U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a general notice announcing that, in conjunction with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), it plans to conduct a National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning the transmission of automated truck manifest (ATM) data.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) have issued separate notices, each initiating five-year sunset reviews on the antidumping (AD) duty order for anhydrous sodium metasilicate from France, the countervailing (CV) duty order on sugar from the European Union (EU), and the AD duty order on sugar for Belgium, France, and Germany.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding the Bioterrorism Act (BTA) for Prior Notice (PN) of imported foods and the registration of food facilities.
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 State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) has posted to its Web site notices announcing the following changes to its D-Trade electronic licensing system:
The Journal of Commerce Online reports that Senator Patty Murray, who devised Operational Safe Commerce (OSC), is stressing the importance of keeping OSC alive and using its results to form a national and international standard for supply chain and cargo container security. According to the article, OSC has managed to get federal funds in three straight budget cycles, but its survival as a separate program remains unclear once all the tests are complete and the final reports and recommendations are submitted later this year. (JoC Online, dated 09/03/04, www.joc.com.)
The Journal of Commerce Online reports that a decision by union longshoremen not to work on Labor Day could cause a labor shortage at the port of Los Angeles - Long Beach, throwing these ports into crisis mode due to record volumes of vessels in the port complex. The article notes that these ports have been struggling with port congestion due largely to delays in the intermodal rail network and a shortage of dockworkers. Port employers had asked the union to be available to work on Labor Day. (Joc Online, dated 09/01/04, www.joc.com )
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court decision holding P2P providers Grokster and Morpheus not liable for copyright infringement by their users. The court suggested content owners seek to alter copyright law “in profound ways with unknown ultimate consequences.” The dist. court ruling against MGM and other studios and record labels had already prompted several senators to fast-track legislation aimed at expressly holding P2P sites liable for “inducing” infringement. We're told content owners can ask for reconsideration of the 3-judge ruling, en banc deliberation by the entire 9th Circuit or review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court decision holding P2P providers Grokster and Morpheus not liable for copyright infringement by their users. The court suggested content owners seek to alter copyright law “in profound ways with unknown ultimate consequences.” The dist. court ruling against MGM and other studios and record labels had already prompted several senators to fast-track legislation aimed at expressly holding P2P sites liable for “inducing” infringement. We're told content owners can ask for reconsideration of the 3-judge ruling, en banc deliberation by the entire 9th Circuit or review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
American Shipper reports that to cover the extra risk associated with the deferred payment of customs duties under the new periodic payment system, surety companies are raising the premiums on performance bonds used by importers and their brokers to guarantee duties will be paid to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The article notes one surety's view that for a typical importer that imports on a fairly regular schedule, they are looking at five times the credit risk for the same series of transactions. (American Shipper, August 2004)