U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a final rule which amends the Customs Regulations effective January 5, 2004 regarding the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S. (See final rule for compliance dates for each transportation mode.)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued separate notices on the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement's (UCFTA) 2004 Tariff Preference Levels (TPLs) for imports from Chile of certain cotton and man-made fiber (MMF) apparel goods and certain cotton/MMF fabric goods, as described below.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a final rule which amends the Customs Regulations effective January 5, 2004 regarding the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S. (See final rule for compliance dates for each transportation mode.)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice requesting comments by noon on February 13, 2004 regarding whether any foreign countries should be identified under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 USC 2242), which is commonly referred to as the "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Homeland Security officials don't plan to drop the orange alert just yet, stating that the terrorist threat is still high after the holidays. (WSJ, dated 01/06/03, www.wsj.com )

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:

The ITA states that it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to allow, at the option of the importer, the posting of a bond or security in lieu of an AD cash deposit, for entries of subject merchandise exported by Shanyang and produced by Kaifeng.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice amending its antidumping (AD) duty order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from Netherlands in order to terminate suspension of liquidation and AD duty liability for subject merchandise with a time of entry on or after October 30, 2001 (180 days from the date of publication of the preliminary determination) through November 28, 2001 (the day before the AD duty order was published).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently posted to its Web site certain new Trade Support Network (TSN) committee Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) user requirement recommendations and ACE Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) message drafts.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a consumer alert which advises consumers to immediately stop buying and using ephedra (also known as Ma huang). The FDA also notified manufacturers that it intends to publish a final rule that would have the effect of banning the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids present as soon as it becomes effective, 60 days after publication. (FDA ephedra web page available at http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/ephedra/december2003/)