The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued a final rule, effective April 6, 2004, that amends its regulations to allow a $21,000 optional bond rider to be filed with a licensed non-vessel operating common carrier's (NVOCC's) proof of financial responsibility, for such carriers serving the U.S. oceanborne trade with China.
On March 30, 2004, the Supreme Court decided that the U.S. government's authority to conduct suspicionless inspections at the border includes the authority to remove, disassemble, and reassemble a vehicle's fuel tank in order to search for terrorist weapons, drugs, and other contraband without the need to obtain a warrant or probable cause.
In the March 31, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBPBulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 14), CBP issued notices: (a) modifying a classification ruling on certain knit camisoles, and (b) revoking a classification ruling regarding a set top box. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
On April 1, 2004, a bipartisan group led by the House Ways and Means Committee Chairman introduced H.R. 4103, the African Growth and Opportunity (AGOA) Acceleration Act. (This bill is referred to by some as "AGOA III.")
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released its 2004 annual report documenting foreign trade barriers to U.S. exports and U.S. efforts to reduce and eliminate those barriers.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice announcing the opportunity to request administrative reviews of the following antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message announcing that Amendment 5 (dated March 2004) to the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements document (CATAIR) is available for downloading from CBP's Web site.
In the March 24 and 31, 2004 issues of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 13 and 14), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to modify a ruling regarding the country of origin marking for imported auto parts that are repackaged in the U.S. for retail sale, and (b) revoking a classification ruling on a barbecue and apron set. CBP states that it is also revoking, or proposing to revoke, any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
The Wall Street Journal reports that in a ruling the Bush Administration views as vital to its war against terrorism, the U.S. Supreme Court bolstered the powers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to conduct searches, allowing border agents to conduct extensive searches of vehicles at border crossings without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. According to one legal expert, this decision is a carte blanche for border searches of property, adding that the decision is not terribly surprising, given the whole border control issue and the war on terror. (WSJ, 03/31/04, www.wsj.com )
On March 4, 2004, the Senate passed its version of H.R. 1047, the "Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003."