The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice stating that at the request of the petitioner, International Imaging Materials, Inc., the ITA is postponing its final antidumping (AD) duty determination on wax and wax/resin thermal transfer ribbons from South Korea until no later than March 22, 2004 (from February 29, 2004).

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice which cancels a directive published on December 22, 2003 that directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to deny entry, for two years, to textiles and apparel allegedly manufactured in El Salvador by Daewoo El Salvador, S.A. de C.V. (Daewoo El Salvador).

The European Union's (EU's) European Commission (Commission) has issued two proposals designed to strengthen maritime transport security and port security. The Commission first proposed regulations on enhancing the security of ships and certain port facilities in May 2003, and in February 2004 it issued another proposal aimed at enhancing port security.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued its first version (dated February 12, 2004) of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) concerning 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.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the Automated Commercial System (ACS) has been updated to accept U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA) and U.S-Singapore FTA (SFTA) claims through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI), effective February 23, 2004.

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') Undersecretary testified before a House subcommittee that by January 5, 2004 U.S.-Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) was in operation at 115 airports and 14 seaports, covering 99% of all foreign visitors. While the Undersecretary stated that more than 600,000 foreign visitors have been processed under U.S.-VISIT without increasing wait times, the Journal of Commerce (JoC) reported that the implementation of the program at the 50 busiest land border crossings could slow down the flow of goods and people. US-VISIT is scheduled to be extended to these border crossings by December 31, 2004. (DHS Press Release 01/28/04, available via fax by emailing staff@brokerpower.com , JoC report www.joc.com)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a document entitled, Importation of Rough Diamonds which, among other things, explains what importers need to know about the Clean Diamond Trade Act and the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC's) interim regulations implementing this Act, etc.

On July 17, 2002, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice containing guidance on the detention timeframes for textiles and wearing apparel under 19 CFR 151.16 and 19 USC 1499(c), which CBP sources state is still current policy.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that it is delaying the full enforcement of the term "shipper" for inbound ocean cargo declaration purposes, as it appears in CBP's December 5, 2003 final rule on the advance electronic presentation of cargo information.