Foreign-Trade Zone operators could face problems as a result of CBP's proposed regulatory changes to allow for an electronic alternative to the Notice of Arrival that's required for some imports of pesticides and devices regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (see 1609290029), the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones said in comments to CBP (here). The problem is that FTZ entries are usually either Type 06 individual (or regular) or Type 06 weekly estimated entry types, it said. "It appears EPA may intend to require [Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)] NOA information at the time of cargo release in ACE – i.e., on entry," the NAFTZ said. "This point of transmission is too late in the importation process for FTZ filers."

Massachusetts is now a key battleground over the legal challenge to the FCC's 2015 effective competition order, with much of oral argument Thursday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit revolving around how much the state is representative of the cable market. Stephen Kinnaird of Paul Hastings -- representing petitioners NAB, NATOA and the Northern Dakota County (Minnesota) Cable Communications Commission -- told us a decision on their appeal could take many months, given the multiplicity of issues involved and whether there is any dissent. "There is a lot to digest," he said.

Globalstar's attentions might move to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and getting her to reconsider now that the company has scaled back its broadband terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) plans so as not to use unlicensed spectrum, observers and interested parties tell us. It's not clear if Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who had been the subject of heavy lobbying by the satellite company (see 1611040050, 1609080073 and 1608240063), is interested in any compromise decisions, satellite industry consultant Tim Farrar emailed us. Rosenworcel and Commissioner Ajit Pai had voted against the Globalstar draft order in June (see 1606030041). Rosenworcel's office didn't comment.

The GOP election victory is seen as complicating FCC action on business data services near term and putting the commission's broadband net neutrality policy in serious doubt for next year. The FCC Thursday put a BDS item on the agenda for commissioners' Nov. 17 meeting, and while it could still be withdrawn, several agency and industry officials told us Thursday they thought the commission would adopt the item. It nevertheless could still get gummed up in post-vote procedural steps that leave it vulnerable when President-elect Donald Trump takes power, and a new Republican-run FCC could always change course, they said.

Globalstar's attentions might move to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and getting her to reconsider now that the company has scaled back its broadband terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) plans so as not to use unlicensed spectrum, observers and interested parties tell us. It's not clear if Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who had been the subject of heavy lobbying by the satellite company (see 1611040050, 1609080073 and 1608240063), is interested in any compromise decisions, satellite industry consultant Tim Farrar emailed us. Rosenworcel and Commissioner Ajit Pai had voted against the Globalstar draft order in June (see 1606030041). Rosenworcel's office didn't comment.

The GOP election victory is seen as complicating FCC action on business data services near term and putting the commission's broadband net neutrality policy in serious doubt for next year. The FCC Thursday put a BDS item on the agenda for commissioners' Nov. 17 meeting, and while it could still be withdrawn, several agency and industry officials told us Thursday they thought the commission would adopt the item. It nevertheless could still get gummed up in post-vote procedural steps that leave it vulnerable when President-elect Donald Trump takes power, and a new Republican-run FCC could always change course, they said.

U.S. and European copyright owners lose more than $150 million annually in royalties because of the Copyright Act’s Section 110(5)(b), consulting firm PMP Conseil said in a European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers-funded study. The section, passed as part of the 1998 Fairness in Music Licensing Act, conditionally exempts bars and restaurants of less than 3,750 square feet from getting a public performance license from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or Broadcast Music Inc. The exemption costs EU rightsholders $44 million in revenue annually, GESAC said. It surveyed “a wide survey of US bars, restaurants and retail establishments to gauge their use of music,” the group said in a news release. The U.S. “is one of only two more economically developed countries that have an exemption in place for playing music in bars, restaurants and retail establishments by means of radio or TV” and “it is unquestionable that this exemption has an unacceptable negative impact on authors,” GESAC said. The group plans to present the study’s findings to the European Commission and lobby the EC to pressure the U.S. to rescind Section 110(5)(b). The U.S. and EU “are currently holding talks, although fragile, over trade agreements where the harm caused by this exemption needs to be raised and addressed,” GESAC General Manager Véronique Desbrosses said. “We expect this study to have a significant effect on the weight of the issue.”

U.S. and European copyright owners lose more than $150 million annually in royalties because of the Copyright Act’s Section 110(5)(b), consulting firm PMP Conseil said in a European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers-funded study. The section, passed as part of the 1998 Fairness in Music Licensing Act, conditionally exempts bars and restaurants of less than 3,750 square feet from getting a public performance license from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or Broadcast Music Inc. The exemption costs EU rightsholders $44 million in revenue annually, GESAC said. It surveyed “a wide survey of US bars, restaurants and retail establishments to gauge their use of music,” the group said in a news release. The U.S. “is one of only two more economically developed countries that have an exemption in place for playing music in bars, restaurants and retail establishments by means of radio or TV” and “it is unquestionable that this exemption has an unacceptable negative impact on authors,” GESAC said. The group plans to present the study’s findings to the European Commission and lobby the EC to pressure the U.S. to rescind Section 110(5)(b). The U.S. and EU “are currently holding talks, although fragile, over trade agreements where the harm caused by this exemption needs to be raised and addressed,” GESAC General Manager Véronique Desbrosses said. “We expect this study to have a significant effect on the weight of the issue.”

The election of Donald Trump likely means that several of the big items approved under Chairman Tom Wheeler on 3-2 votes will be reversed by the next commission. Wheeler could withdraw a few remaining items, especially rules on business data services (BDS) and set-top boxes, FCC and industry officials said. If Wheeler pushes them through, the Trump commission could reject them on reconsideration, the officials said. The 2015 decision to reclassify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act and the recent ISP privacy rules are likely targets for reversal, one analyst said. The agency declined to comment.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is willing to renegotiate NAFTA with the U.S. after president-elect Donald Trump takes office, Trudeau said (here). “If Americans want to talk about NAFTA, I’m happy to talk about it,” The Toronto Star quoted Trudeau as saying. The news sparked concern among U.S. economists on a Nov. 10 post-election trade panel hosted by the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business on Capitol Hill. Georgetown international business and economics professor J. Bradford Jensen said it’s not clear whether reworking the trade deal with Canada or Mexico would boost U.S. job numbers, raising the possibility that such a move could even cause more jobs to move overseas. Other elements of Trump’s potential trade policy described during the campaign, such as substantially raising tariffs, could motivate other nations to respond in kind, causing the U.S. to lose yet more jobs, Jensen said.