The State Department's Washington File reports that on June 7, 2004, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a lower court ruling that required the Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct an environmental study on the impact that Mexican trucks would have on air quality if permitted to operate in the U.S. In response, DOT Secretary Mineta stated that the Supreme Court decision opens the way for DOT to continue working with Mexican authorities to move forward with long-haul bus and truck operations. (Washington File article dated 06/07/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=June&x=20040607153418ASrelliM0.1072199&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html.)
On June 3, 2004, the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security approved for full Committee action Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2005. (Congressional Record, dated 06/03/04, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/r108/r108d03jn4.html.)
Pursuant to the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (the Offset Act), the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice of its intent to distribute assessed antidumping (AD) or countervailing (CV) duties for fiscal year (FY) 2004 to affected domestic producers for certain qualifying expenditures they incur after the issuance of an AD or CV order. Written certifications to obtain a continued AD or CV offset under a particular order must be received by August 2, 2004.
According to a Journal of Commerce editorial, the debate over container security has shifted and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') newly formed Container Working Group, not U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is the driving force.
On May 24, 2004, the International Trade Commission (ITC) released a report entitled, U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economywide and Selected Sectoral Effects. According to the ITC, this report assesses the comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that the President has entered into with Australia.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.
The Journal of Commerce reports that the DHS Bureau of Transportation and Security Directorate (BTS) Container Working Group, which is working on "secure systems of transportation" and container seals and locks, is thinking about leveraging DHS' scarce assets, including whether the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA's) known-shipper program can somehow help the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). The article notes that the CWG intends to present the results of its work to the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) and obtain input from technology providers. (JoC dated 05/17-23/04, www.joc.com.)
The ITC has posted to its Web site a list of corrections to the printed and electronic versions of the 2004 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTS) in order to correct known errors discovered after the issuance of the January 1, 2004 HTS.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a general exclusion order, two limited exclusion orders, and cease and desist orders in its Section 337 investigation of certain agricultural vehicles and components thereof (Inv. 337-TA-487). The ITC has also announced that this investigation is terminated.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.