On February 28, 2012 Commerce Secretary Bryson held a joint meeting of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee and the Export Promotion Cabinet to discuss strategic priorities for promoting trade and U.S. exports and receive input on new initiatives. He highlighted the progress with the National Export Initiative and the need to strengthen efforts to continue to increase U.S. exports. The groups discussed the President’s Executive Order establishing the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center, which will be the primary forum for the federal government to coordinate enforcement of international and domestic trade rules.
Brian Feito
Brian Feito is Managing Editor of International Trade Today, Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. A licensed customs broker who spent time at the Department of Commerce calculating antidumping and countervailing duties, Brian covers a wide range of subjects including customs and trade-facing product regulation, the courts, antidumping and countervailing duties and Mexico and the European Union. Brian is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2012.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that two Codex electronic working groups (eWG) will be meeting to discuss control of zoonotic parasites and Nutrient Reference Values for labeling purposes.
The International Trade Administration has published its quarterly list of (i) completed antidumping and countervailing duty scope rulings and anticircumvention determinations; and (ii) pending scope inquiries and anticircumvention rulings.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, together with more than 30 trade associations and business groups, sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on DOJ’s expected guidance on enforcement under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The letter calls for DOJ to address key definitions under the statute, corporate compliance programs in enforcement decisions, and parent-subsidiary and successor liability, and to establish an exception for de minimis gifts, among other considerations.
The International Trade Administration has initiated an administrative review for certain firms subject to the antidumping duty order on wooden bedroom furniture from China. The ITA intends to issue the final results of this review not later than January 31, 2013.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Codex Task Force on Animal Feeding concluded its Sixth Session in Berne, Switzerland on February 24, 2012. The Task Force focused on drafting Proposed Guidelines on the Application of Risk Assessment for Feed and the proposed Prioritized List of Hazards in Feed.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board has issued a final rule, effective April 30, 20121, to comprehensively revise and update the Foreign Trade Zone regulations in 15 CFR Part 400. Key revisions in the final rule pertain to activities in and procedures for zones in which an imported component is combined with one or more other components to create a different finished product, and expedited access to FTZ benefits for U.S. manufacturers.
The International Trade Administration has issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review of fresh garlic from China (A-570-831). The final results continue the China-wide AD cash deposit rate at the same amount, effective February 27, 2012. A message from U.S. Customs and Border Protection is expected soon.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a final rule, effective February 27, 2012, amending the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations (IFSR) and reissuing them in their entirety, in order to, among other things, implement section 1245(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012 (NDAA), which provides for the imposition of sanctions with respect to the Central Bank of Iran and designated Iranian financial institutions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued General License No. 5a under the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR 544), Iranian Transactions Regulations (31 CFR 560), and Executive Order 13599 on "Blocking Property of the Government of Iran and Iranian Financial Institutions," to authorize certain transactions related to the arrest in Mundra, India, detention, and judicial sale of the MV Dianthe, a vessel on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list. Such transactions include, but are not limited to: (i) bidding on the purchase of the vessels; (ii) paying deposits; (iii) providing financing, insurance, or funding in connection with the purchase; (iv) repairing or modifying the Vessel for commercial use; etc. This authorization expires on November 30, 2012.