On November 6, 2007, the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety presented to President Bush its "Action Plan for Import Safety: A roadmap for continual improvement." The Action Plan includes short and long-term recommendations based on risk-based approaches across the entire import life cycle and a verification model that allocates resources based on risk.
Notable CROSS rulings
The L.A. Harbor Commission approved on November 1, 2007 a measure that will help reduce port-related truck emissions by 80 percent by progressively banning older trucks from operation at the port, beginning October 1, 2008. The measure requires mayoral and city council approval by adoption of a city ordinance. The Port of Long Beach will deliberate a similar ban. (Home page http://www.portoflosangeles.org/; approved tariff at http://www.portoflosangeles.org/ )
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted to its Web site Amendment 20, dated October 2007, to the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) document. According to CBP, the CATAIR has been amended as follows:
The Foreign Agricultural Service has issued a Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) report announcing that in September 2007, Mexico issued an announcement in its "DiarioOfficial1" regarding the Modifications to the Foreign Trade Rules for 2007.
On October 4, 2007, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing, entitled "Security of Our Nation's Seaports."
eTrucker reports that drivers representing the top Mexican trucking association parked their trucks on October 4th on the Mexican side of the Matamoros-Brownsville border to protest the cross-border trucking program. The drivers demanded equal treatment for Mexican and American truckers, claiming that American truckers get preferential treatment in Mexico, while Mexican truckers on the U.S. side of the border get tickets for no reason at all, etc. (eTrucker, dated 10/05/07, available at http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=63764)
The Treasury Department and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (agencies) have issued a joint proposed rule to implement applicable provisions of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), including requiring participants in certain designated payment systems to identify and block or prevent transactions in connection with unlawful Internet gambling.
The U.S. Council for International Business has issued a press release announcing that Pakistan joined the ATA Carnet system as of October 1, 2007. ATA Carnets, which permit the temporary duty-free and tax-free import of goods, are an increasingly important tool for businesses engaged in international commerce. (USCIB, dated 10/02/07, available at http://www.uscib.org/index.asp?documentID=3747)
The Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a final rule, effective September 24, 2007, revising and updating its regulations in 50 CFR Parts 10, 13, 17, and 23 that implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). According to a FWS news release, the final rule represents the first major update and compilation of regulations implementing CITES since 1977.
According to the Journal of Commerce, the head of the American Trucking Associations' Intermodal Conference expects issuance of final rules for roadability regulations by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration by the end of 2007, and that if the final rules aren't ready by the end of the year, the ATA may ask Congress to revisit the issue. (JoC, dated 08/20/07, www.joc.com)