Trade News and Notes
- The latest news on the long-delayed mandatory AES final rule is that a stalemate still exists between the Census Bureau and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) over certain provisions of the final rule. The issues of concern still remain CBP's quest to eliminate or restrict Option 4 (post-departure) filing and CBP's insistence that it be able to share AES data with foreign governments. The two agencies are apparently not close to reaching a solution to this impasse.
- CBP recently held its quarterly meeting of the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC). During the meeting, CBP officials said that they are planning to hire nearly 90 import specialists, as the number of import specialists has declined nearly 10% since U.S. Customs was moved from Treasury to DHS. Regarding C-TPAT, while CBP has completed more than 1,900 validations, the agency still needs to conduct more than 2,200 validations. More than 140 applicants have been suspended from C-TPAT due to failed validations or for engaging in illegal activity. CBP now appears to accept the proposal currently pending in Congress to allow private third-party validators.
- The Spring 2006 edition of Region Focus, a quarterly business magazine published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, contains an article entitled "Trade Wars." The article notes that many U.S. products, from steel to wooden bedroom furniture, are protected by antidumping duties, economists say antidumping cases are often misused.
- Bloomberg reports that AWB Ltd., the Australian company that oversees the exports of wheat, admitted making illegal payments for inland transportation and after sales service to the Government of Iran in violation of the U.N.'s Oil-for-Food Program.
- This morning, NPR's Marketplace carried a story on the Bureau of Industry and Security's proposal to impose restrictions on commercial exports to China if they are intended for a military end-use. The story notes many U.S. companies worry that the proposal will cause them to lose business to companies in other countries. You can listen to the story by clicking here.
- The U.S. Trade Representative today submitted a report to Congress on U.S. Trade and Investment Policy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa and Implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) with respect to sub-Saharan Africa.
- The Senate Finance Committee today voted 19-0 to approve the proposed legislation to implement the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement.
- The USTR released a letter from Bahrain's ambassador to the U.S. stating "In the hope of advancing peace and regional cooperation, the Kingdom of Bahrain recognized the need to dismantle the primary boycott of Israel and despite recent press accounts, the Boycott of Israel Office is closed." Click here to see related story.
- State Department publishes certification that Cuba, Iran, North Korean, Syria and Venezuela are not cooperating fully with United States antiterrorism efforts.
- The Transportation Security Administration has issued the long-awaited Air Cargo Final Rule. Among other things, the final rule will require employees of freight forwarders to attend TSA security training courses. Freight forwarders will also have to develop security plans and have them approved by TSA. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days.
Labels: Boycotts
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