Updated on Restrictions Concerning the Sale, Possession, Import and Export of Ivory
Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP / http://gdlsk.com/firm-news/358-update-on-restrictions-concerning-the-sale-possession-import-and-export-of-ivory.html
Legislation is pending that, if passed, will significantly reopen legal trade in certain ivory products. Click on the link for more information H.R. 697 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/697. In February of 2014, FWS responded to the global call for action to protect Asian and African elephants from extinction for their ivory. This response initially introduced a series of executive orders calling for a complete end to the import, export, possession, sale or transfer of ivory products, regardless of when and where created.
Since that time, legislation has been introduced that may loosen the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s unilateral moratorium on the importation, exportation, and sale of certain lawfully possessed ivory (see, “African Elephant Conservation and Legal Possession Act of 2015, S.1769, H.R, 697). If passed, ivory objects will be able to be imported or exported under the African Elephant Conservation Act (AECA) and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) if:
1. The raw ivory or worked ivory is solely for a museum;
2. The ivory was lawfully importable into the United States on February 24, 2014, regardless when it was acquired, or;
3. The worked ivory was previously lawfully possessed in the United States.
Our office is closely monitoring the progress of this legislation and will provide further updates if it is passed.
ACE and Automated Systems
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated
CBP automated systems electronically support the facilitation of importing and exporting goods. By the end of 2016, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) will become the Single Window - the primary system through which the trade community will report imports and exports and the government will determine admissibility. Through ACE as the Single Window, manual processes will be streamlined and automated, paper will be eliminated, and the international trade community will be able to more easily and efficiently comply with U.S. laws and regulations.
CBP has established the following mandatory use dates for transitioning to ACE:
Baltimore CBP Detects 147 Pounds of Cocaine in Shipping Container
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2015-08-14-000000/baltimore-cbp-detects-147-pounds-cocaine-shipping
BALTIMORE — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Port of Baltimore discovered 147 pounds of cocaine August 4 in a shipping container from Brazil.
This is CBP’s largest cocaine seizure in Baltimore since April 2007 when CBP officers discovered 310 pounds of cocaine in three gym bags inside a refrigerated shipping container from Ecuador. In December 2013 CBP officers made another significant seizure when they discovered 128 pounds of cocaine concealed in two duffle bags inside a container that arrived from Panama.
CBP officers conducted a routine inspection of the container using non-intrusive imaging technologies when they detected anomalies in a commercial shipment of lumber. After opening the container, CBP officers discovered that the anomalies were two gym bags that contained a combined 57 bricks of a white-powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.
CBP officers seized the cocaine, which weighed a combined 66.85 kilograms, or a little more than 147 pounds, and had an estimated street value of more than $4 million.
“Narcotics interdiction remains a top Customs and Border Protection enforcement priority, and this case illustrates how CBP officers leverage non-intrusive imaging technologies to intercept dangerous drugs and to help keep our communities safe,” said Dianna Bowman, CBP Area Port Director for the Port of Baltimore.
Non-intrusive inspection (NII) technology enables CBP to detect contraband (e.g., narcotics and weapons) and materials that pose potential nuclear and radiological threats. NII technologies enable CBP to screen or examine a larger portion of the stream of commercial traffic while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade, cargo, and passengers. View the NII Fact Sheet to learn more.
CBP conducts inspection operations and intercepts currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture products and other illicit items. For more on OFO’s border security mission at U.S. Ports of Entry please visit Border Security.
Port Awarded $3.4 Million for Security
Port of Long Beach / http://www.polb.com/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=1478&TargetID=1
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded the Port of Long Beach’s Security Division $3.4 million in grants to fund ongoing projects that protect the Port.
The grants will enhance port security systems such as physical security equipment and monitoring and detection systems, including the Virtual Port System, and improve the resiliency of port security systems.
“Protecting workers and the community, as well as ensuring business continuity, are top priorities at the Port of Long Beach,” said Lori Ann Guzmán, President of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. “FEMA’s grant money will help us carry out important security projects and enhance our abilities to work with our security partners at the Port.
FEMA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, offers the grants for port security initiatives, and recipients like the Port of Long Beach must provide at least 25 percent of the cost of the project.
The trade that flows through the Port of Long Beach sustains about 1.4 million jobs across the United States, making the Port a valuable economic resource. To safeguard that resource, security operations at the Port have been greatly enhanced by $136 million in grants received since Sept. 11, 2001.
The Long Beach Harbor Department’s Security Division partners with local, state and federal law enforcement and security and emergency-response agencies including the Long Beach Police and Fire departments, FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard.
ITA: Press Releases
International Trade Administration / http://www.trade.gov/press/press-releases/
ACTION: Notice of petition for rulemaking.
SUMMARY: The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (‘‘CPSC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) received a petition requesting that the Commission initiate rulemaking under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (‘‘FHSA’’) to declare several categories of products containing additive organohalogen flame retardants to be ‘‘banned hazardous substances.’’ The Commission invites written comments concerning the petition.
DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments on the petition by October 19, 2015.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission received a petition requesting that the Commission initiate rulemaking under the FHSA to declare several categories of products containing additive organohalogen flame retardants to be ‘‘banned hazardous substances.’’ Specifically, the request asks the Commission to declare that:
• Any durable infant or toddler product, children’s toy, child care article, or other children’s product (other than children’s car seats) that contains additive organohalogen flame retardants, is a ‘‘banned hazardous substance’’;
• Any article of upholstered furniture sold for use in residences and containing additive organohalogen flame retardants is a ‘‘hazardous substance’’ and a ‘‘banned hazardous substance’’;
• Any mattress or mattress pad with additive organohalogen flame retardants in its plastic casing is a ‘‘hazardous substance’’ and a ‘‘banned hazardous substance.’’
The petition was filed by Earthjustice and the Consumer Federation of America, which are joined by American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Women’s Association, Consumers Union, Green Science Policy Institute, International Association of Fire Fighters, Kids in Danger, Philip Landrigan, M.D., M.P.H., League of United Latin American Citizens, Learning Disabilities Association of America, and Worksafe.
Petitioners assert that additive organohalogen flame retardants are used extensively in the consumer products categories that would be covered by their rulemaking request. Petitioners further assert that, based on the physicochemical properties of additive organohalogen flame retardants, all such chemicals in this class will migrate out of consumer products and persist in the indoor environment. According to petitioners, because organohalogen flame retardants are, as a class, foreign to the human body and inherently toxic due to their physical, chemical, and biological properties, human exposure to these chemicals will result in adverse human health impacts. Finally, petitioners provide data and information regarding adverse human health impacts, which include reproductive impairment, neurological impacts, endocrine disruption and interference with thyroid hormone action, genotoxicity, cancer, and immune disorders.
Petitioners assert that declaring the specified categories of products containing additive organohalogen flame retardants to be ‘‘banned hazardous substances’’ is necessary to adequately protect public health and safety. More specifically, petitioners assert that action short of a ban under the FHSA would not adequately protect the public health and safety because warning labeling cannot adequately prevent or control exposure to flame retardants that migrate from products into homes. Furthermore, petitioners argue that the ban must apply to the entire class of additive organohalogen flame retardants because banning only individual chemicals within that class would allow other inherently toxic chemicals within that class to be used.
By this notice, the Commission seeks comments concerning this petition Interested parties may obtain a copy of the petition by writing or calling the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504–7923. A copy of the petition is also available for viewing under ‘‘Supporting and Related Materials’’ in www.regulations.gov under this docket number, Docket No. CPSC–2015–0022.
Dated: August 14, 2015
USITC: News Releases and New Documents
US International Trade Commission / http://www.usitc.gov/
August 19 - At the request of the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration will issue temporary flight restrictions in support of Pope Francis’s visit to Philadelphia, PA September 26-27, 2015.
See Flight Advisory [pdf]