U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an interim rule, effective March 7, 2005, which amends 19 CFR Parts 10, 24, 162, 163, 178, and 191 for the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (US-CFTA).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice announcing the availability of a March 2005 version of its Compliance Policy Guide (Guide or CPG) on the FDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strategy for enforcing the requirements of the interim final rule for submitting prior notice (PN) for imported food.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued its report for investigation numbers NAFTA-103-7 and NAFTA-103-8 concerning proposed modifications to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rules of origin for five types of textile articles.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its QBT containing its implementation and processing instructions for Mauritius' portion of the "Third Country" sublimit for eligible apparel from lesser-developed AGOA beneficiary countries.
The U.S. Census Bureau (Census) has issued a proposed rule to amend the Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR, 15 CFR Part 30)1 in order to require mandatory filing of export information through the Automated Export System (AES) or AESDirect for all shipments where a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) is currently required, etc.
In the February 16, 2005 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 39, No. 8), CBP issued notices: (a) revoking a classification ruling on radio alarm clocks incorporating a CD player, and (b) revoking a classification ruling on a reticulated foam filter ring. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice regarding CITA's designation that certain woven 100% cotton, double-napped flannel fabric, classified in HTS 5209.31.6050 for use in products covered by textile categories 340, 341, 347, 348, 350, 351 and woven underwear in category 352, are in short supply ("commercially unavailable") under the CBTPA) CBP states that claims for short supply under HTS 9820.11.27 may be accepted on or after February 3, 2005, provided that the apparel articles meet certain specifications (see notice for specifications). (See ITT's Online Archives or 02/07/05 news, 05020725, for BP summary of CITA's designation. (TBT-05-004, 02/15/05, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/tbts/TBT2005/tbt_05_004.ctt/tbt_05_004.doc)
The Washington File reports that in February 16, 2005 testimony before a House subcommittee, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury stated that he expected the Treasury Department to soon issue a final rule requiring U.S. dealers in precious metals, stones and jewels to take actions to prevent money-launderers and terrorists from exploiting trade in those commodities to their advantage. (See ITT's Online Archives or 02/26/03 news, 03022699 3, for BP summary of the proposed rule.) (Washington File Pub 02/16/05, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=February&x=20050216145320ebyessedo0.8027155&t=xarchives/xarchitem.html)
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice announcing the 2004/2005 quantity of apparel imported from Mauritius, made from any fabric/yarn, that is eligible to receive duty-free treatment1 under the AGOA pursuant to HTS 9819.11.12.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing the product petitions that are accepted for further review in the 2004 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Annual Review.