On February 24, 2004, World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitrators decided that the European Union (EU) has no current right to retaliate against the U.S.' Antidumping Act of 1916 (1916 Act). However, the arbitrators did allow for the EU to retaliate if final judgments or settlements are made under the 1916 Act in the future.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its first version (dated February 12, 2004) 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.
The Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) held a quarterly meeting on February 6, 2004 in Washington, DC to discuss, and receive updates from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials on, various customs and trade issues.
In mid-February 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stated that it was delaying the compliance date for inbound air shipments from its previously announced date of March 4, 2004.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reissued a November 1999 ABI administrative message which stated that there is a persistent problem with rejects of entries of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated products sent through the FDA interface with the Automated Broker Interface (ABI). The majority of such rejects result from the two scenarios described in this notice.
According to government sources, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is expected to delay, until April 2004 or later, its "document accuracy test" of textiles and apparel that are quota-free and visa-free, and entered using entry type '01.'
On February 23, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that a "highly pathogenic" strain of avian influenza (HPAI) had been identified in a Gonzales County, Texas broiler chicken flock.
In the February 19, 2004 Federal Register, the International Trade Administration (ITA) issued a notice terminating the antidumping (AD) duty investigation of certain processed hazelnuts from Turkey.
The ITA states that it will treat Dofasco and Sorevco as a single entity for this review.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued two administrative messages stating that, effective February 23, 2004, the filing of U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA) and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA) claims via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) system is now available for the tariff preference levels (TPLs) for textiles and/or apparel and the tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for agricultural products.