American Shipper reports that during a visit to China in January, out-going Commerce Secretary Don Evans called for more progress on intellectual property rights (IPR) issues in China, citing a recent case in which a GM Daewoo car was copied by a state-owned Chinese auto-manufacturer. (See ITT's Online Archives or 02/03/05 news, 05020320, for BP summary of the USTR's extension of the comment deadline for a Special 301 out-of-cycle review of China regarding IPR.) (American Shipper Pub February 2005, www.americanshipper.com)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice requesting comments by 5 p.m. on March 18, 2005 on whether the countries designated as Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) beneficiary countries in Presidential Proclamation 7616 are meeting the eligibility criteria provided for in the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), as amended by the ATPDEA.
Shippers NewsWire reports that the American Institute for Shippers' Associations (AISA) and the International Shippers Association have withdrawn their petitions requesting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) to review the Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC's) decision that restricted the right of shippers' associations to enter into non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) service arrangements. According to the article, the CAFC petitions were premature, as the FMC has not yet ruled on certain petitions the associations have filed with the FMC. (SNW dated 02/03/05, www.americanshipper.com.)
On January 31, 2005, the Council of the European Union (Council) adopted a regulation which suspends, retroactive to January 1, 2005, the additional customs duties it has been imposing on certain U.S.-origin products in connection with the European Union's (EU's) dispute over the U.S. Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC)/FSC Replacement and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (ETI) tax regime.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice extending the deadline for submitting written comments on its Special 301 out-of-cycle review of China regarding intellectual property rights (IPR).
On January 28, 2005, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a press release announcing that it has notified the WTO of its intent to increase certain tariffs on certain products from all "column 1" countries because it has not reached agreement with the European Union (EU) over access to the European rice market.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a waiver which grants Australia access to U.S. government procurement markets for goods and services pursuant to the free trade agreement (FTA) it has entered into with the U.S. USTR sources have previously explained that these waivers are granted because the U.S. has determined that a country will grant U.S. products and suppliers the same access. (FR Pub 01/31/05, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-1663.pdf)
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release stating that it has asserted its World Trade Organization (WTO) rights and notified the WTO of its intent to increase certain tariffs because it has not reached agreement with the European Union (EU) over access to the European rice market.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice requesting public comments by February 9, 2005 regarding a "commercial availability" petition it received under the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) on behalf of Outlast Technology, Inc. of Boulder, CO and Bernette Textile Co., LLC of New York, NY*: