The National Marine Fisheries Service on Oct. 7 listed three foreign species of corals -- Cantharellus noumeae, Siderastrea glynni, and Tubastraea floreana -- and the dusky sea snake as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (here). New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect Nov. 6.
The Federal Trade Commission recently adopted changes to its Fair Packaging and Labeling Act regulations in order clarify certain labeling rules and remove outdated requirements, it said in a press release (here). The commission voted unanimously on Sept. 30 to adopt nearly unchanged a proposed rule issued in February (see 1501300021). The final rule (here) has yet to be published in the Federal Register, but will take effect 30 days after its date of publication.
The International Trade Commission is asking for input in connection with a new investigation on changes to the tariff schedule set to take effect in 2017 and 2018 (here). The World Customs Organization recommended the amendments to chapters 3, 44 and 63 in June (see 1506230026, after omitting the changes from its general update of the Harmonized System set to take effect Jan. 1, 2017 (see 1501230025). Once adopted by the U.S., amendments to chapter 3 and 63 affecting fish and mosquito nets would take effect alongside the other HTS amendments at the beginning of 2017. Changes to chapter 44 affecting wood products are more substantial, and wouldn’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2018, said the ITC. Comments are due March 18, 2016.
The Fish and Wildlife Service on Oct. 6 issued final rules listing the Florida bristle fern (Trichomanes punctatum ssp. floridanum) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (here) and black pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi) as threatened (here). New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rules take effect Nov. 5.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is listing the military macaw (Ara militaris) and the great green macaw (Ara ambiguus), both native to Central and South America, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (here). New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect Nov. 2.
The Fish and Wildlife Service will add 23 species of plants and animals from Micronesia, the Mariana Islands, and Palau to the Endangered Species List. The agency’s final rule (here) lists as endangered seven plants — Eugenia bryanii, pau dedu, ufa halumtanu, Phyllanthus saffordii, aplokating palaoan, biringenas halumtanu, and Tinospora homosepala -- and nine animals, comprising the Pacific sheath-tailed bat, Slevin’s skink, Mariana eight-spot butterfly, Mariana wandering butterfly, Rota blue damselfly, fragile tree snail, Guam tree snail, humped tree snail and Langford’s tree snail. FWS is also listing seven plant species as threatened: siboyas halumtanu, Dendrobium guamense, fadang, Maesa walkeri, Nervilia jacksoniae, Tabernaemontana rotensis, and Tuberolabium guamense. Import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect Nov. 2.
A South African copyright bill, proposed in late July, would likely violate the country’s commitments to the World Trade Organization’s primary intellectual property agreement, and the U.S. should factor that into its annual African Growth and Opportunity Act annual review, said the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) in comments (here) it recently submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The bill could “decimate copyright protections in South Africa” by expanding “fair-use” policies, among other elements of the legislation, said the group. Copyright violations remain rampant throughout Africa, the group said in calling on USTR to require AGOA beneficiaries to submit a report on the conditions of their copyright protections and plans for future changes. The IIPA applauded recent moves to strengthen those protections in Nigeria, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. In other comments, a lawyer representing the British-American company COMMISIMPEX complained of the Republic of the Congo’s refusal to pay owed debt (here). A group of civil society organizations also praised AGOA, and urged African commitments to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and increased textile trade (here). The comments were due on Sept. 16 (see 1508130007), and those three comments are the only ones so far made public.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements on Sept. 25 announced fiscal year 2016 limits on imports of apparel articles from sub-Saharan Africa qualifying for preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (here). For the year running Oct. 1, 2015 through Sept. 30, 2016, the aggregate quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under AGOA is capped at 1,935,096,830 square meters equivalent. Of that amount, 967,548,415 square meters equivalent will be available to apparel imported under AGOA’s third-country fabric provisions. The limits represent 7 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, of the total quantity of U.S. imports of apparel during fiscal year 2015.
Rules of origin for autos and auto parts in the Trans-Pacific Partnership should reflect the same regional value content standards in NAFTA in order to safeguard domestic industry, said North American steel producers in a letter (here) to the top trade officials in the three countries. A number of reports in August suggested the U.S. is set to negotiate a far lower regional value content for auto and auto parts. Those reports spurred an outcry among U.S. lawmakers, unions and the Mexican auto industry (see 1508250023 and 1508180018). “We urge our governments to negotiate a TPP agreement that maintains strong rules of origin and regional value content requirements to sustain the benefits currently accruing to NAFTA steel producers, their integrated supply chains and the NAFTA economy,” said the letter. “The TPP must not confer an advantage to producers whose primary supply chain is located outside the TPP region.” NAFTA requires a 62 percent regional value content for autos, lights trucks and some parts, as well as a 60 percent threshold for other parts (here).
The AFL-CIO flatly rejected the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a memo to reporters on Sept. 22. “No amount of negotiations make TPP a good deal for working people,” said the title of the memo, which the network of unions issued only hours after U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman publicly touted progress in the negotiations (see 1509220015). The AFL-CIO faulted U.S. negotiators for failing to prioritize enforceable currency language in TPP negotiations and falling short on ensuring protections for U.S. auto manufacturing. The memo also criticized the pact’s investor-state dispute settlement language. “So far, the TPP appears to be little more than a set of rules that promote outsourcing and benefit outsourcers,” said the memo.