The Food and Drug Administration again denied charges that it aims to implement a ban on aging cheese on wood shelves, in a June 26 letter to Rep. Peter Welch, D-N.Y. The agency has backtracked in recent weeks on a pronouncement it made in January that asserted wood shelves do not comply with legal hygiene standards (see 14061118). Welch criticized the supposed ban on the use of wooden shelves, planning to tack on an amendment to House agriculture appropriations legislation to prohibit funds for enforcement of any ban. The House adjourned debate on the legislation on June 11 before Welch could file the amendment, and has not resumed consideration of the bill (see 14061220). “The focus in ensuring the safety of cheese should be on the overall hygienic practices and conditions in the cheesemaking facility and not on just one element, such as shelving,” said the letter, signed by FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, Michael Taylor. “There is no requirement or prohibition in FDA’s regulations that specifically addresses wooden shelving.” The FDA issued a similar clarification on June 11 (see 14061219). The letter to Welch said equipment that contacts food must merely be “adequately cleanable” and “properly maintained.”
Congress should enact legislation that provides Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack the authority to “suspend indefinitely” country of origin labeling (COOL) regulations for muscle cuts of meat after final World Trade Organization (WTO) adjudication in the ongoing dispute with Canada and Mexico, said more than 60 agriculture, manufacturing and other organizations in a June 26 letter to House and Senate agriculture committee leaders. If the WTO sides with Canada and Mexico, the body would award the two countries the right to retaliate against U.S. products.
Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., introduced on June 24 legislation, HR-4955, that would extend certain duty free preferences in the U.S.-Bahrain free trade agreement (FTA) slated to expire at the end of 2015. The FTA provides duty-free preferences to U.S. imports of certain cotton and man-made fiber fabric wholly formed in Bahrain from yarn produced or obtained outside the territory of Bahrain or the U.S., as well as certain cotton or man-made fiber “made up” goods that are cut or knit to shape and sewn or otherwise assembled in Bahrain from fabric wholly formed in Bahrain or the U.S. deriving from yarn produced or obtained outside Bahrain or the U.S. The legislation would extend the preferences through Dec. 31, 2025. The FTA permits duty-free annual import of such products up to 65 million square meters equivalent.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved on June 26 fiscal year (FY) 2015 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) legislation that provides $12.57 billion for CBP, which represents a $480 million increase from FY14 appropriations, the committee said. The bill appropriates funds for 1,000 new CBP officers, in part to facilitate trade at the 329 ports of entry. Some lawmakers and union officials previously called for an additional 2,000 officers in FY15 legislation (see 14060515). The legislation also includes provisions on CBP duty collection and antidumping and countervailing duty enforcement, said the committee without elaboration. The committee has not yet released the bill text. The Senate legislation appropriates $47.2 billion for DHS in total. The House advanced counterpart legislation on June 11 (see 14061218).
Correction: Republicans on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs argued that a ban on commercial ivory products could contribute to poaching by preventing African and Asian governments from accessing conservation funds (see 14062524).
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
House Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade Chairman John Campbell, R-Calif., released on June 25 draft Export-Import Bank reauthorization legislation (here) that would make substantial structural and oversight changes to the bank. The legislation would also gradually decrease the financial authority delegated to the bank over a three year authorization period, dropping to a $95 billion budget for fiscal year 2017. House Democrats formally introduced on June 24 a bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank for seven years at a $5 billion annual increase, culminating in a $175 billion mandate in fiscal year 2021 (see 14062519). Campbell released the legislation text “solely for the purpose of discussion,” he said in a press release (here). Debate over reauthorization of the credit agency has hit fever pitch this week on Capitol Hill (see 14062405).
The Commerce Department is letting South Korean industry off the hook with its decision in February to not suspend liquidation or impose antidumping duty cash deposit requirements on South Korean oil country tubular goods, said industry witnesses and Democratic lawmakers at a June 25 Senate Finance Committee hearing on trade enforcement in U.S. trade policy. South Korean firms did not dump the steel products, typically used for ocean and land energy extraction projects, said Commerce in a preliminary ruling (see 14061921). Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have roundly rejected the Commerce decision over recent months, saying egregious dumping is damaging U.S. industry (see 14061921).
China, India, Russia and Switzerland’s "continuing problems" with copyright protections landed the nations on the newly renamed Congressional International Creativity and Theft-Prevention Caucus Watch List for 2014, said the caucus co-chairmen on Capitol Hill June 24. The Co-chairmen are Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif. The caucus, formerly known as the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, changed its name because piracy “conveys an image of adventure,” but piracy is “downright theft,” said Goodlatte, who hinted at the name change earlier this year. Italy and the Philippines were highlighted in the report as “countries making progress” on copyright safeguards. The caucus highlighted a report (here) by the Digital Citizens Alliance (DCA) on ad-supported online theft. Congress and stakeholders fighting piracy “need to be as organized” as the “criminals,” said DCA Executive Director Tom Galvin at the event.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) should permit freight forwarders to use specially trained canines to screen cargo at off-airport Certified Cargo Screening Facilities, in accordance with the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act passed by Congress in 2007, said President of Commodity Forwarders Chris Connell at a June 24 hearing on detection of explosives in cargo. The legislation authorized independent screening through a raft of measures, such as x-ray, explosive trace detection technology, and canines, but the TSA still largely prohibits forwarders from using the specially trained canines, said Connell, speaking on behalf of the Airforwarders Association. “We are highly interested in any solution that can help us expedite the screening process, move our perishables more quickly through the supply chain, and still provide the utmost in safety and security of what we ship,” said Connell in written testimony. “We think dogs can really help us do that -- again, not as a magic bullet, but as an important option to help get the most out of the other solutions we are already using.”