U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the following vessel operating common carriers (VOCCs) have become Sea Automated Manifest System (AMS) operational:

According to sources at the International Trade Commission (ITC) and Presidential Proclamation 6763, the last column 1 "general" staged duty rate reductions for all but six of the tariff numbers subject to the Uruguay Round took effect on January 1, 2004.

Broker Power provides quota prices on a monthly basis for certain textile and apparel categories from the People's Republic of China (China) that are publicly traded. (These publicly traded quota prices have been provided by a Hong Kong quota broker.)

The Bureau of Census (Census) has issued an Automated Export System (AES) Broadcast that, among other things, provides updated information on the requirement for pre-departure filing of export information for shipments to proscribed countries.

(a) For previously reviewed or investigated companies not listed above (including Bedini as both exporter and producer)¹, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent period.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued a final rule that implements the voluntary early retirement provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which apply to most executive branch agencies. This final rule, effective June 14, 2004, explains how an agency requests authority from OPM to offer voluntary early retirement to its employees. (FR Pub 06/15/04, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-13484.pdf)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that on June 15, 2004, the U.S. and Morocco signed the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued its annual list of the sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), in accordance with section 491 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended, and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Public Law 103-465). According to FSIS, this list covers the time periods from June 1, 2003 to May 31, 2004 and June 1, 2004 to May 31, 2005.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site its "critical list" of textiles and apparel subject to import quotas with entered quantities 85% or more filled as of June 14, 2004. CBP states that this "critical list" may be used by CBP as a reference for releasing quota merchandise "off line" when the Automated Commercial System (ACS) is down for longer than four hours. CBP notes that textile and apparel merchandise for Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS) countries cannot be released "off line" until it is processed through quota. CBP further notes that if the system is down for more than 24 hours, Headquarters Quota Branch should be contacted for further instructions. CBP also states that merchandise subject to tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), which are filled, may be released if entered under the "over quota" (high) rate of duty. (CBP's critical list, dated 06/14/04, http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/textile_critical_list/)