The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final rule, effective August 17, 2007, that amends 7 CFR Parts 305, 319, and 352 by revising, reorganizing, and making substantive changes to the regulations pertaining to the prevention of pests in imported fresh fruits and vegetables.
Reuters reports that the World Trade Organization decision on the amount of retaliation that Antigua and Barbuda can impose on the U.S. as a result of a gambling trade dispute has been postponed. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/17/07 news, 07071715, for BP summary of a U.S. Trade Representative notice on U.S. compensation talks with 8 countries due to the dispute, with links to previous summaries.) (Reuters, dated 12/14/07, available at http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyid=2007-12-14T190520Z_01_N14311323_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-TRADE-GAMBLING.xml)
American Shipper reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner Jayson Ahern stated that container security device applications are being looked at for cross-border truck traffic from Mexico, in-bond movements, the Secure Freight Initiative (SFI), and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. (AS, dated 12/07/07, www.americanshipper.com)
The General Services Administration has posted to its RegInfo.gov Web site the semi-annual regulatory agendas for Federal government agencies.
The State Department's Washington File reports that Congress has sent President Bush the Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) Act for his signature, which is expected. A Presidential Proclamation is still needed for implementation. (Washington File, dated 12/07/07, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=December&x=20071205114240AKllennoCcM0.5224726 )
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has issued a press release announcing that in November it met with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for the first Japan-U.S. Conference on Product Safety, with discussions on an accident information reporting system, among other things. (METI press release, dated 11/20/07, available at http://www.meti.go.jp/english/newtopics/data/nBackIssue20071120_01.html)
The annual report to Congress on the International Trade Data System program has recently been posted to the ITDS Web site. This report details the progress toward incorporating ITDS functionality into the Automated Commercial Environment, the status of Federal agencies in implementing ACE/ITDS, etc.
The Washington Times reports that assaults against Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border have more than doubled over the past two years, many by Mexico-based alien and drug gangs. (Washington Times, dated 11/15/07, available at http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/NATION/111150077/1001)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted to its Web site an October 2007 interview with CBP Assistant Commissioner for Field Operations, Thomas Winkowski. In this interview, the Assistant Commissioner discussed a variety of issues, including partnerships with the trade community, the in-bond system, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service inspections, etc. The following are highlights of the Assistant Commissioner's comments regarding CBP's in-bond system.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued Notice 76-07 on the "Importation of Canadian Cattle, Bison, Sheep, and Goats into the United States."