LG Electronics is "currently looking at other shipping partner options" after last week’s Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy filing (see 1609020035), Ken Hong, LG senior director-global communications, emailed us Friday. "I have no information at the moment as to any negative effects Hanjin's situation may have had on our supply chain," Hong said. LG was second only to Samsung recently among top users of Hanjin’s shipping and consignment services, according to trade data company Datamyne.

Governments around the world are disguising “techno-nationalist policies” as national security improvements, said a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report released Thursday. The policies artificially give competitive advantage to domestic companies, hurting the global economy, said the Chamber. It urged countries to embrace a globalized information and communications technology (ICT) sector and allow foreign competition. “A highly connected and global ICT sector is the backbone of innovation and has arguably been one the most powerful drivers of global economic welfare over decades,” said Executive Vice President Myron Brilliant in a statement. “Today’s digital economy demands a free flow of data and ideas to make modern commerce and trade possible. From banking to e-commerce to managing a global supply chain, nearly everything requires complex transactions cutting across hardware and software platforms, industries, and jurisdictions.” The report was written in consultation with Covington & Burling and the Rhodium Group, the Chamber said.

The International Trade Commission is seeking comment by Sept. 23 on a possible limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders banning import and sale by Fitbit and Flextronics of activity tracking devices that infringe patents held by BodyMedia and Jawbone, the ITC said in Tuesday's Federal Register. An ITC administrative law judge recently recommended the orders, which would last “no more than one month,” if the commission finds violations of Tariff Act Section 337. The ITC began the investigation in August 2015, based on allegations Fitbit is importing devices manufactured overseas by Flextronics that copy BodyMedia’s patented design for its UP line of fitness and activity trackers. Fitbit and Flextronics had no comment.

Customs and Border Protection will enforce copyright registrations beginning when an application is filed with the Copyright Office, said CBP's intellectual property rights website. "Temporary recordation of unregistered Copyrights is now available while your application for registration is pending" at the CO, said CBP. "Upon request (email to iprrquestions@cbp.dhs.gov), you will receive instructions for submitting an application for recordation of your copyright with CBP for border enforcement purposes." Proof of application to register is required, it said. This is the result of a customs reauthorization law that required CBP develop a process to enforce copyrights while an application is pending (see 1602240069); the agency is authorized to detain or seize imports of protected works.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comment for its 2016 notorious markets list (see 1601110051) by Oct. 7, replies by Oct. 21, for its out-of-cycle review based off the annual Special 301 Report, says a notice scheduled to be published in Thursday's Federal Register. The list identifies “online and physical marketplaces that reportedly engage in and facilitate substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting,” the notice says.

Recent negotiations between the U.S. and EU on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) included telecom and e-commerce language, said the European Commission in a report released Thursday. During the TTIP meetings in Brussels July 11-15, the two sides "covered all provisions put forward by the EU and the US for the E-commerce chapter and many of the provisions of both sides on telecommunications," said the EC. "On telecommunications, the discussion addressed in particular licensing requirements, the role of the regulatory authority and interconnection," it said. "Both sides agreed on a detailed list of follow-up action items in order to achieve further progress at the next Round." Within discussions on information and communications technology, the EU said it's pleased by a "textual proposal on cooperation on market surveillance activities which intends to improve cooperation between enforcement authorities for products subject to radio and electromagnetic compatibility requirements." Among other issues were "e-labelling for electronic products with an integrated screen," encryption and spam.

CTA CEO Gary Shapiro hopes the presumptive Democratic presidential ticket of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., backs the Trans-Pacific Partnership, pointing to their past comments as reason for support now. “Honestly, if their past -- and, presumably, sincerely held -- positions are a guide for Sec. Clinton and Sen. Kaine, I certainly hope they would support TPP if elected,” Shapiro said in a statement Tuesday. He said he hopes they're not “aligning with the destructive isolationist policies espoused by Donald Trump,” the GOP presidential nominee. “We can only hope the politics of the moment are driving the Clinton-Kaine campaign's evolving rhetoric on TPP, not the substance of the deal.”

TechFreedom joined Engage Cuba, a coalition of companies, trade associations and civil society organizations seeking to end the travel and trade embargo on Cuba. “Normalizing relations with Cuba is a win-win, especially for technology,” said TechFreedom Policy Counsel Tom Struble in a Friday news release. “Lifting the embargo opens a new market for American companies, and Cubans will gain access to online services that provide jobs, foster free speech, and enable more cultural diffusion.” For example, Airbnb would help Cubans make money from an influx of travelers, he said: “Travel is essential to the Cuban tech sector, as U.S. companies and experts need the freedom to help spur startups and accelerate broadband deployment on the Island.”

The EU isn't sufficiently protecting its own citizens' personal data and privacy rights in trade agreements, said a study commissioned by the European consumer alliance BEUC, Center for Digital Democracy, European Digital Rights and the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD). The study, by University of Amsterdam's Institute for Information Law, released Wednesday, said existing free-trade agreements like the General Agreement of Trade in Services and ones being negotiated like the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could challenge and potentially loosen EU privacy rules. CDD Executive Director Jeff Chester said in a joint news release Wednesday that the U.S. is pushing for an "unprecedented expansion of commercial data collection, threatening both consumers and citizens." He said companies like Facebook and Google want to use agreements like TTIP as a "digital 'Trojan Horse' that effectively sidesteps the EU’s human-rights-based data protection safeguards." TACD Senior Policy Adviser Anna Fielder said "the EU’s opaque and inconsistent system of granting third countries so-called ‘adequacy’ status for transferring personal data of its citizens makes it vulnerable to legal challenge by trade partners ... The EU must not make some partners more equal than others when deciding on the adequacy of their data protection laws." Study recommendations include "no direct effect" clauses in deals as a way to essentially stop challenges to privacy standards and having the European Data Protection Supervisor or the European Court of Justice provide opinions on proposed agreements.

Privacy Shield, the trans-Atlantic data transfer pact just approved by the European Commission, is "a good thing," wrote Michelle Dennedy, Cisco chief privacy officer, in a Tuesday blog post. She said the new self-certification agreement (see 1607120001), unlike its predecessor, safe harbor, provides checks and balances in U.S. government access to data and improves transparency and accountability of companies. Cisco intends to sign up for Privacy Shield, said Dennedy, but the company will continue to offer other mechanisms like model contractual clauses (see 1607060009). "As much as this may feel like a big compliance headache, one thing is certain," she said. "Both sides of the Atlantic take the need to address EU privacy concerns very seriously. Ultimately, it will drive trust in business and confidence with customers, regulators and citizens alike, and that is always a good thing."