Transportation Secretary LaHood has announced that 42 capital construction projects and 33 planning projects in 40 states will share nearly $600 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER II program for major infrastructure projects ranging from highways and bridges to transit, rail and ports.
The Justice Department has posted the October 18, 2010 remarks of Attorney General Eric Holder at the International Intellectual Property Summit in Hong Kong. He stated that protecting intellectual property is a top priority for the U.S. as its consequences are devastating. Holder notes that IP criminals aren’t just selling counterfeit clothing or electronics. They’re selling dangerous imitations of critical components, like brake pads, or everyday consumer goods, like toothpaste. He adds that enforcement is only as strong as its weakest link and not every country has done enough.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is publishing the names of 12 entities and 17 individuals in Mexico and Colombia whose property and interests in property have been blocked pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
On October 15, 2010, APHIS updated its CITES I-II-III Timber Species Manual. This Manual provides CBP and PPQ personnel with guidelines for the import, re-export, violation, seizure, and forfeiture of CITES Appendix I, Appendix II, and Appendix III protected timber species, and is useful for those regulated by the Lacey Act Amendments. (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/12/10 news, 10100835, for more detailed summary of an earlier October update.)
The Environmental Protection Agency is inviting small businesses to participate in an advocacy review panel focusing on formaldehyde in order to assist in its implementation of regulations for the new Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act, enacted in July 2010. Nominations must be received by November 2, 2010.
The Energy Department has issued a final rule, effective November 19, 2010, amending its test procedures for residential furnaces and boilers to include provisions for measuring standby mode and off mode energy consumption, as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007). This final rule also adds new calculations to determine the annual energy consumption associated with standby mode and off mode, adopts a number of definitions for key terms, etc.
On October 18, 2010, APHIS updated its Miscellaneous and Processed Products PPQ Manual. The manual is used for regulating imported items that are processed and are not intended for propagation.
Officials from the U.S. and Israel met on October 18, 2010 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement (IFTA).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has published the names of five entities in Mexico whose property and interests in property have been blocked pending investigation pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
The Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN report: