The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a closed meeting on May 25, 2011, in which the staff will brief the Commission on various compliance matters.
The Department of Agriculture has announced a limited global market quota that will allow additional U.S. imports of up to 47,291,415 kilograms (104,259,811 pounds) of Strict Low Middling (SLM) upland cotton.
The International Trade Commission has released its second annual compilation of bi-weekly data on textile and apparel imports from China for 2004-2010.
Consumer Product Safety Commission staff has submitted to the Commission its plan for "Toy Safety Regulatory and Standards Coordination and Alignment: a Roadmap." Staff states that previous efforts to align global toy safety requirements have daunted those who have tried or have fallen victim to other priorities. This "roadmap" describes a practical way forward, laying out what should be done by whom if there is to be significant progress in aligning requirements toward safer toys.
At a May 12, 2011 House Agriculture Committee hearing, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk stated that he has been listening to domestic textile and apparel industry concerns and is trying to address these concerns when negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a final rule, effective June 13, 2011, which makes minor amendments to its bicycle regulations to reflect new technologies, designs, and features in bicycles. The rule clarifies that certain provisions or testing requirements do not apply to specific bicycles or bicycle parts. It also clarifies several ambiguous and confusing provisions, corrects typographical errors, and removes an outdated reference.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recalls on May 11, 2011:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has updated the list of meetings between CPSC and its stakeholders that are open to the public, unless otherwise stated:
The Office of Textiles and Apparel has issued monthly reports containing official March 2011 trade data from the Census Department for U.S. imports and exports of textiles and apparel.
On May 11, 2011, the European Parliament approved a second-reading agreement with the European Council on a textile labeling regulation, which includes new mandatory labeling requirements for fur and leather parts and a feasibility study on origin labeling. The rules must still be formally signed by the Member States. The new regulation will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal, but will provide for a 2.5 year transition period for new labeling requirements, to allow industry time to adapt.