The Environmental Protection Agency has forwarded to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services a draft proposed rule to declare a prion (i.e., proteinaceous infectious particle) a pest under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, so a product intended to reduce the infectivity of any prion on inanimate surfaces (i.e., a prion product) is considered to be a pesticide and regulated as such.
The State Department announced that the Foreign Minister of Ukraine and U.S. Secretary of State met July 2, 2010 in Kyiv, Ukraine for the second session of the U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission. They reiterated that their common interests include democracy, economic freedom and prosperity, security and territorial integrity, energy security, cooperation in the defense area, the rule of law and people-to-people contacts.
The President has issued an Executive Order on optimizing the security of biological select agents and toxins in the U.S. The order requires the Federal government to develop security enhancements to help prevent biological agents and toxins, like smallpox and anthrax, from getting in the hands of terrorists.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission announces a public hearing on July 14, 2010 in Washington, DC, titled “The Challenge of China’s Green Technology Policy and Ohio’s Response,” which will examine the implications for the U.S. of China’s policies for promoting domestic clean energy technology industry for the U.S., etc.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements is reducing Nicaragua’s Tariff Preference Level for non-originating cotton and manmade fiber apparel under the Dominican Republic - Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement by 761,138 square meters equivalent.
The National Association of Manufacturers has issued a manufacturing strategy to create jobs and make the U.S. more competitive. Among its trade-related recommendations, NAM suggests that the U.S. enact the pending free trade agreements and negotiate additional FTAs, become more engaged in the WTO Doha Round, modernize the outdated export controls system, and expand export promotion programs and export credit assistance.
The Office of Science & Technology Policy is requesting information from the nanotechnology stakeholder community for the next National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategic Plan to be published in December 2010.