According to various U.S. government sources, now that the Dominican Republic has repealed its 25% tax on soft drinks containing high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the Bush Administration is likely to proceed with the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) including the Dominican Republic (i.e., DR-CAFTA).
The Wall Street Journal reports that the duties China will levy on certain categories of apparel exports (coats, skirts, knit shirts, nonknit shirts, pajamas and underwear) seem unlikely to satisfy the governments in the U.S. or Europe intent on protecting their industries from an expected flood of Chinese-made garments. The article states that almost all categories will have duties of just 20 fen per item, with several persons quoted as stating that the tax (which Chinese companies can absorb and/or pass on to customers) is just a political or token measure, and will do little to slow exports. (WJS, dated 12/28/04, www.wsj.com )
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice requesting comments by 5 p.m. on February 11, 2005 regarding whether any foreign countries should be identified under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 USC 2242), which is commonly referred to as the "Special 301" provision of the Trade Act.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a statement that although the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed that an older dairy cow from Alberta has tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the USDA remains confident that measures that Canada has in place, combined with existing U.S. safeguards and additional safeguards announced as part of the USDA's BSE minimal-risk regions final rule, provide the utmost protections. (USDA Release No. 0001.05, dated 01/03/05, available at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2005/01/0001.xml)
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice stating that, effective January 10, 2005, certain textile and apparel articles from Mozambique are eligible for duty-free treatment under the "handloomed, handmade, or folklore articles" provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a statement that although Canada has recently announced the finding of an animal suspected of having BSE ("mad cow disease"), it would not alter USDA's implementation of a soon to be published rule that will recognize Canada as a BSE Minimal-Risk Region, as the possibility of additional cases of BSE in Canada was included in the risk analysis conducted as part of the rulemaking. (USDA release no. 0528.04, dated 12/30/04, available at http://www.usda.gov/documents/NewsReleases/2004/12/0528.doc.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice stating that the European Communities (EC) has requested World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement consultations with the U.S. regarding the U.S. antidumping (AD) duty investigation on stainless steel bar from the United Kingdom (U.K.).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing that the European Communities (EC) has requested World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement consultations with respect to the American JOBS Creation Act of 2004.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice requesting public comments by January 18, 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 Texollini, Inc.:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced the 2005 tariff rate quota (TRQ) for qualifying ethyl alcohol from the Caribbean countries and Insular Possessions as provided for in HTS Chapter 99, Subchapter I.