The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on September 14, voted preliminarily to eliminate a requirement that obligates most importers and exporters to claim cargo and pre-pay a Clean Trucks Program fee. The change is designed to end a bureaucratic step that has become unnecessary, but does not impact the programs clean air goals. The decision is expected to win final Board approval in the coming weeks. The new rule is targeted to take effect on November 1, 2009. It will require pre-payment only from cargo owners who use older, polluting trucks. Most cargo (the majority of which is already moved with clean trucks or on-dock rail) will be exempt from the requirement. (Announcement, posted 09/14/09, available at http://www.polb.com/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=603&targetid=1)
Before the Trade North America Conference in Detroit, Commerce Deputy Secretary Hightower listed four key trade priorities of the Commerce Department as visa reform, export controls review, intellectual property protection, and intergovernmental cooperation and trade promotion. Also emphasized at the September 9, 2009 event was the need for enforcement of existing trade agreements to ensure free and fair trade, and to resist any impulses toward protectionism. (Remarks, dated 09/09/09, available at http://www.commerce.gov/NewsRoom/DeputySecretarySpeeches/PROD01_008395)
The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that Maran and K.S. Trading have agreed to pay a total of $85,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that the firms knowingly failed to report to CPSC immediately, as required by federal law, that children's hooded sweatshirts they sold had drawstrings at the neck. (CPSC press release, dated 09/08/09, available at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09339.html)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is currently conducting an Automated Line Release (ALR)/Border Release Advance Screening and Selectivity (BRASS) pilot blanket declaration program for the Lacey Act declaration, for entities that had earlier requested participation for their Phase II products.
The U.S. Trade Representative was due to submit by September 2, 2009, his recommendation to President Obama on whether to grant relief to union workers in the form of additional duties on imported tires from China. Although the President has 15 days to decide the issue, trade sources expect him to make a decision before the deadline. This case is of interest to other industries as it will be President Obama's first Section 421 decision, and it was brought by a union rather than domestic industry. (USW press release, dated 09/02/09, available at http://www.usw.org/media_center/news_articles?id=0382 )
The DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that trade using surface transportation between the U.S. and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico was 31.5 percent lower in June 2009 than in June 2008, dropping to $50.8 billion in the sixth consecutive month with a year-to-year decline of greater than 27 percent. (Press Release, dated 08/31/09, available at http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2009/bts041_09/html/bts041_09.html)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has revised its enforcement phase-in schedule for the Lacey Act declaration requirement for imported plants and plant products.
The U.S. and Canada are planning to terminate their bilateral ISPM 15 exemption for wood packaging material made entirely of Canadian origin wood or U.S origin wood that comes directly to the U.S. from Canada, or to Canada from the U.S.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is issuing a final rule, effective August 26, 2009, on its determinations that certain materials (such as certain paper, wood, ink, textiles) do not exceed the lead content limits specified in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. (See ITT's Online Archives or 08/21/09 news, 09082110, for BP summary detailing the final rule.)(FR Pub 08/26/09, available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-20589.pdf)