CBP has issued memos announcing the August 1, 2010 opening (for the quota period of 08/01/10- 07/31/11) of the following Uruguay Rounds/GATT cotton tariff rate quotas:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report entitled “Trade Remedies and the WTO Rules Negotiations,” which examines trade remedy issues in the World Trade Organization’s Doha Development Agenda.
On July 21, 2010, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on HR 2267: the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which was introduced by Chairman Frank. According to Representative Ron Paul, the bill would repeal the U.S. ban on Internet gambling and establish a process to ensure that gambling sites can comply with existing laws, and thus offer their services to adults who wish to gamble online. (Note that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was codified by Treasury and the Federal Reserve in a 2007 joint final rule that prohibits the funding of unlawful internet gambling. In addition, U.S. online gambling restrictions has been the subject of a WTO dispute.)
On July 21, 2010, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the Administration’s Joint Strategic Plan on intellectual property and protecting U.S. IP overseas.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
The World Trade Organization announces that the European Union has notified the Dispute Settlement Body of its decision to appeal to the Appellate Body certain issues of law covered in the Panel Report and certain legal interpretations developed by the Panel in the dispute European Union - Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft (WT/DS316).
In their recent meeting1, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk and Canadian Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan agreed to transfer to Canada collection of the 10% additional customs duty that the U.S. currently imposes on softwood lumber products imported from the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The World Trade Organization Committee on Regional Trade Agreements has prepared a report on the regional free trade agreement between Peru and Singapore, which is the first regional trade agreement concluded by Peru with an Asian country.
The International Trade Commission has released "The Year in Trade 2009: Operation of the Trade Agreements Program," its annual overview of the previous year's trade-related activities.