized countries that a pegged exchange rate policy is not appropriate for a major economy such as China. (Washington File Pub 04/16/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=April&x=20040416122714SAikceinawz4.645938e-02&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)
According to The Journal of Commerce, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report that sharply criticized the 10 largest U.S. seaports for their environmental records, indicating that lawsuits would follow if the ports don't clean up their act. (JoC March 29-April 4, 2002, www.joc.com )
The State Department has issued a notice stating that there will be a public meeting of a Study Group of the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private International Law on April 20, 2004. The study group will consider the draft instrument on the International Transport Law under negotiation at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. (Public Notice 4656, FR Pub 04/09/04, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-8109.pdf)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has agreed with the U.S. that Canada's grain distribution system is unfair and violates Canada's WTO obligations. The panel did, however, find against the U.S. with respect to its claims that certain practices of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) are unfair. (USTR Press Release 2004-28, dated 04/06/04, available at http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2004/04/04-28.pdf)
Shippers' NewsWire reports that the World Customs Organization (WCO) has finalized a set of recommendations on the advance electronic submission of cargo information for all transport modes, which the WCO task force on security will present to the council in June 2004 for adoption. The article notes that in the U.S., the guidelines are already in the process of implementation. (SNW dated 04/06/04, www.americanshipper.com)
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule, effective March 30, 2004, which, among other things, amends the Commerce Control List (CCL) to remove "National Security " (NS) controls from, and to impose "Regional Stability" (RS) controls on, certain items in order to conform with certain provisions of the Export Administration Act (Act), which limits the duration of U.S. unilaterally imposed NS controls.