Formation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Trade/Participating Government Agency Working Group
Fish & Wildlife Service / http://www.fws.gov/le/pdf/07-28-2015-ITDS-working-group.pdf
Background: On January 26, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a notice to the trade community to announce the upcoming International Trade Data System (ITDS) implementation for filers of FWS data through Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The FWS was slated to begin piloting the collection of required FWS data and documents for cargo shipments through ACE in July of 2015. However, that date has been changed to January of 2016. More detailed information about the pilot date, pilot ports and commodities will be provided after feedback from the working group.
The working group will consist of members of the international trade community such as importers and exporters of commodities that are regulated by the FWS, the brokers that process such shipments, the software developers who support the business processes, and representatives from FWS and CBP team developing the ITDS software system. The working group will review the FWS PGA Message Set guidance as well as give input on the ITDS impact on business processes for the affected trade. FWS will use the input from the working group to refine the planned message set and business processes as necessary.
Amid Poaching Crisis, President Obama Announces Proposal to Tighten Controls on Domestic Ivory Trade
Fish & Wildlife Service / http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ID=C5979B33-5056-AF00-5B8634931E12B0C7
Poachers currently kill, on average, one elephant every 15 minutes to fuel global black market, decimating populations, threatening African elephant with extinction
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a growing poaching crisis that is rapidly pushing populations of African elephants, rhinos and other species to the brink of extinction, President Obama today announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing new regulations that would prohibit most interstate commerce in African elephant ivory and further restrict commercial exports. This action, combined with others FWS has already taken, will result in a near total ban on the domestic commercial trade of African elephant ivory. The proposed rule builds upon restrictions put in place last year following President Obama’s Executive Order on combating wildlife trafficking.
The proposed rule follows U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell’s trip to China and Vietnam earlier this month to meet with senior government officials in both countries to build international cooperation to combat wildlife trafficking. In June, FWS held the second “Ivory Crush” in New York City’s Times Square, at which an industrial rock crusher destroyed more than one ton of confiscated ivory. In November 2013, FWS crushed six tons of seized ivory in Denver, inspiring nine other countries to follow suit with their own ivory stock destructions.
“If our children – and their grandchildren – are to grow up in a world where they appreciate their natural heritage and can see elephants in the wild and not just in the history books, then we owe it to them to shut down avenues that motivate poachers to go after these iconic animals,” said Jewell, who serves as co-chair of the President’s Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking. “As we work to put the brakes on poaching and prevent elephants from going extinct in the wild, we need to take the lead in a global effort to shut down domestic markets for illegal ivory. Today, we are making it harder for criminals by further shutting the door to the American market.”
“The United States is among the world’s largest consumers of wildlife, both legal and illegal,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “We want to ensure our nation is not contributing to the scourge of poaching that is decimating elephant populations across Africa.”
An estimated 100,000 elephants were killed for their ivory between 2010 and 2012, an average of approximately one every 15 minutes. The carcasses of illegally killed elephants now litter some of Africa’s premiere parks. Elephants are under threat even in areas that were once thought to be safe havens.
As stated in the President’s July 2013 Executive Order, wildlife trafficking reduces the economic, social and environmental benefits of wildlife while generating billions of dollars in illicit revenues each year, contributing to an illegal economy, fueling instability and undermining security.
Federal law enforcement investigations have demonstrated that wildlife traffickers are exploiting current regulations providing for legal trade in ivory as cover for trade in illegal ivory. In one particularly high-profile investigation, FWS special agents seized more than one ton of elephant ivory – the largest seizure in U.S. history – from a Philadelphia art store owner. Much of the seized ivory, though disguised to look old, had been newly acquired from elephants poached in central Africa. Earlier this year, the owner of a seemingly legitimate Florida fine art auction house pleaded guilty to a wildlife trafficking and smuggling conspiracy involving objects made from elephant ivory, rhino horn and coral.
“By tightening domestic controls on trade in elephant ivory and allowing only very narrow exceptions, we will close existing avenues that are exploited by traffickers and address ivory trade that poses a threat to elephants in the wild,” said Ashe. “Federal law enforcement agents will have clearer lines by which to demarcate legal from illegal trade.”
The proposed revisions to the African elephant rule under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) would prohibit most interstate commerce (sales across state lines) in African elephant ivory and would further restrict commercial exports.
During the last year, FWS consulted extensively with groups that may be impacted by new trade controls for ivory, including professional musicians, antique dealers and collectors, and museum curators, among others.
Based on consideration of the input from those groups and a multitude of others, the proposed rule prohibits interstate commerce in ivory, with specific, limited exceptions for certain pre-existing manufactured items such as musical instruments, furniture pieces, and firearms that contain less than 200 grams of ivory. FWS recognizes that legal trade in these items does not contribute to the current poaching crisis.
“We listened carefully to concerns raised by various stakeholder groups and have developed a proposed rule that will allow continued trade in certain items containing ivory that meet very specific criteria,” Ashe said.
Antiques, as defined under the ESA, are also exempt from its prohibitions.
For more information on the proposed ivory rule, please see http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/african-elephant-4d-proposed-changes.pdf .
The proposed rule will publish in the Federal Register on July 29, 2015 and be open for public comment for 60 days. FWS will review and consider all comments received by September 28, 2015 before publishing a final rule. Please go to www.regulations.gov, docket no. FWS–HQ–IA–2013–0091.
Program Provides Too Few Incentives to Help Boost Competitiveness of Dominican Apparel Exports, Says USITC
U.S. International Trade Commission / http://www.usitc.gov/
Six years after the implementation of the Earned Import Allowance Program (EIAP), the government of the Dominican Republic and U.S. and Dominican apparel industry sources continue to indicate that the program is not providing enough incentives to help reverse the decline in Dominican apparel exports to the U.S. market, as intended, reports the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its publication Earned Import Allowance Program: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Program for Certain Apparel from the Dominican Republic; Sixth Annual Review.
The EIAP allows apparel manufacturers in the Dominican Republic who use U.S. fabric to produce certain apparel to earn a credit that can be used to ship eligible apparel made with non-U.S.-produced fabric into the United States duty free. The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, as amended, requires the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, to evaluate annually the effectiveness of the EIAP program and make recommendations for improvements.
The USITC's sixth annual review was submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means and the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on July 24, 2015. Highlights of the report follow.
- Of the 13 registered firms, only five firms are currently using the program, the same number reported in the fifth annual review.
- In 2014, U.S. imports of woven cotton bottoms from the Dominican Republic totaled less than 8 percent of the value and quantity of imports under the program in 2010, the first full year of the program. Also, U.S. exports to the Dominican Republic of cotton fabrics of a weight suitable for making bottoms fell for the third year in a row, declining by 12 percent by quantity and 19 percent by value between 2013 and 2014.
- The recommendations offered during the sixth annual review of the EIAP were virtually the same as those received by the Commission during the previous five annual reviews—1) lowering the 2-for-1 ratio of U.S. to foreign fabric to a 1-for-1 ratio; 2) expanding the program coverage to enable other types of fabrics and apparel items to be included in the EIAP; and 3) eliminating the requirement that dyeing and finishing of eligible fabrics occur in the United States.
Earned Import Allowance Program: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Program for Certain Apparel from the Dominican Republic; Sixth Annual Review (Inv. No. 332-503, USITC Publication 4544, July 24, 2015) is available on the USITC's Internet site at http://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub4544.pdf.
USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subject investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigations reports are subsequently released to the public, unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.
CBP Announces 3 Tentative Selections for Donation Acceptance Program to Support Port of Entry Infrastructure Needs
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/2015-07-24-000000/cbp-announces-3-tentative-selections-donation
LOS ANGELES — WASHINGTON—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today three tentative selections for the Donation Acceptance Program. The Donation Acceptance Program allows CBP to enter into partnerships for certain services and to accept certain donations. The City of Donna, Texas; the City of El Paso, Texas; and the City of Pharr, Texas have been tentatively selected to engage in further planning and development activities in coordination with CBP and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).
“We are excited to partner with these three communities to further the modernization of our ports of entry,” said Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. “This authority provides an alternate method for CBP to fund the infrastructure needed to facilitate the growing volume of international trade and travel to the United States that is so vital to the U.S. economy.”
The City of Donna proposed installing new inspection facilities and technologies to facilitate outbound empty commercial vehicle inspections at the Río Bravo International Bridge. The City of El Paso proposed removing an existing traffic island to facilitate commercial traffic flow at the Zaragoza/Ysleta Bridge. The City of Pharr proposed installing additional commercial booths and renovations to facilitate agricultural inspections at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge.
CBP and GSA will work with the tentative selectees to establish a memorandum of agreement outlining partnership terms and conditions.
Pursuant to Section 559 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, CBP and GSA are authorized to accept donations of real property, personal property (including monetary donations) and non-personal services from private sector and government entities. Accepted donations may be used for activities related to the construction, alteration, operations, and maintenance of CBP or GSA port of entry facilities.
Donation proposals were evaluated based upon the parameters of Subsection 559(f) and the guidelines laid forth in the Section 559 Donation Acceptance Authority Proposal Evaluation Procedures and Criteria Framework published on October 1, 2014.
Public-private partnerships are a key component of CBP’s Resource Optimization Strategy and allow CBP to provide new or expanded services at domestic ports of entry. Earlier this month, CBP announced nine new reimbursable services agreements to promote economic growth in cross-border trade and travel. Those nine are in addition to the 20 agreements already in place which have provided more than 93,000 additional processing hours at ports of entry around the country—accounting for the processing of more than 2.3 million passengers and nearly 370,000 personal and commercial vehicles.
Appliance Manufacturer LG Agrees to Pay Maximum $1.825 Million Civil Penalty for Failure to Report Defective Dehumidifiers
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2015-07-17-000000/cbp-port-louisville-seizes-designer-merchandise
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that LG Electronics Tianjin Appliance Co., Ltd., and LG Electronics USA Inc. (LG), agreed to pay a maximum $1,825,000 civil penalty. The civil penalty agreement settles CPSC staff’s charges that LG knowingly failed to report to CPSC, as required by federal law, a defect and an unreasonable risk of serious injury with several models of dehumidifiers. Fires caused by the defective dehumidifiers resulted in millions of dollars of property damage.
Due to a defective fan, the dehumidifiers overheated, smoked, melted or caught fire, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers. Federal law required LG to report to CPSC immediately about a consumer product containing a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or presenting a risk of serious injury or death.
Starting in 2003, LG received dozens of reports of the dehumidifiers catching fire and causing extensive property damage to consumers’ homes. By the time the dehumidifiers were recalled in 2012, LG was aware of 107 reports of incidents, with more than $7 million in property damage and three reports of smoke inhalation.
LG manufactured and imported about 795,000 of the defective dehumidifiers under the Kenmore brand name. The dehumidifiers were recalled in 2012 and the recall was reannounced in July 2013.
LG’s conduct occurred before August 2009, at a time when a maximum civil penalty was $1.825 million. In addition to paying a civil penalty, LG has agreed to maintain a compliance program designed to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act. Additionally, the Firm has agreed to maintain a related series of internal controls and procedures. The compliance program requires written standards, policies and procedures, including those designed to ensure that information that may relate to or impact CPSC compliance is conveyed effectively to personnel responsible for CPSC compliance. The compliance program also must address:
- Confidential employee reporting of compliance concerns to a senior manager with authority to act;
- Effective communication of compliance policies and procedures, including training;
- Senior management and responsibility for, and general board oversight of, compliance; and
- Requirements for record retention.
LG does not admit to CPSC staff’s charges.
The penalty agreement has been accepted provisionally by the Commission by a vote of 4-1.
USITC Makes Determinations in Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews Concerning Preserved Mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia
US International Trade Commission / http://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2015/er0729ll479.htm
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that revoking the existing antidumping duty orders on preserved mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.
As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, the existing orders on imports of this product from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia will remain in place.
All six Commissioners voted in the affirmative.
Today’s action comes under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. See the attached page for background on these five-year (sunset) reviews.
The Commission’s public report Preserved Mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia (Inv. Nos. 731-TA-776-779 (Third Review), USITC Publication 4557, August 2015) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the reviews.
The report will be available after September 4, 2015. After that date, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: http://pubapps.usitc.gov/applications/publogs/qry_publication_loglist.asp.
BACKGROUND
The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time.
The Commission’s institution notice in five-year reviews requests that interested parties file responses with the Commission concerning the likely effects of revoking the order under review as well as other information. Generally within 95 days from institution, the Commission will determine whether the responses it has received reflect an adequate or inadequate level of interest in a full review. If responses to the USITC’s notice of institution are adequate, or if other circumstances warrant a full review, the Commission conducts a full review, which includes a public hearing and issuance of questionnaires.
The Commission generally does not hold a hearing or conduct further investigative activities in expedited reviews. Commissioners base their injury determination in expedited reviews on the facts available, including the Commission’s prior injury and review determinations, responses received to its notice of institution, data collected by staff in connection with the review, and information provided by the Department of Commerce.
The five-year (sunset) reviews concerning Preserved Mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia were instituted on March 2, 2015.
On June 5, 2015, the Commission voted to conduct expedited reviews. All six Commissioners concluded that the domestic group response for these reviews was adequate and the respondent group responses were inadequate and voted for expedited reviews.
A record of the Commission’s vote to conduct expedited reviews is available from the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may be made by telephone by calling 202-205-1802.