According to The Journal of Commerce (JoC), the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach may reduce the time that importers and exporters have to store their containers for free. (JoC, dated 02/16/04-02/22/04, www.joc.com)

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated administrative reviews of the following antidumping (AD) duty orders for the specified companies listed in the ITA notice:

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a list of countries that have imposed bans or have bans pending on U.S. poultry, and/or poultry products, and/or live poultry, etc.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule, effective February 20, 2004, that amends 15 CFR Parts 764 and 766 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by incorporating a guidance document (guidance) entitled, "Supplement No.1 to Part 766 - Guidance on Charging and Penalty Determinations in Settlement of Administrative Enforcement Cases."

European Union (EU) sources have confirmed that effective March 1, 2004, the EU will impose additional customs duties on imports of certain U.S.-origin products in connection with the EU's World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over the U.S. Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (FSC/ETI) tax regime.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated a changed circumstances antidumping (AD) duty review to consider revoking the AD duty order on industrial nitrocellulose from Brazil, due to a December 31, 2003 request to revoke the order by Nitro Quimica Brasileira (Nitro Quimica), a Brazilian exporter of subject merchandise and an interested party in this proceeding.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) has issued a report entitled, Export Controls: Post-Shipment Verification Provides Limited Assurance That Dual-Use Items Are Being Properly Used, in response to a request by Senator Jon Kyl.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its first version (dated February 12, 2004) of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on its final rule requiring the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S.

Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department decides, based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. The following have been issued since BP's most recent update:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued electronic bulletin board (CEBB) messages which contain new instructions from the International Trade Administration (ITA) on accepting blanket certifications for certain exclusions from the countervailing (CV) duty order on dynamic random access memory semiconductors (DRAMS) from South Korea (C-580-851).