The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice that amends, effective February 9, 2005, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule in order to indicate that Mauritius is a lesser-developed African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary country for the one-year period from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice stating that a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel (DSP) has been established at the request of Canada in order to examine whether the U.S. has implemented the recommendations and rulings of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in a dispute involving the International Trade Administration's countervailing (CV) duty investigation of certain softwood lumber products from Canada.
On February 18, 2005, President Bush announced his intention to designate Peter Allgeier to be Acting U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). According to the State Department's Washington File, Ambassador Allgeier will serve in place of outgoing USTR Robert Zoellick, who has been nominated as deputy Secretary of State. Washington File reports that Allgeier currently serves as deputy USTR. (White House announcement, dated 02/18/05, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050218-15.html; Washington File article, dated 02/18/05, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=February&x=20050218180207ESnamfuaK0.8694422&t=ei/ei-latest.html)
In a speech at the Border Trade Alliance Annual Conference, former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Admiral James Loy spoke about the things that the Department of Homeland Security has done to enhance U.S. security. According to Admiral Loy, DHS has expanded hours of operations at key entry points, such as Otay Mesa, to accommodate local travel needs of border residents; DHS plans to add seven more Free and Secure Trade (FAST) lanes on the U.S.-Mexico border in the coming months; and DHS wants the percentage of U.S. bilateral trade cleared through FAST lanes (currently 15%) to increase significantly in the next year. (Admiral Loy's speech, dated 02/14/05, available at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=4357.)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice stating that on January 13, 2005 it received a request from the European Communities (EC) for the establishment of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel (DSP) regarding the U.S.' continued suspension of obligations to the EC in the dispute over the EC's measures concerning beef produced with growth hormones.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a notice announcing that, at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), it has instituted Investigation No. 332-466, Advice Concerning Possible Modifications to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences, 2004 Review.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a press release announcing that in 2005 it will follow the procedures used in 2004 to gather information from industry and public sources for its advice to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in connection with "commercial availability" requests 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).
On February 9, 2005, President Bush issued Proclamation 7870 in order to modify the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rules of origin, specifically the tariff classification rules1 (TCRs) in General Note 12(t) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), for certain originating goods from Canada or Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an ABI administrative message stating that the Automated Commercial System (ACS) has been programmed to accept Special Program Indicator (SPI) 'N' claims for a country of origin of 'Egypt.'
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a Federal Register notice announcing that on September 18, 2003, the United States and Laos signed a trade agreement obligating reciprocal normal trade relations (NTR) treatment between Laos and the United States.