In the December 31, 2003 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 1), CBP issued notices (a) modifying a classification ruling regarding a women's camisole, and (b) revoking or modifying six classification rulings on certain hand tools. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice stating that on January 9, 2004, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announced the opening of the first designated Free and Secure Trade (FAST) lane on the Northern Border. CBP notes that this announcement was made during opening ceremonies held at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, MI, one of the most heavily used commercial crossings between Canada and the U.S.

The ITA states that the CV cash deposit rates for all non-reviewed companies are unchanged by the results of this review.

The ITA states that as of April 2001, Ichon Iron and Steel Company (Inchon) changed its name to INI.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a notice stating that it has instituted a "market disruption" investigation of innersprings from China under section 421(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 USC 2451(b)) (Trade Act).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a final rule which amends the Customs Regulations effective January 5, 2004 regarding the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S. (See final rule for compliance dates for each transportation mode.)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a proposed rule that would amend the Customs Regulations with regard to administrative forfeiture proceedings by raising the threshold value of seized property for which it must publish a "notice of seizure and intent to forfeit" in a newspaper.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the changed circumstances antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty reviews of certain pasta from Turkey, concluding that Tat Konserve Sanayi A.S. (Tat) is the successor-in-interest to Pastavilla Makarnacilik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Pastavilla) for AD and CV duty cash deposit purposes.

On October 18, 2003 the Bureau of Census (Census) implemented a final rule to, among other things, amend 15 CFR 30.7 to require the Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Social Security Number (SSN) of the duly authorized forwarding or other agent (if any) of a principal party in interest to be on the paper Shipper's Export Declaration (SED, Form 7525-V).

The Wall Street Journal reports that DNA testing has confirmed that the Washington state cow infected with mad-cow disease came from Canada, a development that allows the U.S. beef industry to shift blame but probably will not appease many countries enough to lift their bans on U.S. beef imports anytime soon. (WSJ dated 01/07/04, www.wsj.com.)