Minutes from the March 9, 2010 through April 20, 2010 meetings of the COAC Trade Facilitation Subcommittee have recently been posted to CBP’s Web site. During these meetings, the Subcommittee addressed a number of trade facilitation issues, highlights of which include:
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 Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued another warning about the suffocation and strangulation hazards associated with drop-side cribs, stating that it has recalled more than 7 million such cribs in the last five years and is actively investigating more manufacturers for potential drop-side hazards. (Notice, dated 05/07/10, available at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10225.html)
The Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has issued a notice is to advise those industry users who have upgraded to the Windows XP or 7 operating systems and Internet Explorer 7 or 8 that there are reported issues with the use of PureEdge View version 6.5. D-Trade users are strongly encouraged to download and install IBM Lotus Forms Viewer 3.5.1. (Notice, dated 05/08/10, available at http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/documents/IndustryNotice05082010.pdf)
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued a notice that lists those applying for ocean transportation intermediary licenses as a non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVOCC), ocean freight forwarder (FF) or NVOCC/FF OTI, as follows:
The following are the trade-related hearings scheduled for May 10-15, 2010:
On May 5, 2010, over 130 companies and trade associations (Toy Industry Association, American Iron and Steel Institute, Target, 3M, American Automotive Policy Council, etc.) signed a letter to the House Speaker and Minority Leader and the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman and Ranking Member urging immediate passage of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB, also referred to as the Miscellaneous Trade bill).
On May 5, 2010, the Clean and Sustainable Transportation Coalition sent a letter to leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee1 urging them to reject efforts to re-write the trucking rules in the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization 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:
On May 5, 2010, the House passed the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act (H.R. 5160). The Senate passed the same measure the next day, on May 6, 2010, clearing the bill for the President.