According to the Washington File, the World Health Organization (WHO) has increased the official number of bird flu cases confirmed in humans to 74, up from 69. Forty-nine of these cases have resulted in deaths. The latest new cases were confirmed in Cambodia and Vietnam. These two nations, along with Thailand, are the only countries that have reported human deaths from avian influenza. (Washington File Pub 03/31/05, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2005/Apr/01-476194.html)
On March 18, 2005, the Court of International Trade (CIT), among other things, denied the U.S. government's request that it dismiss with respect to jurisdictional issues a complaint filed by the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) that seeks review of CITA's decision to consider "threat-based" China textile safeguard petitions. The CIT also deferred ruling on the U.S.' motion to dismiss the case because of substantive claims.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted the following documents to its Web site:
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.
Tex. Attorney Gen. Greg Abbott (R) filed a landmark lawsuit against Vonage for failing to make clear to customers that the firm’s service doesn’t provide access to traditional emergency 911 service. The suit, filed under the Tex. Deceptive Trade Practices Act, charges Vonage with “misrepresenting the type of emergency telephone service it offers, and the fact that the ‘911 dialing’ feature is not automatically included when a customer signs up for telephone service.” Abbott seeks $20,000 per violation.
Tex. Attorney Gen. Greg Abbott (R) filed a landmark lawsuit against Vonage for failing to make clear to customers that the firm’s service doesn’t provide access to traditional emergency 911 service. The suit, filed under the Tex. Deceptive Trade Practices Act, charges Vonage with “misrepresenting the type of emergency telephone service it offers, and the fact that the ‘911 dialing’ feature is not automatically included when a customer signs up for telephone service.” Abbott seeks $20,000 per violation.
Qwest made a higher offer for MCI on Thurs., changing its bid to the equivalent to $8.45 billion. MCI said it would consider the new offer and provide a response by March 28.
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.
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.
Intellectual property (IP) issues continue to irk, as delegates begin pushing to complete a draft Hague Conference treaty aimed at harmonizing jurisdiction over and enforcement of judgments in cross-border civil cases. With a diplomatic conference set for June 14-30 in the Hague, the U.S. Secy. of State’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law has set a March 29 meeting to seek feedback from industry, trade associations, bar associations and nongovernmental organizations on the draft’s IP provisions. European Union member states are consulting one another on IP and other aspects of the treaty.