U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing that its Office of Field Operations and its Office of Information and Technology are in the process of conducting various public meetings at several of the major land borders across the U.S to present the major provisions of its regulations and policies on the advance electronic presentation of information for inbound truck cargo and to answer questions from affected parties.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a press release announcing that beginning on June 4, 2004 at 6 a.m. the third phase of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)/U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discretionary enforcement plan for the prior notice (PN) requirements of the Bioterrorism Act will be implemented.

According to a Journal of Commerce editorial, the debate over container security has shifted and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') newly formed Container Working Group, not U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is the driving force.

In the May 26, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 22), CBP issued notices: (a) modifying a classification ruling on an envelope-style clutch, and (b) revoking or modifying two classification rulings regarding abdominal training systems. 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.

On May 24, 2004, the International Trade Commission (ITC) released a report entitled, U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement: Potential Economywide and Selected Sectoral Effects. According to the ITC, this report assesses the comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) that the President has entered into with Australia.

On May 18, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a notice announcing that it is extending until July 13, 2004 the comment period regarding all aspects of its interim final rule on prior notice of imported food shipments.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message stating that due to a fire at the Department of Commerce, entry summaries requiring a steel license from Commerce which were due June 1, 2004 have been granted a one day filing extension until June 2, 2004. (Adm: 04-1402, dated 06/02/04, available by fax by emailing documents@brokerpower.com)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) Office of Automated Commercial Systems (ACS) has posted a notice to its Web site containing (a) a list, current as of May 27, 2004, of companies/persons offering Air Automated Manifest System (AMS) communication and data processing services to the trade community, and (b) the Air AMS Respondent Checklist, as follows: