CAFC reverses CIT & rules that certain hardwood flooring is plywood.In Boen Hardwood Flooring, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) ruled that certain hardwood flooring, which consists of laminated floor panels that are composed of three layers, is classifiable under HTS 4412.29 as other plywood.

The State Department's Washington File reports that chief negotiators in the U.S.-Bahrain free trade discussions announced the successful conclusion of the second round of talks on March 5, 2004, and voiced expectations that negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would be concluded in the first half of 2004. (Washington File Pub 03/05/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=March&x=20040305180207ndyblehs0.8560602&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)

The Canada Border Services Agency ¹ (CBSA) has modified its previous instructions regarding the implementation schedule for the Advance Commercial Information (ACI) initiative for inbound marine cargo in order to change the advance reporting timeframes for i) conveyances for containerized cargo, ii) conveyances for non-authorized break bulk cargo and iii) empty containers.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has reopened until April 7, 2004, the comment period for a proposed rule to amend its regulations regarding the importation of animals and animal products to recognize, and add Canada to, a category of regions that present a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) into the U.S. via live ruminants and ruminant products.

On February 12, 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued its first version of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on its final rule requiring the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its weekly quota commodity report as of March 1, 2004. This report includes tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on various products such as beef, tuna, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa powder, tobacco, certain JFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TRQs, etc. This report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, CBTPA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA tariff preference levels (TPLs) for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics under HTS 9902.51.11 & 9902.51.12, etc. (CBP's weekly quota commodity report, dated 03/01/04, available at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)

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

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a proposed rule which would amend its regulations at 7 CFR Part 319 regarding the importation of wheat from regions affected with Karnal bunt.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has preliminarily determined to revoke the antidumping (AD) duty order on extruded rubber thread from Malaysia for all entries with a time of entry on or after October 1, 2003, the first day of the most recent period of administrative review and the only period for which an administrative review has not been completed.

According to a State Department Washington File article, the third and final round of negotiations aimed at integrating the Dominican Republic into the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) began in Washington, DC on March 8, 2004. The article states that during the week of March 8, 2004, U.S. and Dominican officials hope to conclude negotiations to add the Dominican Republic to the CAFTA accord reached between the U.S. and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. (Washington File article dated 03/08/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=March&x=20040308162754ASrelliM5.480593e-02&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html.)