On July 29, 2006, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the Pension Protection Act of 2006. According to a Textile Development Memo (TDM) from the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA), H.R. 4 contains Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) fixes, a continuation of the Wool Trust program, a "new shipper" provision, etc. See future issues of ITT for additional details on H.R. 4. (House Ways and Means Committee press release, dated 07/29/06, available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news.asp?formmode=release&id=419; USA-ITA TDM, dated 07/31/06, www.usita.com.)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice requesting comments by 10 a.m. on February 13, 2006 regarding whether any foreign countries should be identified under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 USC 2242), which is commonly referred to as the "Special 301" provision of the Trade Act.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing that it will conduct a Special 301 out-of-cycle review (OCR) focused on whether Ukraine has fully implemented certain improvements to its legislation protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) and has otherwise strengthened IPR enforcement.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that the U.S. is lifting the 100% retaliatory duty rates that have been imposed since 2002 on imports of certain fuel oils, fertilizers, pigments, footwear, diamonds, etc. from the Ukraine.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has rejected a Section 301 petition filed by members of Congress on the issue of China's currency, noting that this petition is similar to two previously rejected petitions. The USTR states that it believes that China has undertaken the necessary and appropriate steps to prepare for a move to a more flexible, market-based exchange rate system; therefore, a Section 301 action would not be an appropriate or productive way to achieve that goal. (USTR statement, dated 05/27/05, available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Spokesperson_Statements/May_27,_2005_Statement_from_USTR_Spokesperson_Richard_Mills_Regarding_a_Section_301_Petition_on_Chinas_Currency_Regime.html)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule, effective February 7, 2005, that corrects its December 9, 2004 final rule that requires the establishment and maintenance of records by certain persons (unless excepted) who manufacture, import, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, or hold food in the U.S.
The Washington File has reported that the U.S. trade deficit surged 7.7% in November 2004 to another record as the volume of oil imports went up and exports of capital goods, autos and industrial supplies dropped, reflecting weak foreign demand, according to the Department of Commerce. (Washington File Pub 01/12/05, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=January&x=20050112130234ebyessedo0.6893274&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that adds a new Subpart J to 21 CFR Part 1 and a new paragraph (f) to 21 CFR 11.1 to, among other things, require the establishment and maintenance of records by certain persons (unless excepted) who manufacture, import, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, or hold foods in the U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that adds a new Subpart J to 21 CFR Part 1 (Subpart J) and a new paragraph (f) to 21 CFR 11.1 to, among other things, require the establishment and maintenance of records by persons (unless excluded) who manufacture, import, process, pack, transport, distribute, receive, or hold food in the U.S.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice requesting comments by 5 p.m. on February 11, 2005 regarding whether any foreign countries should be identified under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 USC 2242), which is commonly referred to as the "Special 301" provision of the Trade Act.