Miscellaneous International Trade Notices
The Wall Street Journal reports that legislation for the U.S.-Bahrain free trade agreement (FTA) could be passed by the House of Representatives as soon as the week of December 12, 2005. (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/22/05 news, 05112299 2, for BP summary on the President's transmittal to Congress of U.S.-Bahrain FTA legislation.) (WSJ dated 12/02/05, www.wsj.com.)
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
1. House May Pass U.S.-Bahrain FTA Legislation During Week of Dec 12
2. CTA Survey on Port Driver Attitudes on PierPASS OffPeak Program
According to a California Trucking Association (CTA) survey of port driver attitudes on the PierPASS OffPeak program, PierPASS' night and Saturday OffPeak port programs appear not to have shortened waiting times at the ports and that nighttime port operations are plagued with the same delays and inefficiencies as daytime port operations. The report states that program planners do not appear to have adequately considered the impact of the additional port hours on the trucking infrastructure and willingness of port truck drivers to shift their activities into less convenient night and Saturday hours without additional compensation and other changes necessary to make off-peak work attractive and feasible. (CTA survey, dated 09/26/05, available at http://www.caltrux.org/downloads/pdf/Public_Downloads/9_26_05_Final_PIER_PASS_Survey_Report.pdf.)
3. Former FMC Commissioner Calls on CBP to Drop Breakbulk Exemption from 24 Hour Rule
American Shipper reports that Rob Quartel, a former commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), has called for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to include breakbulk shipments in its 24-hour rule, which requires advance notification of an imported container's contents one day before departing a foreign port. (American Shipper, dated December 2005, www.americanshipper.com.)