The Census Bureau is mulling whether to nix a proposed country of origin reporting requirement in the Automated Export System or to scale back the requirements under a “phased-in” approach that would cause less of a burden for export filers, said Gerry Horner, chief of the agency’s trade regulations branch.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is still “developing” a rule that will expand the agency’s restrictions on certain activities that support foreign military, security or intelligence services, Hillary Hess, the agency’s regulatory policy director, said during a Sept. 12 Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee meeting. The rule, hailed by one lawmaker as the “largest expansion of presidential export control authority in several years,” will implement a provision in the FY 2023 defense spending bill that will allow BIS to expand its U.S. persons controls to capture certain sensitive services to foreign intelligence agencies (see 2212210032).
Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel expects the government to eventually scrutinize certain rail storage fees imposed by ocean carriers on through bills of lading, he said during an industry conference this week. He also said the FMC is “very close” to finalizing its rule on detention and demurrage billing requirements and wants to better address issues involving service contract disputes between carriers and shippers.
The European Parliament's Industry Committee has adopted measures to increase the supply of strategic raw materials. The moves are meant to "cut red tape, promote innovation along the entire value chain, support [small and medium-sized enterprises] and boost research and development of alternative materials and more environmentally-friendly mining as well as production methods," the parliament announced. The committee noted the importance of establishing partnerships with third countries on strategic raw materials to diversify the bloc's supply, the parliament said. The measures also urge a greater focus on "research and innovation concerning substitute materials." The draft will be put to a vote by the full House during the Sept. 11-14 plenary session.
Cynthia Allen left FedEx Logistics on Sept. 7, and will be “taking some time off with family and friends to lazily contemplate my next career move,” she said in a post on LinkedIn. Allen, a former member of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) who had previously led CBP’s ACE Business Office, was vice president of regulatory affairs and compliance at the company.
PACCAR, along with Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Trucks & Buses US Holding, and EVE Energy agreed on Sept. 6 to form a joint venture company to establish and operate a battery cell manufacturing facility in the U.S., and plan to submit a voluntary notice to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., according to law firm Squire Patton. The total investment in the facility is expected to be between $2 billion and $3 billion, PACCAR said in a Sept. 7 news release.
The Senate Agriculture Committee's chairwoman and ranking member are asking Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to use money available in the Commodity Credit Corporation to "open access to markets," and to send U.S. grown crops as humanitarian aid.
Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., is drafting legislation that could lead to new oversight over certain rail storage charges assessed by ocean common carriers against shippers on through bills of lading. The bill, which hasn't been completed, could require the Federal Maritime Commission and the Surface Transportation Board to “get together” and decide who should regulate those charges, a Garamendi staffer told us.
The State Department believes Australia and the U.K. will soon update their export control regimes so both can benefit from pending U.S. legislation that could expedite defense exports to those countries, said Jessica Lewis, who leads the agency’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. But at least one lawmaker said the U.S. should not be requiring the U.K. and Australia to revise their export control laws, adding that the request risks impeding the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) agreement.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union on Aug. 31 officially voted to ratify the tentative labor agreement they reached with the Pacific Maritime Administration in June (see 2306150038), the ILWU said. The union said it voted 75% in favor of the new deal, which expires July 1, 2028, adding that it "protects good-paying jobs in 29 West Coast port communities, maintains health benefits, and improves wages, pensions and safety protections."