In the NTIA DTV coupon program contract IBM landed last August, the vendor proposed designing a coupon mailer “such that it stands out among the onslaught of mail any consumer might receive.” IBM’s “solution envisions multi-color highlights and call-to-action statements on the exterior envelope,” its contract proposal said. Instead, IBM is mailing the coupons in a white envelope with the program’s “TV Converter Box” logo in black and white in the return address.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the United Kingdom's Forestry Commission are reminding the trade that effective January 1, 2008, only dunnage (wood packaging material (WPM) used to wedge or support cargo) which meets the treatment and marking requirements of ISPM 151 will be allowed to enter the European Community.
In the NTIA DTV coupon program contract IBM landed last August (CED Aug 16 p1), the vendor proposed designing a coupon mailer “such that it stands out among the onslaught of mail any consumer might receive.” IBM’s “solution envisions multi-color highlights and call-to-action statements on the exterior envelope,” its contract proposal said. Instead, IBM is mailing the coupons in a white envelope with the program’s “TV Converter Box” logo in black and white in the return address. “After speaking with experts, it was decided to use the TV Converter Box Coupon Program name and logo on the mailer to make it clear who was sending the mailer but not for it to stand out so much so that it invited the theft of coupons,” an NTIA spokesman told us Monday.
According to a Journal of Commerce commentary underlying COAC's positions urging Customs to take a go-slow approach in phasing in 102, and drop its first sale proposal, is a deeper unhappiness with the state of day-to-day import issues such as inspections, land border wait times, and commercial operations. (JoC, dated 02/25/08, www.joc.com )
A European Commission plan for picking and authorizing mobile satellite service providers is set for a Thursday vote in the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee. The February 2007 proposal suggested a harmonized approach to use of the 2 GHz frequency band for MSS but didn’t specify how operators would be chosen and authorized, a draft report by U.K. MEP Fiona Hall said. If approved by the parliament and the Council of Ministers, the plan could spur rollout of mobile Internet services across Europe.
According to a Special Quest Edition by Avalon Risk Management, Inc., the primary writers of U.S. Customs bonds met February 21, 2008 to discuss the issue that the surety industry was not consulted prior to the publication of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's January 2nd Federal Register notice on 102, and confirmed that more information must be obtained to understand the true nature of the risk that 102 will create for the surety industry. (Special Quest Edition, dated 02/22/08, available by emailing BP at documents@brokerpower.com)
The following are documents which CBP updates frequently (weekly, monthly, etc.):
The EC agreed Thursday to spend 419 million Euros on new satellites for the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) system. An agreement between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the EC spells out the initial payment and a process of considering a second space component phase during the November ESA Ministerial Council. “GMES is a European Union-led initiative organized in partnership with ESA to combine ground and space-based observations to develop an integrated environmental and security monitoring capability,” the EC said. The data will help to explain land, atmosphere and oceans, and support emergency and security services. ESA will develop the Sentinel series of satellites and a ground segment to coordinate data access. The satellites respond to EC requirements for GMES services on environment and security, said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s director general.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a Cargo Systems Message Service (CSMS) ABI message regarding the development and end-dating of certain Affirmation of Compliance (AofC) codes for imported biologic products. The following are highlights of CBP's CSMS message:
SAN FRANCISCO -- Brazil and a Stanford University program are collaborating to extend on an international basis Brazil’s campaign to set up community technology centers for free culture, said Claudio Prado, the digital policy coordinator in the country’s ministry of culture. Since 2003 the government of president Luiz da Silva has put $8 million into creating 600 so-called Pontos de Cultura -- “hotspots where, through a combination of re-purposed hardware, satellite web access, open source software, and the presence of skilled community activists, grassroots communities have developed through building a common social, cultural, and political” cyberspace, says the Web site of the Stanford Humanities Lab. This month the lab began partnering with the Brazilian project.