In the October 4, 2011 edition of the Official Journal, the European Union published a new regulation repealing certain proof of origin requirements for textile products that are imported from third countries. The EU states the origin certification and declaration requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1541/98 of July 1998 on proof of origin for certain textile products are not needed as customs requires the country of origin of imported products in all cases to be indicated in Box 34 of the Single Administrative Document.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recalls for Oct. 5, 2011:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced its weekly meeting on October 12, 2011 in which the staff briefs the Commission on various compliance matters. The meeting is closed to the public, and the agenda is confidential.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is scheduled to vote on October 12, 2011 on four significant and related draft notices on testing, certification, and labeling of consumer products. A live webcast of the meeting will be able to be viewed here.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recall for Oct. 4, 2011:
The National Textile Association states that it has been approached by a manufacturer seeking sources for certain circular knit, three-end fleece fabric. The fabrics will be used in a program in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) region, and requires fabrics knitted and finished in the DR-CAFTA region and composed of yarn made in the region.
The Commerce Department's Office of Textiles and Apparel has posted a notice saying that on September 15, 2011, the Turkish Government published the outcome of its safeguard investigations on certain woven fabrics and apparel and apparel accessories. Also on September 15, 2011, the Turkish Council of Ministers approved implementation of additional customs tariffs outlined in Official Gazette Communique no. 2011/2203.
Three Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued statements on their vote on September 28, 2011 to revoke their April 2010 interpretation of “unblockable drain,” as set forth in the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. Nord states that in revoking this interpretation, CPSC goes beyond mere revocation: it directs enforcement staff to deem as noncompliant any pool that complied with the former interpretation but lacks a second device or system to prevent entrapment. She believes this reinterpretation violates basic principles of rulemaking procedures, imposes large costs on pool operators, and detracts from the safety of swimmers. Adler and Tenenbaum state that with this change, they have now implemented the law as Congress intended and are better protecting the public from drowning hazards.
This is a reminder that the Agricultural Marketing Service’s August 2011 final rule amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations to increase the supplemental assessment rate for imported cotton takes effect September 30, 2011. The final rule also revises the textile trade conversion factors used to determine the raw fiber equivalents of imported cotton-containing products and triples the number of HTS numbers subject to assessment.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is scheduled to vote on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on table saws in an October 5, 2011 open meeting. A live webcast of the meeting can be viewed here.