The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has posted to its Web site a notice detailing its next upcoming informational seminar entitled, Navigating the Regulations, which will be held in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico on March 9, 2004. The FMC states that this seminar provides an overview of the responsibilities of vessel operators, ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs) and maritime shipping services users in U.S. foreign trades.

The ITA states that it will issue appropriate assessment instructions directly to CBP within 15 days of February 12, 2004.

(a) BGH has a preliminary de minimis rate of 0.43%.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued messages on a number of antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty actions, many of which (marked by an * in the action column) were previously published in the Federal Register by the International Trade Administration (ITA) and summarized in International Trade Today.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued two notices stating that on January 16, 2004 the ITA and the Government of Ukraine (GOU) signed a final amendment to the 1997 Agreement which suspended the antidumping (AD) investigation of cut-to-length carbon steel plate from the Ukraine (1997 Agreement).

In the February 11, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 7), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to revoke two classification rulings on certain aluminum compounds and salt, (b) modifying or revoking three classification rulings on certain electronic hang tags, and (c) modifying or revoking classification rulings on men's swimwear. CBP states that it is also revoking, or proposing to revoke, any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.

The Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) held a quarterly meeting on February 6, 2004 in Washington, DC to discuss, and receive updates from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials on, various customs and trade issues.

The State Department's Washington File has reported that trade officials from the 34 democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere were unable to craft a common and balanced set of rights and obligations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and agreed to recess on February 6, 2004. According to the Washington File, a U.S. trade official has stated that FTAA negotiations are set to resume in March. (Washington File Pub, dated 02/09/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=February&x=20040209170029ASrelliM0.971554&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a press release announcing that on February 9, 2004, the EPA Administrator joined 52 freight shippers and carriers to promote the SmartWay Transport Partnership (SmartWay). The EPA has also posted information on SmartWay to its Web site.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an ABI administrative message correcting two previously issued messages on the upcoming ABI system requirements for filing U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA) and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA) claims.