The Senate plans to consider a bi-partisan bill to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank on May 14, 2012, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) The bill, which was already approved by the House, was scheduled for consideration May 10, 2012, but that was delayed due to a set of amendments from Senate Republicans.
Tim Warren
Timothy Warren is Executive Managing Editor of Communications Daily. He previously led the International Trade Today editorial team from the time it was purchased by Warren Communications News in 2012 through the launch of Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. Tim is a 2005 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids.
The House Homeland Security Committee gave its approval to a bill that would direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a report to Congress on port security gaps. H.R. 4005, the “Gauging American Port Security (GAPS) Act” was ordered to be reported to the House with a favorable recommendation, as amended, by voice vote. Text of the legislation is (here).
The Air Forwarders Association (AfA) is working on Capitol Hill with members of the House transportation Highway bill conference committee to voice concern over whether forwarders should be subject to new bonding requirements during the truck shipment of goods with a prior or subsequent air movement or domestic/trans-border all truck shipments, said AfA. Airforwarders are exempt from bonding requirements in this respect, but language in the Senate transportation bill would force a $100,000 surety bond on airforwarders and customs brokers when moving these shipments, said the association.
Lawmakers, industry executives and musicians voiced disparate views over the need for adjustment to the Lacey Act during a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs hearing May 9, 2012. Congress expanded the law in 2008 to ban trade in products containing illegally harvested wood or plant material. Those changes also require importers to document the genus, species and country of harvest of any wood or plant material contained in an imported product.
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade took a look at conflict mineral provisions within the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, during a hearing May 10. Section 1502 of Dodd-Frank requires companies subject to SEC reporting whose manufactured goods contain any gold, tantalum, tin, or tungsten to report annually to the SEC on whether those minerals “did originate” from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or adjoining countries.
Kevin McAleenan, U.S. Customs and Border Protection assistant commissioner in Office of Field Operations, and Mike Watson, executive director for Plant Health Programs at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), were added to the Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Partnership Council. McAleenan and Watson replace CBP Assistant Commissioner Thomas Winkowski and Alan Green of APHIS.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to establish two more Centers for Excellence and Expertise (CEEs) by the end of FY 2012, and five more after that by the end of FY 2013, CBP said in an updated "Trade Transformation" document. CBP said it is planning to establish a center for Automotive and Aerospace in Detroit and a Petroleum, Natural Gas and Minerals center in Houston.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) announced a subcommittee hearing to review customs operations administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The hearing will focus on efforts to enhance economic growth and job creation by facilitating legitimate trade, modernizing customs procedures, and enforcing U.S. Customs and trade laws. The hearing will help the Committee develop customs reauthorization legislation. The hearing will be at 10 a.m. May 17 in 1100 Longworth House Office Building.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection made a final determination that India is the country of origin for Special Ops Flashlights, Sportsman Flashlights, and a light-emitting diode (LED) blank assembly . The final determination ran in the Federal Register May 11, 2012.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is announcing a 30-day extension of the comment period to June 11, 2012, on its request for comments on an existing information collection, Customs Modernization Act Record Keeping Requirements. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours. The notice ran in the Federal Register May 11, 2012.