The International Trade Administration’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee will meet Feb. 20 at 9:30 a.m. ET to discuss ideas for improving the competitiveness of U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency exporters in foreign markets. The meeting will take place in Washington, D.C. Requests to attend are due by Feb. 15. Written comments must be also be received by that date to be considered.
With the March 31 deadline for filing 2012 Foreign Trade Zone annual reports approaching, the FTZ Board will hold a series of webinars on submission of reports through the Online FTZ Information System (OFIS). The webinars will supplement training videos and tutorials on the FTZ Board’s website (here), it said. The webinars will be held on the following dates:
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued its annual report for 2011. According to the report, the FTZB approved three new FTZs In 2011, as well as the reorganization of 38 existing zones under the alternative site framework. FTZB also approved nine applications for new or expanded manufacturing authority, it said. The value of inputs rose in 2011, and the proportion of domestic inputs used by FTZs continued to fall. Meanwhile, export shipments also increased sharply. Oil and petroleum accounted for about 84 percent of all foreign inputs for manufacturing and production FTZ operators, and about 49 percent of all foreign inputs for warehouse and distribution FTZ operators. See the report for statistics on FTZs in 2011, as well as FTZ activity by state.