The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that the U.S. and Costa Rica have concluded negotiations to finalize Costa Rica's participation in the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that the U.S. and Bahrain were scheduled to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement on January 26, 2004 to lower tariffs and barriers and expand trade between the two countries. According to the press release, subsequent negotiation rounds will alternate between the U.S. and Bahrain with a goal of completing the negotiations by the end of 2004. (USTR press release dated 01/26/04, http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2004/01/04-05.pdf.)
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice requesting public comments by February 10, 2004 regarding a "commercial availability" request 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) from Warren Corporation:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice which invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on an information collection requirement concerning the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Textile Certificate of Origin.
According to Journal of Commerce Online, as part of the Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union address, House Minority Leader Pelosi called for the physical inspection of all ocean containers entering the U.S., charging that the Bush administration's inspection standard is too low to protect the U.S. from terrorism. (JoC Online, 01/21/04, www.joc.com )
The Editor's page in the weekly Journal of Commerce opines that although the voluntary C-TPAT program has achieved much by responding swiftly to the change in national priorities that followed September 11, it may be time to move on, and work toward formalizing regulations for C-TPAT. The editorial adds that regulations may be needed as it makes little sense to require the use of smart containers through a voluntary C-TPAT program, as there is no guarantee firms will adopt them. (JoC, January 19-25, 2004, www.joc.com )
The Winter 2003 issue of the NCBFAA Quarterly Bulletin contains an article that states that miscellaneous tariff and trade bills are no longer routine, are not predictable, and may not even be possible. The article notes that such bills have increasingly become the vehicle for solving larger, tougher trade and economic issues that have nothing to do with the tedious technical language of miscellaneous tariff and trade bills. (NBFAA Quarterly Bulletin, No. 103-4, Winter 2003, www.ncbfaa.org.)
The European Union (EU) is requesting World Trade Organization (WTO) authorization to apply retaliatory sanctions against the U.S. for its failure to bring the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (Byrd Amendment) into conformity with WTO rules by December 27, 2003. The EU states that this deadline for compliance with the WTO Appellate Body's ruling passed without action from U.S. Congress to repeal the measure.
The Journal of Commerce (JoC) has reported that the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Mexican trucks should be subject to environmental reviews before being allowed to travel on U.S. roads. According to JoC, such trucks have been unable to operate in the U.S. because of a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that environmental reviews must be completed before the trucks are allowed into the U.S. (JoC 12/22/03 - 01/04/04, www.joc.com)
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a notice announcing the scheduling of, among other things, a public hearing and the deadlines for submitting public comments in connection with its report on market conditions for certain wool articles in 2003-2004.