The Federal Communications Commission provided extra time for parties to comment on a July 17 proposed rulemaking on updating the rules that govern the evaluation and approval of radiofrequency devices. The American National Standards Institute Accredited Standards Committee C63, Consumer Electronics Association, Information Technology Industry Council and Telecommunications Industry Association had sought extra time, citing the complexity of the proceeding (see 1508110024). “The Commission does not routinely grant extensions of time in rulemaking proceedings,” the FCC said (here). “However, we believe that extensions of the comment and reply comment deadlines will provide parties with an opportunity to more fully analyze and respond to the complex technical issues raised in this NPRM, thus allowing development of a more complete record in these proceedings.” Comments were due Sept. 9, replies Sept. 22. The new deadlines are Oct. 9 for comments, Nov. 9 for replies.
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments to aid its analysis on the economic impact of slashed duties on dozens of environmental goods (here). The U.S. is party to an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation pact that requires member countries cut tariffs on 54 environmentally-sound goods to five percent or less by the end of 2015. Those 54 goods are also the basis for negotiations of a World Trade Organization environmental goods agreement, launched in 2014 (see 14091812). The APEC list includes wind turbines, solar cells, pollution equipment and a wide range of other products (see 12092006). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative requested the analysis in early August, said the ITC. Comments are due by Oct. 2, and the ITC will hold a public hearing on Sept. 25. The agency expects to release its confidential report to USTR by Nov. 4.
The Energy Department on Aug. 25 issued a final rule amending energy efficiency test procedures for external power supplies (here). The new regulations harmonizes measurements of standby power with international standards programs, and clarifies which energy efficiency standards apply to classes of external power supplies. The amended test procedures are mandatory for any representations, such as in marketing materials and product labels, made on or after Feb. 22, 2016.
The Vietnamese devaluation of the dong in recent days is "further proof" the U.S. needs to include "enforceable" currency rules in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said on Aug. 21. "It’s time for USTR to admit its mistake and make sure the TPP includes enforceable currency rules that protect and support America’s working families," said Trumka in a statement. The AFL-CIO predicted devaluations in Asian currencies following the drop in the Chinese renminbi earlier in August (see 1508130010). The group of unions has aggressively called for both TPP currency rules and the enactment of legislation to authorize the Commerce Department to impose countervailing duties on imports from currency manipulators (see 1508180058). Vietnamese officials cut the dong by 1 percent against the U.S. dollar on Aug. 19 (see 1508200009). Vietnam is one of 12 TPP countries.
U.S. negotiators should secure a final Trans-Pacific Partnership pact with “nothing less” than 12 years of data exclusivity for biologic medicines, said senior official at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Stephen Ezell, in an op-ed in The Hill on Aug. 17. That lifespan for data exclusivity has remained a sticking point through the final stages of TPP negotiations, experts have said in citing unresolved TPP issues following the Maui summit at the end of July (see 1508030024). “At stake in the TPP is the viability of a global innovation system that affords the necessary underlying IP protections that incentivize innovators to undertake the tremendous risk and expense associated with developing breakthrough new medicines, while also providing a pathway for generics competition,” said Ezell (here). “Twelve years of data exclusivity protection for biologics is the right standard.”
The Federal Communications Commission should allow for more time for industry to consider some recently proposed changes to the agency certification requirements for radio frequency (RF) devices, said two telecom trade associations in a request for a comment deadline extension (here). Among other changes, the recently proposed rulemaking would end the requirement that importers of RF devices file certifications with CBP that their imports meet FCC import requirements (see 1508110024). The Telecommunications Industry Association and the Information Technology Industry Council asked that the FCC extend the comment and reply comment periods because "these questions address matters that raise a wide range of equipment approval issues of a technical, legal, and practical nature, impacting a diverse set of stakeholders, each of whom will need to closely analyze and consider the potential effect of the rule changes being considered." The "proposed changes directly impact the tens of thousands of [information and communications technology] products that must undergo the Commission’s Authorization process before marketing and sale is legal," the groups said.
The Energy Department set new energy efficiency standards for grid-enabled water heaters, in a final rule published in the Aug. 11 Federal Register. The new standard covers electric resistance water heaters made after April 16, 2015, with a tank over 75 gallons, an activation lock installed at manufacture, and a label. The final rule takes effect Aug. 11.
Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiating countries haven’t yet nailed down a date for the next TPP ministerial, and suggestions of another negotiating round in late August or September are unfounded, said Senior Vice President for Asian Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tami Overby, at a National Foreign Trade Council event on Aug. 7. Overby and NFTC Chairman Alan Wolf insisted, however, TPP negotiations won’t languish following the failure to lock down the final terms of a pact in Maui in late July (see 1508030024). Congress now isn’t likely to move on implementation legislation until 2016, said Wolf, who rattled off nearly a dozen unresolved areas. TPP parties continue to battle over dairy, sugar, biologics, auto rules of origin, rice, tobacco, investor-state dispute settlement application to specific industries, portions of the labor chapter, internet service provisions, state-owned enterprises, and currency, said Wolf.
A U.S. transition from the African Growth and Opportunity Act to free trade agreements with sub-Saharan Africa would take “many years to finalize and implement,” said the Government Accountability Office in a report on AGOA released in recent days. That transition would require the U.S. to establish “timeframes to end access to trade preference programs,” and U.S. officials would likely have to keep the scope of the agreements initially limited, said the summary for the report (here). President Barack Obama signed into law a ten-year AGOA renewal in late June, alongside renewal for the Generalized System of Preferences and other trade legislation (see 1506290045).
The Energy Department on Aug. 5 issued a final rule amending its energy efficiency test procedures for clothes washers (here). The changes, which according to DOE do not affect measured energy use, are mandatory for all representations on or after Feb. 1, 2016.