The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice designating the Resources Company for Development and Investment Zone (RCDI), the Al Hallabat Industrial Park, and the expanded Al Tajamouat Industrial Park as qualifying industrial zones (QIZs) from which goods, including textiles and apparel, may enter the U.S. duty-free under the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act (IFTA Act).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing its determination that Benin (1) has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment and the use of counterfeit documents in connection with shipments of textile and apparel articles, and (2) has implemented and follows, or is making substantial progress toward implementing and following, the customs procedures required by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). This determination is effective January 28, 2004.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that the U.S. and Bahrain were scheduled to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement on January 26, 2004 to lower tariffs and barriers and expand trade between the two countries. According to the press release, subsequent negotiation rounds will alternate between the U.S. and Bahrain with a goal of completing the negotiations by the end of 2004. (USTR press release dated 01/26/04, http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2004/01/04-05.pdf.)
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated antidumping (AD) duty investigations of certain frozen and canned warmwater shrimp from Brazil, Ecuador, India, Thailand, China, and Vietnam.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice requesting public comments by February 10, 2004 regarding a "commercial availability" request it received under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), and the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) from Warren Corporation:
In St. Eve International, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled in favor of the importer, finding that three entries of shelf bra camisoles were properly classified under HTS 6109.10.0037 (2002) as women's or girls' underwear (Cat 352).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site its weekly quota commodity report as of January 20, 2004. This report includes tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on various products such as beef, tuna, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cocoa, tobacco, certain Jordan Free Trade Agreement (JFTA), Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA), and Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA) TRQs, etc. This report also includes TRQs on certain HTS Chapter 52 cotton, upland cotton under HTS Chapter 99, the UCFTA, SFTA, CBTPA, AGOA, ATPDEA, and NAFTA tariff preference levels (TPLs) for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics under HTS 9902.51.11 & 9902.51.12, etc. (CBP's weekly quota commodity report, dated 01/20/04, available at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
On January 22, 2004, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) published a notice denying a petition submitted by Alarmex Holdings Group, Inc. which had alleged that certain printed, 100% rayon, herringbone fabric, of 220 g/m2 fabric weight, of 20's singles spun rayon yarn, of 100 X 64 construction, classified in HTS 5516.14.00, for use in apparel articles, cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner.
At its January 21, 2004 meeting, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) considered a petition from the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (NCBFAA) requesting that the FMC amend its non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) bonding provisions to reflect a recent U.S.-China maritime agreement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a notice on its Web site announcing that the next Customs Broker Licensure Examination will be held on Monday, April 5, 2004.