Miscellaneous International Trade Notices
The Journal of Commerce reports that one former deputy Customs Commissioner views the C-TPAT and CSI programs of U.S. Customs and Border Protection as flawed, as the customs administrations in many developing countries are corrupt and can't do their job on imports, let alone exports. The former official adds that third-party inspection companies could monitor implementation in developing countries, but that this idea "has fallen on deaf ears in the U.S." (JoC, dated 07/11/05)
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1. Corruption in Developing Countries Could Thwart Supply-Chain Security
2. Gulf Ports Reopening After Hurricane Dennis
The Journal of Commerce reports that the Coast Guard has reopened the Intracoastal Waterway, and other Central Gulf ports are gradually reopening after suffering little damage from the high winds and rain of Hurricane Dennis. According to the article, the only ports reporting any damage were Pensacola, FL and Mobile, AL. (JoC Online, dated 07/11/05, www.joc.com.)
3. PierPass Lowers Threshold for Establishing Credit Accounts
Shippers NewsWire reports that in response to customer complaints, marine terminal operators at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports using PierPass have set the threshold for obtaining a credit account at 500 containers per year (from 2000 containers per year). (SNW dated 07/01/05, www.americanshipper.com.)
4. FDA Updates Q&A on BSE in Products Regulated by CFSAN
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an updated document entitled, Commonly Asked Questions About BSE in Products Regulated by FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), in light of the June 24, 2005 announcement of a second case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a cow in the U.S. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/06/05 news, 05070699 1, for BP summary of information concerning the U.S.' second BSE case.) (FDA Pub, updated 06/30/05, available at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/comm/bsefaq.html)
5. ITA Seeks Applications for Membership on Travel/Tourism Advisory Board
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a notice announcing that it is seeking applications by July 29, 2005 for membership on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, the purpose of which is to recommend appropriate coordinated activities concerning funding for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Promotional Campaign. (FR Pub 07/06/05, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/E5-3552.pdf)
6. DHS Notice on Revised Privacy Impact Assessment due to Radio Frequency Identification for US-VISIT
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a notice announcing that it intends to modify the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program to conduct a proof of concept in order to verify the utility of Radio Frequency Identification Technology to automatically, passively, and remotely record the entry and exit of covered individuals. In conjunction with this change, US-VISIT is again revising its Privacy Impact Assessment to discuss the impact of this new technology on privacy, etc. According to DHS, the revised impact statement is available at www.dhs.gov/privacy. (DHS notice, FR Pub 07/07/05, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-13371.pdf.)