The Indian government has implemented several critical improvements to its trade and investment legal regime since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in May 2014, but the country has ramped up tariffs on some telecommunications-related imports and continues to propose localization requirements, said the International Trade Commission in analysis (here) released on Oct. 22. India has also decreased tariffs on other telecommunications products, the ITC noted, while asserting the government has made only minor changes to its tariff schedule and customs laws. The Indian government has strived to improve bureaucratic transparency and ease of doing business policies, among other investment areas, the analysis said.
The Energy Department on Oct. 23 issued a final rule (here) clarifying the responsibilities of its contractors to comply with applicable export control laws and regulations. The new regulations include a new clause, to be inserted in DOE contracts and solicitations, notifying the contractor of its responsibilities and listing export control laws and regulations that may apply. The final rule takes effect Nov. 23.
U.S apparel retailers continued their long-standing push in an Oct. 21 letter (here) to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to set in motion regional textile and apparel “cumulation” provisions in trade promotion agreements with Colombia and Peru. Both pacts include an apparel provision, article 3.3.14 in each, which aims to promote regional textile and apparel integration by allowing other regional inputs to meet country of origin requirements in the agreements and therefore qualify under preferential treatment. Both countries recently urged the U.S. to implement the provisions, the retailers said.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership should simplify apparel labeling requirements in order to cut down on labeling costs and allow for easy product shipments throughout the U.S. and European Union, said the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the U.S. Fashion Industry Association and the European Branded Clothing Alliance in a position paper (here). The groups released the paper ahead of ongoing TTIP negotiations in Miami. The talks are set to wrap up on Oct. 23 (here).
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce unveiled in recent days nearly 50 tariff lines it prefers for inclusion in the World Trade Organization Environmental Goods Agreement. Those tariff lines cover a broad range of products, from elastic bands made of plastic and road signs to liquid meters and control instruments for air conditioning, refrigeration and heating systems. High tariff on these products and others “stand out as excessive” in the current global economy, said the chamber’s Senior Vice President John Murphy in a letter to the International Trade Commission on Oct. 16. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative asked the ITC to conduct analysis in August on potential duty cuts (see 1508270025). Murphy said the pact should be open to new member accessions and more products in the future.
The Federal Communications Commission will temporarily waive its Form 740 certification requirements for radio frequency (RF) devices imported after CBP's Automated Commercial Environment becomes mandatory for FCC entries on July 1, it said in an order issued Oct. 19 (here). The waiver, which will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2016, allows time for the FCC to consider its proposal to eliminate importer declaration requirements entirely (see 1508110024), without imposing “significant burdens” on importers that would otherwise be forced to file on paper once ACE is required, the FCC said. Given the complexity of the FCC rulemaking, it’s possible the commission will be “unable to reach and publish a final determination” by July 1, when CBP will no longer accept electronic filing of FCC Form 740 via its legacy Automated Commercial System, it said.
Should Trans-Pacific Partnership opponents on Capitol Hill ultimately defeat TPP implementation legislation, the U.S. would signal it's heading toward an isolationist future aimed only at protecting its domestic market, said Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Kenichiro Sasae at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event on Oct. 13. The defeat of TPP will devastate U.S. “dynamism” and show the U.S. is not “viable anymore,” said Sasae.
Following the Oct. 12 expiration of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement between the U.S. and Canada (see 1510070032), the two countries should negotiate a new agreement, said the U.S. Lumber Coalition in a news release (here). Now outdated due to the evolving timber industry, the agreement was originally meant to "reduce the competitive imbalances caused by subsidies growing out of Canadian provincial government control of most of the fiber supply used to produce softwood lumber in Canada and to minimize the harmful effects of unfairly subsidized imports in the U.S. lumber market," said the group. A new agreement is needed but the Canadian government "has so far been unwilling to enter into negotiations on a new trade agreement," the coalition said. While the U.S. Lumber Coalition previously committed not to file petitions under the U.S. trade laws for one year after the expiration of the 2006 agreement, the group threatened eventual legal action. “If Canada continues to stay away from the negotiating table, the U.S. industry will eventually have no choice but to use our rights under U.S. trade laws to offset the unfair advantages provided to Canadian industry,” said Charlie Thomas, chairman of the coalition.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing to adopt a new electronic system for reporting imports, exports and re-exports of Bluefin tuna (here). Under the proposal, NMFS would replace the current paper-based Bluefin tuna catch documentation (BCD) program with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas’ new eBCD system, which may be required by all ICCAT members, including the U.S., “as early as March 1, 2016,” said the agency. The eBCD system was designed to collect largely the same information that is currently collected under the paper-based BCD program, said NMFS. Comments are due Nov. 9.
Democratic presidential hopeful and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opposes the recently agreed upon Trans-Pacific Partnership, she said in an Oct. 7 interview on PBS (here). “As of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it,” she said. The opposition marks a big shift for Clinton, who worked to sell the agreement while in President Barack Obama's Cabinet. Congress must still approve the 12-country trade agreement before its provisions apply to the U.S. (see 1510050020).