The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing the competitive need limitation (CNL) waiver petitions that are accepted for further review and the country practice petitions that continue to be under evaluation for acceptance as part of the 2008 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Review.
CBP has posted a memorandum announcing a special import quota of 17,335,657 kg for upland cotton that is provided for in HTS Chapter 99, Subchapter III, U.S. Note 6 and is entered under HTS 9903.52.42. (CBP notes that this quantity is not subject to the tariff-rate quotas in Chapter 52 Additional U.S. Notes 5 through 10.)
On December 31, 2008, President Bush issued Proclamation 8332 to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to implement the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA) effective for qualifying goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after January 1, 2009.
On December 23, 2008, the President issued Proclamation 8331 which amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) to implement the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)1 for Costa Rica, and for other purposes.
The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has issued a notice requesting information, for use in preparing the eighth annual report, regarding the implementation of international commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by countries seeking benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act (CBTPA), the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and the Andean Trade Preference Act as amended and expanded by the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPA/ATPDEA).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a memorandum on the 2009 duty-free U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) tariff preference level for certain non-originating Nicaragua apparel of cotton or man-made fiber (MMF), or subject to cotton or MMF restraints, as provided for in HTS Chapter 99, Subchapter XV, U.S. Note 15. The 2009 Nicaragua TPL was scheduled to open on Friday, January 2, 2009, with a TPL limit of 100,000,000 square meter equivalents (SME).
The International Trade Commission has posted to its Web site the 2009 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S., which is effective January 1, 2009.
The President has issued Proclamation 8330, which designates Kosovo and Azerbaijan as beneficiary developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), and terminates the designation of Mauritania as an African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary country1.
President Bush has issued Proclamation 8323 in order to modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for the following actions:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has issued a release regarding its hosting of more than 1,000 leading suppliers, Chinese officials, and NGOs in Beijing, China. The company outlined a series of aggressive goals and expectations to build a more environmentally and socially responsible global supply chain. (Wal-Mart press release, dated 10/22/08, available at http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/8696.aspx.)