On October 29, 2008, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on "Investing in Infrastructure: The Road to Recovery." Testimony was heard from government, transportation, and public witnesses. (Congressional Record dated 10/30/08, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r110:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20081030).)
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a Revised Interim Policy on enforcement cases in which a Prepenalty Notice was issued after October 16, 2007 (the enactment date of the International Emergency Economic Powers Enhancement Act) but before September 8, 2008 (the publication date of OFAC's amended Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines).
The Department of Homeland Security has posted a border security and immigration enforcement fact sheet. Among other things, DHS states that it has completed more than 216 miles of pedestrian fence and 154 miles of vehicle fence on the southwest border, for a total of approximately 370 miles. (DHS fact sheet, dated 10/23/08, available at http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1224777640655.shtm)
The Justice Department has issued a press release announcing that the National Export Enforcement Initiative1, a multi-agency initiative to combat illegal exports of restricted military and dual-use technology from the U.S., has resulted in criminal charges against more than 145 defendants in fiscal year 2008. The press release notes that roughly 43% of these cases involved munitions or other restricted technology bound for Iran or China.
A number of documents have been posted to the International Trade Data System1 Web site, including one from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that discusses the functionality that will be available to certain ITDS Participating Government Agencies in future Automated Commercial Environment releases2.
Senator Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued a press release stating that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative must redouble their efforts to fully open markets in Japan, China and the rest of the world to U.S. beef and that removing these barriers must be a top priority. (Press release, available at http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2008press/prb100708.pdf.)
CBP has issued a CSMS message announcing that the Port of Presidio, Texas (2403) was reopened on October 9, 2008. Filers are advised to resume filing at the port immediately. (CSMS 08-000271, dated 10/10/08, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17295&page=&srch_argv=&srchtype=&btype=&sortby=&sby)
1. OFAC Notice of System Error with SDN Data Files
The Bureau of Industry and Security has renewed a Temporary Denial Order suspending the export privileges of Balli Group PLC and related companies and individuals, collectively, Blue Airways FZE, and Mahan Airways for an additional 180 days as evidence obtained by BIS shows that the respondent parties have violated the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). (BIS notice, FR Pub 10/01/08, available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-23089.pdf.)
The Chinese Government's Official Web Portal reports that China's State Council, the country's Cabinet, recently issued an implementation regulation for the Labor Contract Law in an effort to clarify confusion surrounding the law. (Chinese Government press release, dated 09/18/08, available at http://english.gov.cn/2008-09/18/content_1099209.htm)