On May 12, 2010, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Iran Sanctions: Why Does the U.S. Government do Business with Companies that Invest in Iran.
The European Council has agreed on a draft directive which would require that experiments with animals be replaced, wherever possible, by an alternative method which is scientifically satisfactory; the number of animals used in projects be reduced to a minimum; and the degree of pain and suffering caused to animals be limited to the minimum. (Press release, dated 05/11/10, available at http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=PRES/10/105&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en)
On May 12, 2010, Senators Kerry and Lieberman released their draft comprehensive energy and climate change bill, The American Power Act.
"Daily Update on Capitol Hill Trade Actions" is a daily International Trade Today compilation of the most relevant legislation, hearings, and actions by Congress involving international trade. The following are brief summaries of recent Capitol Hill actions:
The International Trade Administration frequently issues notices on antidumping and countervailing duty orders, investigations, etc. which Broker Power considers to be "minor” in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued, neither announce nor cause any changes to an order’s duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period, etc.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has posted a manual on how to determine what will be published on its website from a company's chemical substance registration dossier, required by the European Union’s REACH1 program.
Consumer Product Safety Commission sources have confirmed that senior management from CPSC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are in the final stages of negotiations concerning detentions, and CPSC now expects to begin issuing its own detention notices as early as June 2010.
Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently met to discuss the U.S.-ASEAN Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) and the importance of the trade relationship between the U.S. and ASEAN. (Press release, dated 05/07/10, available at http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2010/may/deputy-united-states-trade-representative-marantis-and)
The U.S.-China Business Council has submitted comments on China’s April 2010 draft notice on the launch of the National Indigenous Innovation Work. The Council states that China’s current policies, which appear to use a mix of product catalogs, unique standard requirements, government procurement preferences, and tax incentives that include requirements for domestic intellectual property ownership, are inconsistent with international best practices and may prove counterproductive to China’s goals. (Comments, dated 05/10/10, available at http://www.uschina.org/public/documents/2010/05/uscbc_most_circular_comments.pdf)
The following are the trade-related hearings scheduled for May 10-15, 2010: