The Federal Maritime Commission plans to amend its rules on the service of private party complaints and the filing of confidential information, the agency said in a notice (here). The amended service rules would clarify that the FMC will use U.S. mail or express mail to serve the complaint, said the FMC. The updated rule will continue "to allow for alternative service by other means by the Complainant but specifies that it may only do so after the complaint has been filed with the Commission and must inform the Commission of the method, time, and place of service," it said. The revision on confidentiality would make "segregation and clear marking of confidential and non-confidential information" a requirement. The final rule will be effective June 24, "unless significant adverse comments are filed prior to May 26," the agency said.
President Barack Obama nominated Patricia Loui-Schmicker for another term on the Export-Import Bank board of directors, the White House said on March 12 (here).
The U.S. embargo against Cuba is worsening the challenges normal Cubans face and normalization of ties would bring improvements, said USAEngage Vice President Richard Sawaya in a March 11 blog. Sawaya hit back at congressional and other critics of President Barack Obama’s decision to ease relations. Obama took executive action to break down bilateral trade and diplomatic barriers in December (see 1412170032). Since then, his administration has removed impediments to U.S. trade and commerce with Cuba (see 1502170033). “The U.S. and Cuban governments can attempt to negotiate the resumption of normal diplomatic relations,” said Sawaya (here). “Under the limited abilities for commerce afforded by President Obama’s executive action, the ball is indubitably in the Cuban regime’s court: to enable or not? And, if the embargo were by a miracle of political commonsense to be lifted by congressional action, then the spotlight for improving the Cuban economy would be placed squarely and visibly on Cuba.” Some U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation to normalize relations (see 1502170022).
The Fish and Wildlife Service banned importation of four types of snakes, including the reticulated python, in a final rule issued March 10 (here). Effective April 9, FWS is adding the reticulated python (Python reticulatus), DeSchauensee's anaconda (Eunectes deschauenseei), green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), and Beni anaconda (Eunectes beniensis) to the list of injurious wildlife, prohibiting importation and interstate movement of any live animals, gamete, viable egg or hybrid. FWS said the ban is necessary to prevent introduction of the invasive species.
The U.S. proposal for 12 years of certain data exclusivity in the Trans-Pacific Partnership is critical to ensuring U.S. companies continue to manufacture life-saving pharmaceutical medications, said a number of industry representatives on a March 9 conference call with reporters. U.S. law currently honors the 12-year level, and businesses and researchers will benefit from that consistency, said National Association of Manufacturers trade expert Linda Dempsey on the call. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the controversial healthcare overhaul, put that threshold into place in recent years (here).
The Energy Department won’t enforce penalties on shipments of products that miss compliance dates for new energy efficiency and water conservation standards because they were held up due to delays at West Coast ports, it said in a notice issued Feb. 27 (here). With compliance dates for several new standards approaching in March, DOE said it has received reports from multiple importers that covered products were shipped with a “reasonable expectation” that they would arrive before the compliance date, but were delayed by port closures in February. As a result of the delays, some shipments of covered products won’t meet the standards in place at time of entry. DOE said it will not seek civil penalties on such shipments, as long as the importer provides it with the following information by July 1:
The labor enforcement mechanism for Honduras in the Central American Free Trade Agreement may be falling short in bringing real change to labor conditions and policy in the country, said the U.S. Labor Department in a study released on Feb. 27 that cited a number of labor violations in Honduras. Both countries vowed to strengthen labor rules in Honduras in a joint statement (here), and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said the report shows the U.S. aims to enforce labor commitments from trade partners. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka also praised the effort to uncover labor violations, but said the findings suggest the U.S. isn’t prepared to enforce labor rules in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “As the United States negotiates [new] agreements, it must include new rules and labor protections that end impunity, improve law enforcement, are applied in a timely manner, and reduce the overwhelming influence of corporations and investors,” said Trumka in a statement (here). “Without enforceable rules, trade will continue to facilitate a race to the bottom in wages and working conditions for all workers—which will result in continued social and economic turmoil – not just in places like Honduras, but across the globe.”
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is poised to fall far short of adequately addressing labor rights abuses in Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei, all of which are parties to Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, said the AFL-CIO in a scathing report released on Feb. 26 (here). To date, the U.S. is taking steps in the right direction by directing free trade agreement partners to honor the fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization by passing laws consistent with those principles, but U.S. FTAs don’t force partners to adopt ILO conventions.
MIAMI -- As countries across the globe move ahead with trade facilitation and modernization initiatives, governments can’t relent in the drive to remove paperwork from all customs and regulatory filing, said several North American and European trade logistics officials at the International Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Council for International Business symposium on Feb. 23. Automation is indispensable in those initiatives, said the officials.
Trade Promotion Authority opponents are against U.S. trade in general, said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue in a speech on Feb. 23 (here). Trade has fueled a boost in U.S. manufacturing, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are poised to add growth to the U.S. economy, said Donohue. “We need to do all we can to make the case for more American exports,” he said. “We need to reframe the debate and get the facts out. We need to acknowledge and address the legitimate points raised by trade opponents.”