In an article about the recent shutdown of the ACE Release 4 Truck Manifest pilot in Blaine, WA, The Journal of Commerce reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is optimistic that the shutdown is "temporary" (i.e., weeks, not months) and that programmers are already at work fixing the problems. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/05/05 news, 05010505, for BP summary on the shutdown.)
The House Select Committee on Homeland Security has issued a press release announcing that on January 4, 2005, the House of Representatives approved the creation of a permanent standing Committee on Homeland Security. This move follows the 9/11 Commission's recommendation that both the House and Senate should create a single, principal point of oversight and review for homeland security. (House press release, dated 01/04/05, available at http://hsc.house.gov/release.cfm?id=296,)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing the results of the preliminary review of certain petitions it received in connection with its 2004 Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) annual review, as well as the status of 2003 petitions that have remained under review.
The Wall Street Journal reports that pressure is building for Europe to follow Turkey's January 9, 2005 action that placed emergency import quotas on 43 categories of Chinese textiles and apparel, as products rejected by Turkey could flood European markets instead. Turkey's new quotas mean that imports of Chinese textiles and apparel can rise only 7.5% from their 2004 levels. Wool-product imports may rise 6% at most. (WSJ, dated 1/14/05, www.wsj.com )
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice stating that, at the request of the European Communities (EC), a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel (DSP) has been established to examine certain revised countervailing (CV) sunset review determinations made by the International Trade Administration (ITA).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice stating that Thailand has requested World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement consultations with the U.S. concerning the imposition of provisional antidumping (AD) measures on shrimp from Thailand.
The Washington File has reported that the U.S. trade deficit surged 7.7% in November 2004 to another record as the volume of oil imports went up and exports of capital goods, autos and industrial supplies dropped, reflecting weak foreign demand, according to the Department of Commerce. (Washington File Pub 01/12/05, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=January&x=20050112130234ebyessedo0.6893274&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)
The European Commission has drafted a regulation to lift the additional customs duties it has imposed 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 Journal of Commerce Online reports that Representative Millender-McDonald has introduced legislation that would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a shipment profiling plan for imported loaded and empty containers, inspection of merchandise at foreign ports and issue final rules for biometric identification cards for seaport employees. The article notes that Representative Millender-McDonald introduced a virtually identical bill in October 2003 that died in committee at the end of the 108th Congress. (JoC Online dated 01/10/05, www.joc.com.)
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice requesting public comments by January 25, 2005 regarding a "commercial availability" petition 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) on behalf of Ge-Ray Fabrics, Inc.: