Customs and Border Protection seized counterfeit mobile phone accessories March 14 at the Charleston seaport that would be worth about $1.1 million if legitimate, the agency said on Tuesday in a news release. CBP said the merchandise, which included phone cases, chargers, cables and headphones, "arrived into the port from China and was destined for upstate South Carolina." Some 38,000 counterfeit power adapters with FCC marking, "signifying they’d been tested in an accredited FCC laboratory and met certain operating standards," were also seized, said CBP. "These were found to be unauthorized markings as well -- a potentially significant safety risk to unwitting consumers."
The National Consumers League asked the FCC to refresh its record on “bill shock” from international mobile roaming (IMR) rates. NCL reported on a meeting with Rachael Bender, aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in a filing in docket 10-207. “Some wireless carriers have begun to introduce more affordable IMR options,” the group said. “These plans still amount to a significant financial burden for too many travelers. We pointed to efforts by regulators in the European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council to address IMR affordability and educate consumers about alternatives to using IMR services.”
The SEC won't enforce a rule that requires companies to declare when products aren't conflict mineral free, the Corporation Finance Division said. It follows a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruling that the requirement violates the First Amendment. The SEC will now decide how to implement the Dodd-Frank Act provisions that mandated conflict minerals reporting. "In light of the … regulatory uncertainties, until these issues are resolved, it is difficult to conceive of a circumstance that would counsel in favor of enforcing Item 1.01(c) of Form SD,” Acting SEC Chairman Michael Piwowar said Friday. Last week, a tech group sought reporting changes, at a hearing (see 1704070017).
Younger viewers increasingly opting for global online subscription VOD services like Netflix for their TV content over regional broadcasters could put national identity "at risk as the young are continually exposed to different cultural values than their home," said nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon in a blog post Wednesday. The BBC's iPlayer is facing slowing growth and losing ground to Netflix, and BBC made its BBC 3 channel online only in a bid to try to gain younger viewers, who increasingly are online, he said. Denmark's largest broadcaster, TV2, has seen linear TV consumption plummet while online TV viewing there has growing rapidly since 2014, though it has seen some success with its TV2 Play over-the-top service, the analyst said.
The World Customs Organization said a recent U.S. increase in e-commerce considered de minimis in trade rules spurred challenges in global trading. The continuous increase in online trading necessitates a broad, international customs approach to deal with regulation, consumer protection, revenue collection and national security, WCO reported. Technological solutions are developing to address e-commerce challenges, with automated systems. The WCO launched an e-commerce site for related information, including ongoing work of the WCO’s multistakeholder Working Group on E-Commerce, the WCO said Friday.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative highlighted concerns about other countries' adoption of data localization laws and other barriers to digital trade, in its annual National Trade Estimate report Friday. Other identified digital trade barriers included restrictions on “digital products, Internet-enabled services, and other restrictive technology requirements,” USTR said. The office included a digital trade barriers section on every country included in the NTE. BSA|The Software Alliance praised USTR for including digital trade barriers. “Eliminating barriers that prevent BSA members and other US companies from providing their products and services around the world is critical,” said BSA President Victoria Espinel in a statement.
If the Trump administration pushes through a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it should be mindful of implications for telecom, said Stuart Brotman, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in a blog post. The telecom provisions have probably done more good than harm, Brotman wrote Friday. “They include a ‘bill of rights’ for providers and users of telecommunications services that cover access to public telecommunications services; connection to private lines that reflect economic costs and availability of flat-rate pricing; and the right to choose, purchase, or lease terminal equipment.” One approach would be to take the telecom provisions off the table, but a better path might be to expand their scope to focus on trade barriers, Brotman said. “Barriers such as international roaming rates for mobile calls, restrictions on cross-border transfer of digital information (such as electronic payments and digital signatures), and the forced localization of data centers have a detrimental impact on American companies,” he wrote. “The Trump administration would be well-advised to advocate for a broader bill of rights that adheres to the notion of freedom of choice. It should uphold the ability of U.S. companies to offer their world-class information services in Canada and Mexico. Such a position may be easier to gain in a renegotiated agreement since the other items on the NAFTA version 2.0 agenda (e.g., tariffs) undoubtedly will receive greater scrutiny and are likely to be far more contentious.”
Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security removed ZTE from a trade blacklist after the company pleaded guilty earlier this month to export-related violations (see 1703230038). BIS added one Chinese individual to the entity list, Shi Lirong, who was ZTE CEO when company documents that had detailed the firm's illicit export plan were signed. Those documents indicated ZTE organized a scheme to establish shell companies to Iran in violation of U.S. export control laws, BIS said in Wednesday's Federal Register.
The U.K. informed the European Council of its intention to exit the EU, after British Prime Minister Theresa May signed Article 50 triggering the two-year legal process for Brexit negotiations. In a statement to British Parliament Wednesday, May pledged to pursue a "bold and ambitious" free trade agreement with the EU and outside countries, including the "fastest-growing export markets in the world." "Europe has a responsibility to stand up for free trade in the interests of all our citizens," she said. Brexit hasn't affected the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield deal (see 1606280024) but may affect telecom and tech otherwise (see 1606240021 and 1606220001).
British regulator Ofcom will fine BT 42 million pounds (about $52.3 million) for a "serious breach" of rules in not properly paying other telecom providers for its "delays in connecting high-speed business lines." An investigation into BT's network arm, Openreach, found that in 2013-2014, "BT misused the terms of its contracts to reduce compensation payments owed to other telecoms providers for failing to deliver ‘Ethernet’ services on time," said an Ofcom Sunday release, saying the company agreed to compensate the affected companies. The regulator said BT violated rules addressing its "significant market power," in which other companies rely on its network to provide services. Ofcom opened the investigation in November 2015, shortly after Vodafone made allegations against BT, which will also be fined 300,000 pounds (about $374,000) for falling to provide information to Ofcom. BT acknowledged the Ofcom findings into the "use of 'Deemed Consent' by" Openreach. "Deemed Consent is an agreed process between Openreach and its Communications Provider customers. It allows Openreach to halt the installation and reschedule the delivery date for providing dedicated business services (known as Ethernet) in a number of specific circumstances beyond its control," said a BT release Monday that estimated the compensation to other providers at about 300 million pounds (about $374 million). "We apologise wholeheartedly for the mistakes Openreach made in the past when processing orders for a number of high-speed business connections. “This shouldn’t have happened and we fully accept Ofcom’s findings," said Openreach CEO Clive Selley.