The Consumer Product Safety Commission has adopted, as mandatory, effective June 12, 2012, the new ASTM F963-11 toy standard. Changes made to the toy standard by the new version include revisions to the section on heavy metals (e.g., cadmium), the introduction of compositing procedures, and new safety requirements and technical guidance for bath toy projections, acoustics, and other potential safety hazards in toys. As the new standard does not reincorporate the standard for toy chests, that provision from F963-07 remains in effect.
Brian Feito
Brian Feito is Managing Editor of International Trade Today, Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. A licensed customs broker who spent time at the Department of Commerce calculating antidumping and countervailing duties, Brian covers a wide range of subjects including customs and trade-facing product regulation, the courts, antidumping and countervailing duties and Mexico and the European Union. Brian is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2012.
The Court of International Trade has ruled that Rack Room Shoes, SKIZ Imports LLC, and Forever 21, Inc., which had challenged the constitutionality of certain tariff provisions of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) on the grounds that the tariffs unconstitutionally discriminate by gender and age, did not plausibly demonstrate government intent to discriminate, dismissing the case with prejudice.
On February 13, 2012, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to non-germane amendments, as well as other procedural tactics, that have delayed consideration of S. 1813 (the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, MAP-21), the surface transportation reauthorization bill currently before the Senate. Senator Boxer also entered into the record a letter sent to all Members of the Senate in opposition to non-germane amendments, which was signed by groups including the Automobile Association of America (AAA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that a Codex physical working group (pWG) will be meeting to discuss principles and guidelines for national food control systems.
The American Association of Port Authorities issued a press release lauding the Obama Administration for proposing to spend $848 million from the Harbor Maintenance Fund (HMF) in FY 2013, a $90 million (12%) increase over the Administration's FY 2012 budget request. AAPA advocates for full use of the Harbor Maintenance Tax’s collections for the dredging of U.S. deep-draft navigation channels, and expressed disappointment that the request does not approach the $1.4 billion collected annually by the tax.
The International Trade Administration is amending the final results for its recently published antidumping duty administrative review of citric acid and certain citrate salts from China (A-570-937) in order to correct an error in the AD cash deposit rate for Yixing Union Biochemical Co., Ltd. The amended rate, which is officially effective February 21, 2012, is expected to be implemented by U.S. Customs and Border Protection soon.
The Office of Textiles and Apparel has issued monthly reports containing official December 2011 trade data from the Census Bureau for U.S. imports and exports of cotton, wool, man-made fiber (MMF), silk blends, and non-cotton vegetable fiber textile and apparel products.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that three Codex electronic working groups (eWG) will be meeting to discuss the evaluation of control systems for food exporters, hygiene recommendations for berry production, and discussion papers regarding the fruits Kava and Nonu.
Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) is urging the Departments of Defense and State to expedite the final risk assessment of U.S. space export control policy required by Section 1248 of the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, so Congress can move to lift export restrictions and allow more sales of non-sensitive satellites overseas. Manzullo states that the department’s May 2011 Interim Report not only concluded that transferring commercial communications satellites from the USML to the CCL would not pose an “unacceptable security risk,” but recommended that action.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a final rule to amend its registration form requirements for durable infant or toddler products. Among other modifications, the CPSC final rule simplifies and clarifies the text of the regulations, adopts changes to the registration form to ensure that consumers register properly, and allows manufacturers to include brand names and third party processors in mailing addresses and contact information.