On February 8, 2004, the U.S. and Australia concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) that is designed to, among other things, eliminate and reduce tariffs and other trade barriers.
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.
The Journal of Commerce (JoC) reports that California Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal has proposed legislation to charge a premium fee for daytime use of the Los Angeles and Long Beach marine terminals, which would make shippers pay for extending the life of existing infrastructure. The article notes that the fee is also designed to push more truck traffic into off-peak hours, thereby reducing congestion on the freeway and at terminal gates. (JoC, dated 02/09/04-02/15/04, www.joc.com)
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice stating that at the request of the petitioner, International Imaging Materials, Inc., the ITA is postponing its final antidumping (AD) duty determination on wax and wax/resin thermal transfer ribbons from South Korea until no later than March 22, 2004 (from February 29, 2004).
| Federal government's response to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, mad cow disease) | 02/24/04 | Senate Committee on Appropriations |
| President's proposed international affairs budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2005 | 02/26/04 | Senate Committee on the Budget |
| Secretary of Agriculture | 02/25/04 | Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; House Committee on Appropriations |
| Secretary of Commerce | 02/26/04 | Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, Judiciary, and Related Agencies; House Committee on Appropriations |
| Mark up of a resolution urging passage of a resolution addressing human rights abuses in China at the 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and calling upon the Government of China to respect and protect human rights | 02/25/04 | House Committee on International Relations |
| Homeland Security Science and Technology Budget Hearing for FY 2005 | 02/25/04 | Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science and Research Development; House Select Committee on Homeland Security |
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the Automated Commercial System (ACS) has been updated to accept U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA) and U.S-Singapore FTA (SFTA) claims through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI), effective February 23, 2004.
(a) preliminary de minimis rate
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') Undersecretary testified before a House subcommittee that by January 5, 2004 U.S.-Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) was in operation at 115 airports and 14 seaports, covering 99% of all foreign visitors. While the Undersecretary stated that more than 600,000 foreign visitors have been processed under U.S.-VISIT without increasing wait times, the Journal of Commerce (JoC) reported that the implementation of the program at the 50 busiest land border crossings could slow down the flow of goods and people. US-VISIT is scheduled to be extended to these border crossings by December 31, 2004. (DHS Press Release 01/28/04, available via fax by emailing staff@brokerpower.com , JoC report www.joc.com)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a document entitled, Importation of Rough Diamonds which, among other things, explains what importers need to know about the Clean Diamond Trade Act and the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC's) interim regulations implementing this Act, etc.
(a) Hang Lung continues to have a preliminary de minimis AD rate of 0.12%