The Food and Drug Administration has issued an Import Alert and press release announcing that it will start detaining farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace, and eel from China until such shipments are proven to be free of residues from drugs that are not approved in the U.S. for use in farm-raised aquatic animals.
The Office of Textiles and Apparel has posted updated information in the "Hot Issues" section of its Web site regarding issues affecting U.S. textile and apparel exporters. OTEXA provides updated information searchable by country, date, etc.
On June 15, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2638, the fiscal year (FY) 2008 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, by a vote of 268 to 150. (Congressional Record dated 06/15/07, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r110:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20070615).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued an interim rule, effective June 1, 2007, which amends 7 CFR Part 319 to prohibit or restrict the importation of certain articles from Canada that present a risk of being infested with emerald ash borer (EAB).
Tweeter is weighing sale of the chain to private investors among options for reorganizing the bankrupt retailer, company officials said. Purchase of Tweeter could occur within 8 weeks as the chain weighs “any and all” restructuring strategies, including refinancing, an equity investment or sale, CFO Gregory Hunt said in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Wilmington, Del.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a notice announcing the availability of and seeking comments on a document entitled, "Interim Melamine and Melamine Analogues Safety/Risk Assessment."
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a notice reopening the comment period on its draft supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzing methyl bromide usage associated with regulatory requirements for importing wood packaging material (WPM) into the U.S.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued an interim rule, effective June 1, 2007, which amends 7 CFR 319.40-3(b) regarding the U.S. methyl bromide treatment requirements for wood packaging materials (WPM) in order to conform to the International Plant Protection Convention standards.
The House Ways and Means Committee has issued a press release announcing that on May 17, 2007, a bipartisan group of 42 lawmakers filed a Section 301 petition calling on the U.S. Trade Representative to take strong action to end China's continued undervaluation of its currency, and to consider taking action against the undervalued Japanese yen. The press release notes that members of Congress filed similar requests with the Bush Administration in September 2004 and April 2005. (Committee press release, dated 05/17/07, available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news.asp?formmode=release&id=515.)
In making final BPL rules, the FCC tossed aside, “without even acknowledging the change, let alone justifying it,” 70 years of precedent that Sec. 301 of the Communications Act allows operation of unlicensed devices only when they can’t interfere harmfully with licensed operations, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) said in a brief to the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. The ARRL wants the court to set aside the 2004 FCC BPL report and order and an Aug. 2005 reconsideration order. NAB and MSTV support ARRL. The United Telecom Council and BPL providers like Current Communications back the FCC.