The Commerce Department is seeking comment on any subsidies, including stumpage subsidies, provided by certain countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood lumber products to the U.S. during the period July 1 through Dec. 31, 2013. Comments are due by May 30.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for April 28:
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for April 25:
The Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness is set to meet June 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Washington, D.C., said the Commerce Department. At the meeting, committee members will discuss trade and competitiveness, freight movement and policy, information technology and data requirements, regulatory issues, and finance and infrastructure. The meeting will be open to the public, although space is limited. Comments should be submitted by June 3 to ensure consideration during the meeting.
The Obama administration effort to consolidate government agencies that deal with trade functions continues to be inhibited by congressional reluctance, said Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker on April 17 at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. President Barack Obama in 2012 urged Congress to pass implementation legislation (see 12011711). Lawmakers introduced the Reforming and Consolidating Government Act of 2012, but the bill died in committee (here). It would have consolidated the Commerce Department’s core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. "Reorganization is interesting. Congress is not interested in it. So I’m not spending a lot of time focusing on it,” said Pritzker, in response to a question following a speech on the Obama administration’s trade agenda in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for April 24:
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements added certain cashmere yarns to the list of items not available in commercial quantities in a timely manner under Appendix 4-B-1 of the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KFTA). The yarns, which are classified in subheadings 5108.10 and 5108.20 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, were added in unrestricted quantities. Effective April 24, textile or apparel goods imported into the U.S. containing these 100% cashmere 2-ply yarns will be treated as originating goods, regardless of the actual origin of those inputs. Heritage Cashmere Korea Co., Ltd. requested the addition to the KFTA short supply list in March (see 14032423).
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board approved a request from the County of Orange, N.Y. to expand the service area of FTZ 37 to include Rockland County. The FTZ previously only included Orange County within its service area
The U.S. Census Bureau on April 22 released trouble-shooting techniques to resolve frequent Fatal Error notification issues in the Automated Export System (AES). Fatal Errors occur when a shipment is rejected.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Materials Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed meeting (here) on May 8. The Materials Processing Equipment Technical Advisory Committee will also hold a partially closed meeting (here) on May 13. The committees advise Commerce on regulatory export controls applicable to materials processing equipment and related technology. The meetings are public and will be held in the Herbert C. Hoover Building in Washington D.C. Contact: Yvette Springer at Yvette.Springer@bis.doc.gov.