According to U.S. government sources, the Bureau of Census (Census) has put its plans for an Automated Export System (AES) filer license and permit program "on hold" in light of Census' upcoming plans to mandate filing through AES for all exports that require Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) information.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice, effective May 24, 2004, which contains several technical corrections to its October 10, 2003 interim final rule requiring domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture/process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the U.S. to register with the FDA by December 12, 2003.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a new Trade Support Network (TSN) committee Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) user requirement recommendation and an updated ACE Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) message draft.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice stating that, effective May 19, 2004, the above-listed Turkey quotas were adjusted for swing, carryover, and the recrediting of unused carryforward.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice stating that the low-duty Tariff Preference Level (TPL) (3) for Mexico is due to expire on December 31, 2004, the date the Multifiber Arrangement expires.
The Bureau of Census (Census) has issued a special edition of its AES Newsletter in order to assist the trade community in preparing for the June 8, 2004 implementation by Census and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of a redesign of the commodity module of Automated Export System (AES).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a proposed rule that would amend its regulations at 7 CFR Parts 301 and 319 which govern the importation of fruits and vegetables in order to, among other things, expand the number of States in which fresh Hass avocado fruit grown in approved orchards in approved municipalities in Michoacan, Mexico (avocados) may be distributed.
On May 20, 2003, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a proposed rule to require imported solid wood packing material (SWPM) to be either heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide, as well as marked, prior to importation in accordance with the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) 15 entitled "Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Material in International Trade."
In the May 19, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBPBulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 21), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to revoke a classification ruling on a miniature gardening tool set, and (b) proposing to revoke two classification rulings regarding certain carbon-lined clothing and carbon-impregnated fabric. CBP states that it is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
On May 20, 2004, the House of Representatives appointed its conferees for H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003. As the House and Senate have passed different versions of H.R. 1047, a House-Senate conference would normally be needed to resolve the differences between the two versions of the bill. However, a conference on H.R. 1047 has not yet been held because there has been a 'hold' placed on the bill in the Senate which has prevented the Senate from requesting a conference and appointing its conferees. (See ITT's Online Archives or 05/03/04 news, 04050315, for final part of BP summary of Senate's version of H.R. 1047, with links to other parts.)(House Ways and Means Committee press release, dated 05/20/04, available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news.asp?formmode=release&id=215.)