The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released results Wednesday of its 2016 Special 301 out-of-cycle review on IP infringement, which redesignated major Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba and its Taobao online shopping arm to its blacklist. The annual report included Alibaba/Taobao among 21 online markets, along with ExtraTorrent, The Pirate Bay, Putlocker and other websites that have repeatedly appeared in the USTR rankings. The document also included 19 physical markets engaged in selling counterfeit copyrighted materials, including six markets in China.
The U.S. is considering reinstatement of tariffs on certain imports from the EU, in connection with alleged EU discrimination against U.S. beef exports, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement (here). An agreement signed by the EU and U.S. in 2009 to allow EU imports of non-hormone-treated U.S. beef “has not worked as intended,” USTR said in its statement (see 09050705). The agreement was renewed in 2013, and expired Aug. 2, 2015 (see 13102316). Before any trade action, USTR will examine the anticipated effectiveness of imposing tariffs and other possible actions, including against non-beef EU products, as well as the effects on the U.S. economy and consumers, USTR said (here).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released results Wednesday of its 2016 Special 301 out-of-cycle review on IP infringement, which redesignated major Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba and its Taobao online shopping arm to its blacklist. The annual report included Alibaba/Taobao among 21 online markets, along with ExtraTorrent, The Pirate Bay, Putlocker and other websites that have repeatedly appeared in the USTR rankings. The document also included 19 physical markets engaged in selling counterfeit copyrighted materials, including six markets in China.
Green Monday, traditionally the third largest holiday shopping day behind Black Friday and Cyber Monday, brought more Apple discounts to consumers. Apple has been active with promotions since the holiday season began in November (see 1611010039) and that continued last weekend with a two-day exclusive Best Buy sale leading up to Green Monday (see 1612080074).
President-elect Donald Trump's hard-line trade stance expressed throughout his campaign is seen by some as more of a negotiating tactic than a clear indicator of likely policy changes. While scholars still wonder how Trump would react if such talks don’t meet his goals, there's much debate as to what authority the president has to enact many of the Trump campaign promises. Among other things, Trump has said the U.S. should renegotiate NAFTA (see 1611100040), collect up to 45 percent tariffs to counter alleged Chinese currency manipulation (see 1601150029), and raise tariffs on companies that move operations overseas, withdrawing from the World Trade Organization if it disapproves of that policy (see 1607260043). Withdrawing from the WTO seems the least likely of those proposals, but a greater effort to engage China from a Trump administration is especially likely, observers said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Oct. 28 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables and flowers.
The FCC approved an order in August implementing a provision in the 2015 budget law, which allows robocalls to cellphones for purposes of government debt collection (see 1608110038), FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a letter to House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn. The FCC released the Sept. 27 letter Thursday. “Last month, in accordance with Section 301's statutory deadline, the Commission adopted an order establishing rules for federal debt collection robocalls,” Wheeler said. In a July letter, Kline raised concerns about the ability to collect federal debt, particularly student loan debt, of entities working for the government. “The new rules limit the number of federal debt collection robocalls, including text messages, to three per month,” Wheeler said. “As you point out, when live contact is made, the servicer should be able to make future contact as necessary with the borrower's permission. Consistent with this approach, the order states that callers may make additional calls so long as they obtain the consent of the debtor or contact consumers without making a robocall.”
The FCC approved an order in August implementing a provision in the 2015 budget law, which allows robocalls to cellphones for purposes of government debt collection (see 1608110038), FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a letter to House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn. The FCC released the Sept. 27 letter Thursday. “Last month, in accordance with Section 301's statutory deadline, the Commission adopted an order establishing rules for federal debt collection robocalls,” Wheeler said. In a July letter, Kline raised concerns about the ability to collect federal debt, particularly student loan debt, of entities working for the government. “The new rules limit the number of federal debt collection robocalls, including text messages, to three per month,” Wheeler said. “As you point out, when live contact is made, the servicer should be able to make future contact as necessary with the borrower's permission. Consistent with this approach, the order states that callers may make additional calls so long as they obtain the consent of the debtor or contact consumers without making a robocall.”
The FCC apparently held an all-hands meeting Friday for staff to decide how to proceed on complaints against cellsite simulators that authorities use for surveillance, industry officials told us. A day earlier, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a memorandum arguing the use of the simulators by police is widespread. They urged the FCC to issue an enforcement advisory to end the use of the simulators immediately. The agency didn't comment.
The FCC apparently held an all-hands meeting Friday for staff to decide how to proceed on complaints against cellsite simulators that authorities use for surveillance, industry officials told us. A day earlier, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a memorandum arguing the use of the simulators by police is widespread. They urged the FCC to issue an enforcement advisory to end the use of the simulators immediately. The agency didn't comment.