The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission announces open meetings in Washington, DC on August 11-12, 2010, September 14-15, 2010, September 29-30, 2010, and October 12-14, 2010, to consider the first and later rounds of drafts of material for its 2010 Annual Report to Congress that have been prepared for its consideration, and to make modifications to those drafts.
The Coalition of Service Industries will holding its annual Global Services Summit on September 22, 2010 in Washington, DC. The Summit, which is on "Breaking the Deadlock on Services Trade and Investment," will feature speakers such as U.S. Commerce Secretary Locke, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk, World Trade Organization Director General Lamy, House Ways and Means Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Camp, and various foreign trade ministers.
The Foreign Agricultural Service has issued a July 2010 report on world dairy trade. While the U.S. has long been an attractive market for dairy imports, in recent years, imports both on a fat and skim milk equivalent basis have been declining. In terms of fat basis imports, this decline has been particularly pronounced with respect to cheeses. It appears that the historically attractive price margin created by high U.S. cheese prices relative to world prices has diminished leading foreign exporters to shift their focus to emerging markets. For skim solids, U.S. imports dropped rapidly in 2009 and are expected to drop further in 2010. Imports of skim solids are largely accounted for by casein, milk protein concentrates and whey products. The same factors affecting cheese imports are probably responsible for skim's fall.
Export.Gov is announcing that the Commerce Department will hold a conference on Measuring Services Trade Data and Information on September 14, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Discussions will cover areas for improvement and innovation in the collection and dissemination of data. Policy leaders from the Bureau of Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as private sector innovators in the services information arena will be in attendance.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announces meetings in Madison, WI, Atlanta, GA, and Pasco, WA, to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to offer their input on the new framework being developed for animal disease traceability. The meetings will be held on August 18, 20, and 24, 2010, respectively.
In conjunction with the State Department's designation of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, the Treasury Department has designated HUJI's commander, Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, for supporting acts of terrorism and for acting for or on behalf of HUJI pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which freezes any assets Kashmiri has under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with him.
The State Department announces that its Shipping Coordinating Committee will conduct two separate open meetings on September 2 and September 10, 2010, to prepare for the upcoming sessions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Sub-Committee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC); and of the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC), respectively.
Various U.S. government agencies are seeking comments on the following information collections for which they have requested or intend to request Office of Management and Budget approval or extension of approval (see notices for specific details):
The U.S. Delegate has issued a report on the 33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) held July 5-9, 2010, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Delegate states that the results of the meeting were mixed from the perspective of the United States. The Commission made key decisions on the adoption of Codex standards, approval of new work, and operating policies and procedures that were consistent with U.S. positions. Discussions occurred on strategic issues including the participation of developing countries in the work of Codex, the future of the Codex Trust Fund, and the operation of the Codex Secretariat. See source link for more details from the U.S. Delegate. The full report of the 2010 Session can be found in ALINORM 10/33/REP on the Codex Web site, www.codexalimentarius.net.
Commerce Secretary Locke on August 5, 2010 announced his appointment of 24 members to the 2010 Manufacturing Council. The Council, which is directed by the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, was established in 2004 and recently re-chartered to increase its membership from 15 to 25 members. The Secretaries of Labor, Energy and Treasury have also been added as ex officio members of the Council to better collaborate on the cross-cutting issues the Council will address. Locke's remarks available here.