The Center for International Trade and Transit (CITT) is holding an October 6, 2010 public briefing on the "Panama Canal Expansion: The Battle for Jobs and Cargo: Who Wins? Who Loses? Who Decides?" at California State University, Long Beach. Scholars and industry experts will discuss the Panama Canal's expansion, offer their perspective, and challenge existing assumptions about implications for west coast ports, jobs, and cargo volume. There will be formal feedback from a national retailer before the floor will open to the audience for Q&A.
The California Air Resources Board announced that on September 23, 2010, California adopted a new standard to require one-third of the electricity sold in the state in 2020 to come from clean, green sources of energy. CARB states that the standard will promote green jobs to construct and run renewable facilities in California and reduce hundreds of tons of harmful air pollution.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announces that the U.S. has asked the North American Free Trade Agreement Free Trade Commission to establish a dispute settlement panel regarding Mexico’s decision not to move its “dolphin safe” labeling dispute from the World Trade Organization to NAFTA, as requested by the U.S. and as required by NAFTA.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board has issued the following notices:
The Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports:
White House Press Secretary Gibbs stated that during President Obama's September 23, 2010 bilateral meeting with Premier Wen of China, the President talked about the importance of the currency issue to the U.S. and to the world economy and the need for China to do more than it has to date. The President described the currency issue as the most important one addressed during their meeting.
On September 23, 2010, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration withdrew from Office of Management and Budget review a final rule required by SAFETEA-LU (section 7118 of Pub. L. 109-59) to establish certain procedural regulations to implement authority provided to DOT to open packages believed to contain hazardous materials.
The International Trade Administration announces that the Department of Commerce is currently seeking applications to fill three vacant positions on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. Applications are due by October 8, 2010.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced on September 24, 2010 that the U.S. has asked the North American Free Trade Agreement Free Trade Commission to establish a dispute settlement panel regarding Mexico’s decision not to move its “dolphin safe” labeling dispute from the World Trade Organization to NAFTA, as requested by the U.S. and as required by NAFTA.