The ITA has issued a fact sheet on the 2009 U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT),which will be convened October 28 and 29, 2009 in Hangzhou, China. The fact sheet discusses the background and objectives of the 2009 JCCT, and information on U.S.-China trade flows. The ITA has also issued a press release on the upcoming JCCT, which is available here. (Fact sheet, posted 10/21/09, available at http://www.commerce.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@os/@opa/documents/content/prod01_008529.pdf)
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to evaluate whether to amend the Hazardous Material Regulations to incorporate various amendments to international standards and modal regulations on hazmat classification, testing, packaging, etc.
CHICAGO - Network neutrality rules could slow or “halt” progress toward a fully connected world, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said in a keynote speech Wednesday at Supercomm. “While this future is imminent, it is not inevitable, and the decisions we make today - as an industry and as a country - will determine whether the benefits of these transformational networks will be felt sooner or much, much later.”
CHICAGO - Network neutrality rules could slow or “halt” progress toward a fully connected world, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said in a keynote speech Wednesday at Supercomm. “While this future is imminent, it is not inevitable, and the decisions we make today - as an industry and as a country - will determine whether the benefits of these transformational networks will be felt sooner or much, much later.”
LLANDUDNO, U.K. -- The creative industries and academia suffer more cyberattacks than other sectors but hackers are increasingly breaking into business supply chains to access more desired information, University of Glamorgan, Wales, Professor Andrew Blyth said on Wednesday at a North Wales e- crime summit. Early results gathered over one business week on what kinds of cyberattacks are hitting Wales and where they're coming from show China to be the worst offender, with the U.S. a distant second, he said.
The World Customs Organization states that at the 8th Asia-Europe Customs DGs/Commissioners Meeting held in Greece on October 15-16, 2009, members adopted the ASEM Trade Facilitation Action Plan on Customs Matters (TFAP) for 2010-2012, which includes enhanced dialogue with business and exploration of the possibility to implement pre-arrival and pre-departure security declaration in line with SAFE Framework of Standards. (Report, posted 10/20/09, available at http://www.wcoomd.org/speeches/?v=1&lid=1&cid=2&id=172)
Trade Ministers attending the Global Services Summit held in Washington, DC in October 2009 confirmed that in September, a group of 20 trade ministers agreed to push for negotiating services alongside agriculture and manufacturing in the World Trade Organization Doha Round, instead of afterwards. (Global Services Summit Transcripts available at http://www.uscsi.org/ServicesSummit2009.html)
Two leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee asked the FCC to grant waivers sought by various cities and local governments so they can make early use of 700 MHz D-block spectrum. As expected, the waiver requests got widespread support from various public safety and industry groups. Others, including the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), urged the FCC to act with care, so as to not create problems later on as a national public safety wireless broadband network is put in place.
On September 29, 2009, the United Nations Environment Program released its report, titled Climate Change Science Compendium 20091, in preparation for the next UN climate convention meeting that will take place in Copenhagen in December.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released the Semi-Annual Report concluding that no major U.S. trading partner met the currency manipulation standards during the most recent reporting period. However, the report notes that the U.S. will continue to work with China both in the G-20 and the bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue to pursue policies that permit greater flexibility of the exchange rate and lead to more sustainable and balanced trade and growth. (Report, posted 10/15/09, available at http://www.treasury.gov/offices/international-affairs/economic-exchange-rates/)