The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
The International Trade Administration is issuing a countervailing duty order on polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs) from Vietnam (C-552-805).
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has posted an April 2010 Overview of the toxicity of dialkyl ortho-phthalates (O-DAPs), a class comprising about 30 commercial products. The overview is accompanied by detailed staff toxicity reviews of the six banned phthalates, as well as a contractor's report summarizing the toxicity of five phthalate substitutes. (Overview, posted 04/16/10, available at http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/phthalover.pdf)
The U.S. International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into the effects of market access measures and conditions of competition for U.S. agricultural exports to China. The investigation, China’s Agricultural Trade: Competitive Conditions and Effects on U.S. Exports, was requested by the Senate Finance Committee on April 1, 2010.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has published notice of the following voluntary recalls:
The Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice seeking comments on the U.S. request for World Trade Organization dispute settlement consultations with the Philippines regarding its imposition of excise taxes on imported distilled spirits.
The International Trade Administration has issued a notice announcing the opportunity for interested parties to request administrative reviews by June 1, 2010 for the following antidumping and countervailing duty orders.
The International Trade Administration is issuing antidumping duty orders on polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs) from Indonesia and Taiwan (A-560-822 and A-583-843).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is publishing the names of five individuals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo whose property and interests in property have been blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13413, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” effective April 28, 2010. (OFAC notice, FR Pub 05/04/10, available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-10298.pdf)