The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council’s Broadband Working Group Friday sought public safety and industry volunteers to work on a new task group “to help determine the requirements and definition for the phrase ‘Public Safety Grade,'” with an eye on the new FirstNet. “The phrase ‘public safety grade’ has been used in several Statement of Requirements (SoR) documents relating to broadband systems and services,” the group said. “The intent of the PSG terminology is to convey the need for design choices that support a greater overall network reliability and resiliency to network disruptions compared to commercial networks. The goal is for the [public safety broadband network] to be equivalent to public safety land mobile radio (LMR) systems that support law, fire, and emergency medical service (EMS) operations and are commonly referred to as ‘mission critical systems.'"
In a dispute over the price benchmarks the Commerce Department uses to value subsidy programs in countervailing duty proceedings, the Court of International Trade remanded the results of the original countervailing duty investigation on aluminum extrusions from China (C-570-968). Commerce had found government-associated companies had provided aluminum and land inputs to Chinese companies for below-market prices, or “less than adequate remuneration (LTAR),” which meant those inputs were countervailable subsidies. CIT said Commerce was correct in including import duties in the benchmark market price it used to judge whether aluminum inputs were provided for LTAR. The regulations require Commerce to do so, the court said. But Commerce’s comparison of a fully-developed Thai industrial park with undeveloped land received by respondent Zhongya went against the evidence on the record, the court said. CIT remanded for Commerce to reconsider.
CBP's New York/Newark field office advised importers of the increased enforcement of Importer Security Filing (ISF) requirements in an information pipeline. The field office provided transaction codes that will be used to place non-compliant shipments on hold, preventing movement of the cargo in-bond via 1W (Within Port Transfers to a CFS) and 1J (In-bond Authorized Movements to In-land Ports). Unauthorized release or transfers before the appropriate release is posted will result in liquidated damage claims against the "responsible entity," the notice said. The agency began using liquidated damages to enforce ISF non-compliance on July 9 (see 13062613). Shipments designated for a CBP exam within the port that have a bill of lading with an ISF hold code should be transferred to the Centralized Examination Station (CES) and staged for an exam, the notice said. The shipment must be held at the CES until a release code is posted, "even if all exam holds are released," the agency said.
With the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) set to expire in 2015, proponents are starting to discuss renewing the act early, expanding existing provisions and even making duty-free treatment permanent with reciprocity. The act was initially “set up as a developmental tool” for African countries and was “not intended to be reciprocal,” said Deanna Clark, an international trade and fashion compliance attorney. However, some international trade experts are now urging the Administration to expand the trade agreement and add reciprocal provisions.
CBP released the agenda for the Aug. 7 meeting with the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (COAC) in Washington, D.C. CBP also said the meeting will be available online and registration is available (here).
Google’s proposals for settling an EU antitrust investigation of its Web search and online search ad services “are not enough to overcome our concerns,” said European Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia at a press briefing Wednesday. Asked for an update on the status of the probe, Almunia said that after the EC “market test” of Google’s commitments, which ended June 27, he concluded that the search giant’s offer wasn’t good enough, and he asked Google President Eric Schmidt to sweeten his proposal. The letter to Schmidt isn’t public, Almunia’s office told us. “Our proposal to the European Commission clearly addresses their four areas of concern,” a Google spokesperson said. “We continue to work with the Commission to settle this case,” he said.
On July 12, the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The FCC changed its rules to authorize the use of the 78-81 GHz band by foreign object debris (FOD) detection radar equipment at airports, in an order released Thursday. FOD equipment will be licensed under Part 90 of the commission’s rules. The presence of FOD in an airport’s air operations area “poses a significant threat to the safety of air travel,” the order said (http://bit.ly/189Sp5f): “Foreign object debris on taxiways and runways has the potential to damage aircraft during the critical phases of takeoffs and landings, which can lead to catastrophic loss of life and at the very least increased maintenance and operating costs.” In December 2011, the FCC approved a waiver for the use of FOD detection equipment manufactured by San Diego-based Trex Enterprises. Trex explained how its technology works in a 2012 meeting at the FCC (http://bit.ly/15z81z8) and a slide from that presentation shows a Trex detector mounted on the roof of an SUV as it cruises down an airport runway. The band is allocated on a primary basis to federal and non-federal radio astronomy and radiolocation systems. The commission said it may ask more questions in a forthcoming rulemaking. “The Commission may, in rulemaking proceedings regarding other uses of the 78-81 GHz band, consider whether to adopt additional rules governing FOD detection radar in the band (such as the adoption of technical specifications) in order to ensure compatibility between FOD detection radar and other uses ... including those that may operate on an unlicensed basis under Part 15 of the Commission’s rules,” the agency said. “Until such technical specifications or other rules are adopted, we will consider the technical parameters required under the waiver when authorizing FOD equipment. During this period we will also accept applications for equipment authorization for devices using similar or more conservative parameters than those specified in the waiver.”
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee’s Space Subcommittee voted Wednesday 11 to 9 to advance a draft version of the NASA Authorization Act of 2013 reauthorizing NASA programs for two more years with a $16.8 billion budget. An amendment introduced by Ranking Member Donna Edwards, D-Md., aimed at maintaining funding at NASA field centers and sustaining earth science research funds, failed. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science also approved appropriations that would give $16.6 billion to NASA in 2014.
CBP is requesting comments by Aug. 12 for an existing information collection for the Trusted Traveler Programs. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours.