The FCC is seeking comments but the majority that voted to approve an ISP privacy NPRM March 31 will impose rules that closely follow the proposal, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly predicted on a TechFreedom podcast. “The fix is in.” O’Rielly and Commissioner Ajit Pai voted against the NPRM (see 1603310049). Meanwhile, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) filed a letter asking the FCC to extend by 60 days the deadline for commenting. And a commission representative defended the proposal.
The FCC is seeking comments but the majority that voted to approve an ISP privacy NPRM March 31 will impose rules that closely follow the proposal, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly predicted on a TechFreedom podcast. “The fix is in.” O’Rielly and Commissioner Ajit Pai voted against the NPRM (see 1603310049). Meanwhile, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) filed a letter asking the FCC to extend by 60 days the deadline for commenting. And a commission representative defended the proposal.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 4-10:
Being able to file a single customs declaration for all imports or exports in a given period is one of the few currently discernible benefits that companies would enjoy after implementation of a bilateral trusted trader framework pitched by the European Union in a proposal released March 21 on customs provisions in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (here), industry executives said in interviews over the past week. In addition to the single customs declaration, the proposal lists low documentary and data requirements, low physical inspection rate, and deferred duty payments as required trusted trader benefits, as well as provisions on customs single windows, though it lacks specifics on an EU de minimis increase.
The Court of International Trade recently launched a pilot to test a “small claims” process for trade cases, it said (here). The pilot, which began April 1 and is set to run for 18 months, “has been designed to achieve many of the benefits of a traditional small claims docket, particularly speed, efficiency, and affordability,” said CIT. The small claims procedures limit the costly and often lengthy “discovery” process, during which the parties to a case exchange relevant documents, information and evidence. The results of the pilot will inform CIT’s decision on the maximum dollar amount at stake in a case for use of the small claims procedure, as well as the types of cases that are eligible.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 28 - April 3:
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices for April 4 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership would require amending U.S. customs laws on duty preference claims, penalties, recordkeeping and government procurement, said the U.S. Trade Representative in a formal notice to Congress of legislative changes required by the agreement (here). That would come on top of TPP-required changes to the Merchandise Processing Fee currently under discussion within government and industry (see 1603090030), said the USTR in the document dated April 1.
Canada on March 30 filed a request for World Trade Organization consultations to challenge U.S. countervailing duties on supercalendered paper from the country, Canadian Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland announced (here). “Our government is committed to defending the interests of Canadian companies,” she said in a statement. “We are pursuing this matter in both binational and multilateral bodies to ensure trade practices are fair, allowing businesses to operate on a level playing field.” Freeland also mentioned that Canada in November requested a panel under NAFTA Chapter 19 to review the U.S. Commerce Department’s decision to impose CV rates ranging from 17.87 to 20.18 percent in October (see 1512090012).
Several lawmakers called for stronger U.S. government enforcement efforts to protect the domestic steel industry in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (here) filed ahead of a public hearing on the matter. The International Trade Commission is scheduled to hold the hearing on global and U.S. steel industries on April 12 (see 1603030003). More than 100 U.S. lawmakers, industry executives and employees, association representatives, and other stakeholders submitted comments in response the request for comments from the USTR, Commerce Department, and other U.S. government agencies.