The Online Trust Alliance is welcoming experts from private and public industry to join its initiative to develop a security, privacy and sustainability trust framework for IoT devices, it said in a Wednesday news release. OTA said the framework is intended to provide clarity and confidence to consumers as they shop and use connected devices, with an initial focus on the connected home and wearable/fitness technologies. OTA hopes the framework will be used as a basis for a potential certification program for IoT devices and applications, it said. A draft will be shared in a panel at the TRUSTe IoT privacy summit June 17, it said. “With the rapid introduction of Internet of Things products into the market, we must ensure that security and privacy best practices are integrated to maximize consumer protection,” said OTA Executive Director Craig Spiezle. “According to preliminary data from OTA’s forthcoming Online Trust Audit, 14 percent of leading IoT products did not have a discoverable privacy policy for consumers to review prior to purchase,” Spiezle said. “We welcome industry leaders to join in the multi-stakeholder effort to raise the bar and make security, privacy and sustainability key product attributes.” OTA’s next full working group meeting is June 16 in Mountain View, California. Leaders in the security and privacy community, app developers, manufacturers and international retailers were invited to provide input. TRUSTe CEO Chris Babel welcomed OTA’s initiative to extend the work of the IoT Privacy Tech Working Group to include the security and sustainability issues arising out of the explosion of data collection from connected devices, he said. “Considering that 79 percent of U.S. consumers are concerned about data collected by connected devices, we urge companies to join this important endeavor to develop clear standards for privacy and security in the Internet of Things.”
The Commerce Department is extending until Aug. 7 the deadline for its preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigations on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin from China (C-570-025), India (C-533-862) and Oman (C-523-811) (here). The agency decided to postpone after receiving a request from the group of U.S. chemical manufacturers that requested the investigation. The preliminary determination was originally due June 3. Cash deposits of estimated CV duties can only be collected after the preliminary determination, although they can be made retroactive 90 days from the preliminary determination if Commerce finds companies are increasing exports before cash deposit requirements are imposed.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on honey from China (A-570-863) (here). Commerce assigned all three exporters under review to the China-wide entity with an AD duty rate of $2.63 per kilogram. New cash deposit rates for these companies take effect May 14.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on non-malleable cast iron pipe fittings from China (A-570-875) (here). Commerce assigned the only exporter under review, Overseas Industrial Corporation, to the China-wide entity, with an AD duty rate of 75.5%. The new cash deposit rate for the company takes effect May 14.
On May 11 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Commerce Department issued the final results of its antidumping duty administrative review on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from Mexico (A-201-830) (here). For entries on or after May 12, Commerce is setting a 2.13% AD duty cash deposit rate for Deacero S.A.P.I. de C.V. and Deacero USA, Inc. All other exporters of subject merchandise will continue to get the cash deposit rate set for them in their most recently completed review, and companies that have never been assigned an AD duty rate will get the 20.11% all others rate.
Following Thursday's 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the intelligence community’s bulk collection of metadata wasn't legal on statutory grounds (see 1505070041), the question remains how to proceed and how transparent that community should be, said experts the next day. A “little sunshine can make quite a big difference in how these programs are evaluated,” said Patrick Toomey, American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project staff attorney, at a Sunlight Foundation event. Toomey represented the ACLU in its case against the government and said the government uses standing and state secrets rules to hide information.
Following Thursday's 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the intelligence community’s bulk collection of metadata wasn't legal on statutory grounds (see 1505070041), the question remains how to proceed and how transparent that community should be, said experts the next day. A “little sunshine can make quite a big difference in how these programs are evaluated,” said Patrick Toomey, American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project staff attorney, at a Sunlight Foundation event. Toomey represented the ACLU in its case against the government and said the government uses standing and state secrets rules to hide information.
House Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., called on Congress on May 8 to debate and vote on trade legislation separately, pitting him against Senate Democrats who recently urge leadership in the chamber to roll the four trade bills into one package. Trade Promotion Authority, Trade Adjustment Assistance, a preference package, including renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences, and Customs Reauthorization all moved through committees in both chambers in late April.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on pure magnesium from China (A-570-832) (here). Commerce again found the only respondent, affiliated companies Tianjin Magnesium International, Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Magnesium Metal Co., Ltd. (TMI/TMM), had no shipments of subject merchandise to the U.S. during the period of review. As such, this company's AD cash deposit rate will remain at the zero percent rate set for TMI/TMM in the most recent prior administrative review in 2013 (see 13123126).