The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule, effective December 10, 2004, to amend its regulations at 7 CFR 319.56 on the importation of fruits and vegetables 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 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule, effective November 22, 2004, amending its regulations at 7 CFR Parts 319 and 322 on the importation of honeybees, honeybee semen, bees other than honeybees, certain beekeeping byproducts, and used beekeeping equipment.
The U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) has issued a Textile Development Memo stating that on October 27, 2004, domestic groups filed a seventh China textile safeguard petition, this time for combed cotton yarn (Cat 301). (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/22/04 news, 04102215, for BP summary of the Office of Textiles and Apparel's (OTEXA's) list of recently filed petitions for China safeguard quotas.) (TDM, dated 10/28/04, www.usaita.com)
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued an interim rule, effective October 20, 2004, which amends 7 CFR Part 319 in order to impose restrictions on the importation from Canada of pine shoot beetle (Tomicus peniperda) host material, such as pine nursery stock, and pine products (such as cut pine Christmas trees, pine logs, etc.) that consist of pine bark or have pine bark attached.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a notice announcing that it is launching two pilot programs that will open CPSC staff activities for public review and comment. The CPSC has launched these programs in an effort to increase the transparency and openness of CPSC staff voluntary standards activities and CPSC staff and CPSC-sponsored research.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the regulations at 10 CFR Part 110 pertaining to the export and import of nuclear equipment and radioactive materials.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice requesting electronic comments on its Special 301 out-of-cycle reviews of Malaysia, Poland, and Taiwan regarding intellectual property rights (IPR).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing a new government-wide initiative, known as the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!), to fight global trade in pirated and counterfeit goods.
The Journal of Commerce Online reports that the container congestion that has affected the Los Angeles - Long Beach harbor for the past three months will continue for at least four to eight weeks, or even longer, due to higher than projected cargo volumes, compounded by lack of capacity on railroads serving the docks and a severe shortage of longshore labor. (JoC Online, dated 09/29/04, www.joc.com)
Federal agency efforts to enforce intellectual property trade agreements other than through a longstanding review process have been largely unsuccessful, a Hill panel was told Thurs. The Govt. Accountability Office (GAO), asked by the House Govt. Reform Committee to examine the issue, told the committee in a report and testimony that inter-agency govt. efforts such as the National Intellectual Property law Enforcement Coordination Council (NIPLECC) has failed to make a dent in the billions of dollars the content industry loses every year to piracy abroad, which the Internet is enabling. Rep. Simmons (R-Conn.), testifying at the hearing as a witness, put it in stronger terms: “You can pass all the laws you want but if there’s no enforcement… if there’s no punishment for doing that, it’s a worthless piece of paper.”