Miscellaneous International Trade Notices
The Journal of Commerce reports that non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) have much to gain and lose in the outcome of Norfolk Southern Railway vs. Kirby which will be heard by the Supreme Court this fall. On the one hand, NVOCCs could win affirmation of their status as ocean carriers, not agents of shippers. On the other, the court's decision could open the door for shippers who have tendered cargo to an NVOCC to only be bound by the terms of the NVOCC's bill of lading, and therefore be free to collect full damages from any party in the supply chain. (See ITT's Online Archives or 03/29/04 news, (Ref:04032999 for earlier summary.)(JoC, dated March 22-28, 2004, www.joc.com )
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
1. Case Affecting Status of NVOCCs as Ocean Carriers to be Heard by Supreme Court This Fall
2. USA-ITA Conference on U.S. Apparel Market in 2005
The U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA) has announced that it will hold a conference entitled, "Surviving 2005: New Challenges in the U.S. Apparel Market," on April 26, 2004 in San Francisco, CA. (Further information available at http://www.usaita.com/)
3. USTR Again Delays Preliminary Results of ATPA 2003 Annual Review
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice stating that the preliminary results of its Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) 2003 Annual Review will be announced on May 15, 2004 (from March 31, 2004), with publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register on or about that same date. According to the notice, several of the petitions filed requested the review of certain practices in certain beneficiary developing countries regarding compliance with ATPA eligibility criteria. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/22/04 news, 04012299 5, for BP summary of USTR's notice delaying these results to March 31, 2004 from December 1, 2003.) (FR Pub 04/05/04, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-7639.pdf)
4. FMC Revokes Licenses of 7 NVOCCs; Does Not Revoke Licenses of 7 Other NVOCCs
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has revoked the licenses of the following non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) for failure to establish or maintain an electronically published tariff and to maintain a current Form FMC-1 on file with the FMC, or whose mail was returned as "unclaimed":
| Glad Freight Int'l, Inc. |
| Kallista USA, LLC |
| Logis Services of America, Inc. |
| Full Circle Maritime Corp. |
| Navilca Int'l, Inc. |
| Oceanic Shipping Company |
| Stuart Logistics, Inc. |
The FMC also states that it has not revoked the licenses of the following NVOCCs which it had proposed to revoke, as they have now filed their Form FMC-1:
| Elemar International Forwarding, Inc. |
| Fedex Supply Chain Services, Inc. |
| Grizzard Customs Brokers, Inc. |
| Orion Logistics, Inc. |
| V.S. Import Services, Inc. |
The FMC also states that it has not revoked the licenses of the following NVOCCs which it had proposed to revoke, as they have surrendered their licenses to operate as NVOCCs while retaining their freight forwarder licenses:
| Distribution Support Systems, Inc. |
| International Transport Solutions, Inc. |
(See ITT's Online Archives or 12/04/03 news, 03120499 2, for BP summary of the proposed license revocations.) (D/N 03-14, served 03/26/04, available at http://www.fmc.gov/Dockets/03-14%20Order%20Revoking%20License.htm)