Two Taiwanese nationals were sentenced to prison for conspiracy to ship internationally protected black coral into the U.S. in violation of federal wildlife statutes, the Department of Justice announced. Ivan Chu of Taipei, Taiwan, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison and pay a $12,500 fine. Gloria Chu also of Taipei was sentenced to serve 20 months in prison and pay a $12,500 fine. These sentences, issued pursuant to the Endangered Species Act and Lacey Act, are the longest prison sentences for illegal trade in coral to date.
The Foreign Trade Zone Board is inviting public comment by July 12, 2010 on its staff's preliminary recommendation pertaining to the application by the Port of Moses Lake Public Corporation to establish a subzone at the REC Silicon facility in Moses Lake, Washington. Rebuttal comments are due by July 27, 2010.
U.S. and Angolan trade and development officials met on June 28, 2010 to discuss means for strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties. The U.S. Trade Representative reports that the meeting was the first held under the United States-Angola Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which was signed in May 2009. The TIFA provides a high-level forum for advancing cooperation on the full spectrum of trade and investment issues between the United States and Angola.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has issued a proposed rule to amend the Export Administration Regulations to add Export Control Classification Number 6A981 to the Commerce Control List, which would impose new foreign policy export and reexport controls on certain infrasound sensors.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has posted comments by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, Senator Max Baucus, the National Foreign Trade Council and others on the June 26, 2010 announcement that USTR Kirk would be initiating new discussions with Korea with the aim of resolving outstanding issues on the pending U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement by November.
The DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that trade using surface transportation between the U.S. and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 32.4 percent higher in April 2010 than in April 2009, reaching $65.8 billion. This June 29, 2010 release also states that the 32.4 percent increase is the third consecutive monthly increase of at least 24 percent from the previous year.
The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on nanotechnology which concludes that nanomaterials are already widely used in commerce, but the Environmental Protection Agency faces challenges in regulating their risks.
The Department of Energy has issued a supplemental notice containing additional language and definitions to its December 2008 proposed rule to amend test procedures for residential clothes dryers and room air conditioners to provide for measurement of standby mode and off mode power use. DOE will hold a public meeting on July 14, 2010, and comments are due by August 30.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has announced that Plane Cargo Inc. (PCI), a freight forwarder located in Houston, TX, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $ 5,200 to settle one allegation that it violated the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations.
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation concluded an agreement on June 22, 2010 enabling the Ukrainian Development Network (UDN), a business consulting organization based in Kyiv, to serve as an originator for a growing alliance with the private sector designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expanding into emerging markets overseas.