The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule, effective December 18, 2006, which amends 7 CFR Part 319 in order to list a number of fruits and vegetables from certain parts of the world as eligible, under specified conditions, for importation into the U.S.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has posted a notice to its Web site that will establish quotas for certain textile and apparel articles produced or manufactured in Vietnam that are exported from Vietnam during the period of January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) that discusses a broad range of regulatory approaches that could be used to reduce portable generator-related deaths and injuries, particularly those related to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, that could result in mandatory performance standards for portable generators. Written comments must be received by February 12, 2007.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a press release announcing that it is delaying the November 24, 2006 effective date and establishing a staggered implementation for the collection of agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) user fees for inspections of Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables, commercial vessels, vehicles, railroad cars and aircraft, as well as international passengers entering the U.S. from Canada.
International Trade Data Users (ITDU) has announced that it will hold a conference on the 2007 Harmonized Code changes on December 5, 2007 in Washington, DC. The conference will be followed by a Trade Data Workshop, on December 6, discussing details of trade data; definitions, collections, what's available, and how to get it. The cost for the general public is $125 for the conference only, $150 for the workshop only, and $250 for both the conference and the workshop. (See ITDU's Web site, www.itdu.org, for agendas, cost and registration information, etc.) (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/03/06 news, 06110305, for BP reminder on the 2007 HTS changes.)
Indonesia improved its intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement, moving off the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Priority Watch List for regimes with egregious IPR records and onto USTR’s normal watch list for countries with inadequate IPR protection. USTR this week completed its out-of-cycle review for Indonesia. Indonesia enforced rules aimed at fighting illegal optical disc plants with better licensing and raids on facilities and outlets suspected of piracy, USTR said. The ministry-level National Intellectual Property Task Force launched to coordinate IPR enforcement among agencies and raise public awareness. Indonesia isn’t out of the woods, USTR warned, saying it could land back on the “priority” list without “sustained efforts and continued progress on key IPR issues.” Indonesia has been on the Special 301 since 2001.
The Department of Commerce (DOC) has issued a press release announcing that on September 28, 2006, the Bush Administration released the 2006 Report to President and Congress on Coordination of Intellectual Property (IP) Enforcement and Protection.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a notice of its intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to analyze methyl bromide usage associated with regulatory requirements for importing solid wood packing material (WPM) into the U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a proposed rule that would amend its regulations governing foreign and domestic drug establishment registration and listing for human drugs, including drugs that are regulated under a biologics license application, and animal drugs. Among other things, FDA's proposed rule would require electronic submission of all registration and most listing information rather than the current practice of submitting this information on paper forms.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice announcing that it is seeking public comments and has scheduled a public meeting for December 5, 2006 on the regulation of certain conventional foods that companies are marketing as "functional foods."