U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a memorandum dated February 17, 2004, amending its November 7, 2002 implementing instructions for non-textile products under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the following vessel operating common carriers (VOCCs) have become Sea Automated Manifest System (AMS) operational:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) Office of Information and Technology has posted a notice to its Web site containing (a) a list, updated as of March 11, 2004, of companies/persons offering Sea Automated Manifest System (AMS) data processing services to the trade community, and (b) the Sea AMS Respondent Checklist, as follows:

On March 4, 2004, the Senate passed its version of H.R. 1047, the "Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003."

On March 26, 2004, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) published two notices denying two petitions submitted by Levi Strauss and Co. which had alleged that certain fusible interlining fabrics classified under HTS 5903.90.2500 could not be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice in order to make several technical corrections to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTS). According to the USTR, these modifications correct inadvertent omissions or errors in various Presidential Proclamations.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that the U.S. and Panama will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) during the week of April 26, 2004. According to the press release, these negotiations will be held in Panama City. (Press Release 2004-26, dated 03/26/04, available at http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2004/03/04-26.pdf)

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.

On March 24, 2004, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on the state of maritime security, focusing on the impact of security efforts on maritime commerce, and the additional measures that may be needed to further enhance maritime transportation security.