The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a fact sheet announcing that the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has extended until July 31, 2005 the period for making a determination on whether to request consultations with China, and at the same time impose a safeguard quota, on China cat 620 (other synthetic filament fabric)1.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued its 43rd Annual Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004. The FMC states that the Annual Report highlights areas of particular interest, and then provides an office-by-office synopsis of each unit's activities and accomplishments during FY 2004. The following are "highlights" of the FMC's report:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message stating that it has made a change for Northern Border direct arrival truck entries (mode of transportation - 30 and 31). CBP states that this change will allow CBP to make a district/port of entry change on an entry, in some cases.
Intel and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) backed Apple’s attempt to subpoena online news sites and an ISP with a filing Wed. to the Cal. Court of Appeals. Apple wants to learn how the sites got confidential information about its forthcoming GarageBand software. Intel and BSA agree: “All technology-oriented companies -- and ultimately all consumers -- share a strong interest in vigorous enforcement of the trade secret laws, including discovery to determine who may have violated those laws.” In court papers, the groups said strong trade secret laws are vital to Cal.’s high tech sector and the U.S. economy overall. “There is no public interest in having such trade secrets stolen and plastered on the Internet for competitors and others to see,” they said. If that occurs, victims must be able to seek court redress -- starting with discovery to see who committed the theft, they said. But Intel and BSA stipulate that courts shouldn’t approve “wild fishing expeditions” into media files. Apple is suing a handful of unnamed persons alleged to have leaked information on the project and is subpoenaing Nfox, the ISP of PowerPage.com publisher Jason O'Grady, demanding access to O'Grady’s communications and unpublished materials (WID April 12 p3). While Intel and BSA said they strongly support First Amendment rights, they see a “vast difference between cases where the media have simply reported on a misdeed by someone else and cases where reporters have wittingly or unwittingly participated in notorious activity.” This case illustrates that the media’s interest in concealing sources is stronger in the former than the latter. Genentech also filed papers in support of Apple this week.
The United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) has issued a Textile Development Memo stating that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has lifted the preliminary injunction against further action on threat-based China safeguard petitions. As a result, USA-ITA states that CITA may resume its consideration of the 12 threat-based cases that were filed last year. (USA-ITA, TDM dated 04/27/05, www.usaita.com )
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site its Performance and Annual Report Fiscal Year 2004, which covers federal fiscal year (FY) 2004 (October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004), with discussion of some subsequent events.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report entitled, U.S.-China Trade: Textile Safeguard Procedures Should be Improved.
A coalition of Internet trade groups and publishers filed briefs in Apple v. Does Mon., urging the Cal. Court of Appeals to defend e-mail privacy and protect reporters’ confidential sources. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is appealing a Santa Clara County Superior Court decision in the case that lets Apple subpoena a reporter’s e-mail to learn the source of information on a story published about a forthcoming FireWire audio interface for GarageBand software code-named “Asteroid” or “Q7.”
A U.S. claim of victory in a dispute with Antigua over Internet gaming (WID April 8 p2) is “spin put on by the American administration,” Sportingbet (U.K.) Group CEO Nigel Payne told Washington Internet Daily. Last week the World Trade organization (WTO) Appellate Body ruled a U.S. ban on online gambling inconsistent with the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and recommended the WTO Dispute Settlement Body ask the U.S. to bring its laws into conformity. The panel also said the U.S. had shown its laws are “necessary to protect public morals or maintain public order.” And it ordered the U.S. to clarify an issue related to online gambling on horse races.
The U.S. Census Bureau (Census) has issued a proposed rule to amend the Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR, 15 CFR Part 30)1 in order to require mandatory filing of export information through the Automated Export System (AES) or AESDirect for all shipments where a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) is currently required, etc.