Customs brokers in Washington to lobby for the Customs Business Fairness Act renewal should also talk about the importance of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America transportation committee members told the annual government affairs conference attendees, as a way to fight excessive detention and demurrage fees.

Customs brokers in Washington to lobby for the Customs Business Fairness Act renewal should also talk about the importance of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America transportation committee members told the annual government affairs conference attendees, as a way to fight excessive detention and demurrage fees.

The FCC Media Bureau granted KTUL Licensee’s petition to switch KTUL Tulsa from Channel 10 to Channel 14, over the objections of the Land Mobile Communications Council, said an order in listed in Thursday’s Daily Digest. LMCC argued the switch could interfere with public safety communications, but the bureau said those arguments are “unavailing.” In prior orders the agency declined to bar broadcasters from Channel 14 over land mobile interference concerns, the order said. “If LMCC believes there is another in-core UHF channel available for the Licensee’s use at its current site, it should have made a counterproposal with the requisite engineering,” the order said. The bureau is also seeking comment on a request by One Ministries for the allotment of noncommercial education Channel *4 to Fort Bragg, California, said an NPRM listed in Thursday's Daily Digest. Comment due dates in docket 21-123 will be determined after Federal Register publication.

The Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force is nearing completion of its report to the FCC, it heard at its Tuesday virtual meeting. A final report is expected during the first week of November for the task force to vote on during its Nov. 10 meeting, said Chairman Teddy Bekele of Land O'Lakes. Wireline Bureau Telecom Access Policy Division Assistant Division Chief Jesse Jachman said the November meeting may be virtual as the FCC continues to operate remotely.

Smith Bagley asked the FCC for an additional six-month extension of the Lifeline rule waiver scheduled to expire Sept. 30, said a petition posted Tuesday in docket 11-42 (see 2106280032). It said 2,800 Lifeline subscribers on tribal lands may be de-enrolled in November or December if reverification requirements take effect Oct. 1.

In a strategic meeting called a high-level economic dialogue, Mexico and the U.S. talked about ways to facilitate the movement of goods at the border and ways to use Mexico in a North American-centric semiconductor supply chain, officials said after the Sept. 9 meeting. Mexico could become a place for packaging and testing chips, Mexico's Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier said at a press conference at the Mexican Embassy.

Kumho Tire (Vietnam) Co. filed a complaint with the Court of International Trade challenging the Commerce Department's finding that a countervailable subsidy existed in the form of Vietnam's currency manipulation practices (Kumho Tire (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. v. United States, CIT #21-00397). KTV was a respondent in the CVD investigation of passenger vehicle and light truck tires from Vietnam. In Commerce's final determination, KTV got hit with a 7.89% subsidy rate. In the complaint, KTV challenged three parts of this final determination, which include the finding that KTV got a countervailable benefit through its land-use rights, "even though Plaintiff’s acquisition of such rights pre-dated Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization," through Vietnam's currency practices and through Vietnam's import-duty exemptions program for imported inputs used in exported products

In a strategic meeting called a high-level economic dialogue, Mexico and the U.S. talked about ways to facilitate the movement of goods at the border and ways to use Mexico in a North American-centric semiconductor supply chain, officials said after the Sept. 9 meeting. Mexico could become a place for packaging and testing chips, Mexico's Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier said at a press conference at the Mexican Embassy.

The Land Mobile Communications Council and the Association of American Railroads opposed in replies posted Wednesday in FCC docket 21-230 use of the 160.900 MHz band by maritime devices that mark fishing equipment, saying railroads use the spectrum. A June NPRM asked to what extent the 1900-2000 KHz band is used “to support fishing operations, and what obstacles prevent heavier spectrum usage.” NTIA earlier raised more general concerns (see 2108060056). “The record establishes that the introduction of transmitting maritime devices in the 160.900 MHz band would cause harmful interference to receiving railroad devices in the band,” said LMCC. Commenters from the fishing industry “have yet to show any real interest in or enthusiasm for operating in the … band -- no commenter representing the fishing industry has sought to have these devices authorized in the 160.900 MHz band,” AAR said. Atlantic Red Crab said the use of automatic identification system (AIS) beacons for fishing gear “would enhance safety by expanding maritime situational awareness, allowing operators of vessels when approaching or traveling through fishing grounds to identify the location and type of fishing gear present with greater confidence and accuracy and to react in a timelier fashion to avoid potentially hazardous entanglement in vertical lines.” The company said 160.900 MHz may be a “viable alternative” to other channels. “It is important to the safety of deck hands and all mariners to allow fisherman using pot gear the ability to deploy AIS beacons to mark their gear,” the Sablefish and Halibut Pot Association said: “Solutions are available that will allow the use of the AIS system to mark fishing equipment without confusing or swamping the existing system.”

India's Mumbai Sea Port, Tuticorin Sea Port and Vishakhapatnam Sea Port can now receive imports of genetically modified soymeal, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a Sept. 3 notice updating an Aug. 24 notice. India recently greenlighted the import of the "crushed and de-oiled genetically modified soya cake," but only at the Nhava Sheva port and the Petrapole land border port (see 2108270010). All other conditions of the original notice continue to apply, including that the provision is in place until Oct. 31.