On December 19, 2007 the Senate passed its version of H.R. 3890, the Burma Democracy Promotion Act of 2007, which would replace the current "product of" Burma import ban with a ban on any articles "produced, mined, manufactured, grown, or assembled" in Burma; expand the blocking of assets and other prohibited activities; and for other purposes.
Presidential Proclamation Implements Certain GSP Changes, Etc. Effective July 1, 2007 (Full Summary)
On June 28, 2007, President Bush issued Proclamation 8157 to modify duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences, designate Mauritania as an African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary country1, and make technical changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).
On December 11, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3890, the Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007, which would reinstate duty-free benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences for certain India and Thailand gold jewelry, amend the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act (BFDA) of 2003 to impose import sanctions on Burmese mined or extracted jadeite and rubies, and articles of jewelry (jewelry/articles) containing same, etc.
The International Trade Commission has posted to its Web site the 2008 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S., which is effective January 1, 2008.
On November 26, 2007, the International Trade Commission received a letter from the U.S. Trade Representative advising it of the withdrawal of petitions which had requested the addition of the three Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings to the list of articles eligible for duty-free treatment under of the Generalized System of Preferences program from all countries under the 2007 annual review.
The U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel has issued a Textile Development Memo on the House of Representatives' passage of H.R. 3890, the Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007 on December 11, 2007. H.R. 3890 would impose import sanctions on certain Burmese gemstones, revoke the termination of Generalized System of Preferences duty-free benefits for certain Indian and Thai gold jewelry, etc. See future issue of ITT for additional details on H.R. 3890.(USA-ITA TDM dated 12/12/07, www.usaita.com.)
The Treasury Department has published its semi-annual regulatory agenda, which contains certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulatory rulemakings.
In Samuel Aaron, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of International Trade's decision that it lacked jurisdiction in this case, as Aaron's protest was not filed within 90 days of re-liquidation.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released its report to Congressional requesters entitled, "International Trade: An Overview of Use of U.S. Trade Preference Programs by Beneficiaries and U.S. Administrative Reviews."
The Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) has issued a notice requesting information 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).