The State Department has designated the Armed Islamic Group and all associated aliases as Foreign Terrorist Organizations pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.
On October 4, 2010, the Foreign Agricultural Service posted a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report on problems with Russia’s new Customs Union1 list of products requiring phytosanitary certificates.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced that the third meeting of the Trade and Investment Council, established by the U.S.-Ukraine Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement (TICA), took place on October 13, 2010 in Ukraine. During the meeting, the governments agreed on an Action Plan on the protection of intellectual property rights in Ukraine, which Ukraine expects to begin implementing in 2011.
The Government Accountability Office has posted a report entitled “Intellectual Property: Agencies Progress in Implementing Recent Legislation, but Enhancements Could Improve Future Plans.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has updated its Specially Designated Nationals list to add 17 individuals and 12 entities in Mexico and Colombia pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, which prohibits U.S. persons from conducting transactions with the designees and freezes any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction. The Treasury Department's press release on these designations is available here.
The Office of Foreign Asset Controls has released a periodic update of the list of authorized providers of air, travel and remittance forwarding services to Cuba, which includes nine newly authorized providers, among other things.
On October 12, 2010, APHIS updated its Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Animal Product Manual. This Manual provides the background, procedures, and regulatory actions to enforce the regulations governing the import and export of animals, animal products, and animal by-products.
The Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports:
FSIS has provided updated information for the export of U.S. meat and poultry to the following countries:
The Agricultural Marketing Service requests comments on five draft guidance documents by the National Organic Program (NOP) intended for use by accredited certifying agents and certified operations: (1) Compost and Vermicompost in Organic Crop Production (NOP 5021); (2) Wild Crop Harvesting (NOP 5022); (3) Outdoor Access for Organic Poultry (NOP 5024); (4) Commingling and Contamination Prevention in Organic Production and Handling (NOP 5025); and (5) The Use of Chlorine Materials in Organic Production and Handling (NOP 5026). Comments are due by December 13, 2010.