The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a statement that although the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed that an older dairy cow from Alberta has tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the USDA remains confident that measures that Canada has in place, combined with existing U.S. safeguards and additional safeguards announced as part of the USDA's BSE minimal-risk regions final rule, provide the utmost protections. (USDA Release No. 0001.05, dated 01/03/05, available at http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2005/01/0001.xml)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice requesting written comments on its Special 301 out-of-cycle review of China regarding intellectual property rights (IPR).
On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed into law the conference version of H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 (Public Law (P.L.) 108-429).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that will require the establishment and maintenance of records by persons (except farms, restaurants, and certain others) who manufacture, import, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, or hold food in the U.S. This final rule takes effect February 7, 2005.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that will require the establishment and maintenance of records by persons (except farms, restaurants, and certain others) who manufacture, import, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, or hold food in the U.S.
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 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 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)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule, effective September 16, 2005, that APHIS states will affect all persons using regulated wood packaging material (regulated WPM) in connection with importing goods into the U.S.