The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule, effective April 29, 2004, which revises certain entries on the Commerce Control List (CCL) controlled for national security reasons in Categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Part I (telecommunications), 5 Part II (information security), 6, and 7 to conform with changes in the List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies maintained and agreed to by the governments participating in the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies that were agreed to at the December 2003 meeting.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued an interim rule, effective April 29, 2004, that amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement (1) President Bush's April 23, 2004, decision to revise U.S. sanctions against Libya; and (2) the transfer to BIS from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the licensing jurisdiction for exports to Libya of items subject to the EAR.
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 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)
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.
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule, effective March 18, 2004, which, among other things, amends 15 CFR Parts 745 and 774 to implement certain understandings reached at the June 2003 plenary meeting of the Australia Group (AG).
The Journal of Commerce (JoC) reports that ocean carriers are strongly opposed to a security fee of $1 per foot of vessel length proposed by the South Carolina State Ports Authority. According to JoC, the charge will take effect in July and is expected to bring in $1 million to cover increased security costs. (JoC Pub 03/15 - 21/04, www.joc.com)