This is a reminder that the International Trade Administration, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Commerce Department all have useful information regarding the free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama that are awaiting implementation. ITA has a tool that allows users to search each of the pending FTAs by tariff number to see the resulting duty rates over time for qualifying goods. USTR has information on the pending FTAs by sector, as well as fact sheets, legal texts of the three agreements with duty rates, and the implementing legislation. Commerce also has overviews of each.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued its final determination regarding a petition filed pursuant to 19 CFR 177.13 by Yara North America, Inc. to reconcile inconsistent tariff classification decisions by CBP officials at the ports of Long Beach and Baltimore for CN-9 Solution. According to CBP’s final determination, the Port of Los Beach correctly classified the CN-9 solution as a fertilizer.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued its 2011 report to Congress on China's compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments and provided testimony on its findings. USTR’s major concerns include China’s lack of intellectual property rights enforcement; pursuit of nationalistic policies such as subsidies, export restraints, unique standards, and indigenous innovation; lack of transparency and predictability, especially in agricultural trade; and apparent discrimination against foreign enterprises.
On August 3, 2011, the Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule to create an Ammonium Nitrate Security Program to secure ammonium nitrate, which is primarily used in fertilizers, first aid products, and regulated commercial explosives in support of the construction and mining industries, but can also been used as a main component in powerful explosives for attacks, including terrorism. Written comments on the proposed rule are due by December 1, 2011, and DHS had announced in October eleven public meetings across the country on the proposed rule. DHS is now announcing another public meeting on the proposed rule, which is scheduled for November 17, 2011 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Rural Cellular Association officials urged the FCC to approve a 700 MHz interoperability mandate. The request came in a meeting with Wireless Bureau Chief Rick Kaplan and others at the agency. “As 700 MHz build-out deadlines loom, it becomes more important than ever to address this longstanding concern,” the group reported in a filing (http://xrl.us/bmfxft). “Along with the interference issues at Channel 51 and the continuing anticompetitive practice of device exclusivity, lack of interoperability in the 700 MHz band means that competitive carriers lack a fertile ecosystem that would allow them to bring the benefits of 4G technologies to their customers. As RCA explained, carriers require a clear and promising business proposition in order to move forward with build plans."
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a final rule that adopts as final (but with new general licenses authorizing certain food exports), a November 2009 interim final rule that made technical changes to sections of the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations (SSR) and the Iranian Transactions Regulations (ITR) regarding licensing of agricultural commodity, medicine, and medical device exports to Iran and Sudan. The final rule is effective October 12, 2011.
The International Trade Administration, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Commerce Department all have useful information regarding the pending free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama. ITA has a tool that allows users to search each of the pending FTAs by tariff number to see the resulting duty rates over time for qualifying goods. USTR also has information on the pending FTAs by sector, as well as fact sheets, legal texts of the three agreements with duty rates, and the implementing legislation. Commerce has overviews of each agreement.
LOS ANGELES -- There are “plenty of reasons” for the entertainment industry “to celebrate” the emergence of digital, Entertainment Merchants Association President Bo Andersen said Wednesday at the Digital Media Pipeline conference. There’s also “plenty of fertile ground for growth,” and the entertainment industry “depends on it,” he said. But analysts and executives from content companies, disc replicator Cinram and Blockbuster said digital business models for video content are too complex and varied now.
LOS ANGELES -- There are “plenty of reasons” for the entertainment industry “to celebrate” the emergence of digital, Entertainment Merchants Association President Bo Andersen said Wednesday at the Digital Media Pipeline conference. There’s also “plenty of fertile ground for growth,” and the entertainment industry “depends on it,” he said. But analysts and executives from content companies, disc replicator Cinram and Blockbuster said digital business models for video content are too complex and varied now.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products that may be considered technical barriers to trade. Broker Power delays its publication of these postings in IT Now for 2 - 3 weeks as there is often a delay until NIST makes the text of the regulations available.