Feb. 25 State Department Shipping Coordinating Committee meeting, 12:30 a.m., Room 5-1224, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters Building, Washington, D.C. (here)
CBP released a list of its near term priorities for development for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The agency document said work on three items previously mentioned to be priorities, the Participating Government Agency (PGA) Message Set, automated corrections/deletions, and initial entry summary edits, will begin with "agile pilots." CBP also listed some priorities planned for the second half of the year, including PGA message set integration and entry integration with in-bond.
The Board of Directors for the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) approved a revision to its recommended "Terms and Conditions of Service" document , the NCBFAA said. The NCBFAA replaced the wording of the "Company as agent" section of the document. The terms of service now say:
It’s necessary to maintain a free and open Internet to benefit fully from technological advancements, MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd said Friday during a luncheon speech at the National Press Club in Washington (http://bit.ly/YwiWTg). “I also happen to believe that the innovations, the creativity ... are also very much worth protecting and preserving,” he said about extending copyright protections for old movies. The concepts of an open Internet and of copyright can and must exist together “if we are going to succeed,” he said. “Content needs technology” and “technology needs content,” Dodd said. MPAA is working with Google and ad brokers and payment processors on protecting copyrighted content from illegal sites, he said: “We're trying to make sure we strip the financial advantages out of illegal sites as well.” The association plans to start a website to educate people about unintentionally downloading illegal content “without any punitive implications, working on the assumption that most people, if informed that something they're doing is outside the legal space, they'll stop doing it,” he said. “I'm not enthusiastic about legislating in this area. ... We need to try and find ways in which we can achieve what ought to make sense to everyone.” MPAA, RIAA and major ISPs are part of the Copyright Alert System that when it starts will alert broadband customers to when they've downloaded pirated content. There’s a lot of conversation occurring among businesses on anti-piracy legislation, Dodd said. MPAA supported the Stop Online Piracy Act, which was derailed last year (WID Jan 19/12 p1). A lot of the technology companies are now moving into content themselves, “which will probably raise the profile of content,” Dodd said. Those companies will want to be compensated as well, he said. Consumers deserve to enjoy first-generation versions of their favorite films, he said. “We can and must have an Internet that works for everyone, and we can and must have protection for the creative industry’s genius that intellectual property represents.” Movies that unite and impact people “are the result of incredible collaboration often involving thousands and thousands of people,” Dodd said. “Those collaborations generate more than just social and cultural dividends, but economic ones as well.” Filmmakers are incorporating major technological breakthroughs in their work, like IMAX and 3D, “which are revolutionizing the theater-going experience,” he said.
MPAA is a part of the conversation within the Obama administration on questions about gun violence, said Chairman Chris Dodd. “I care about it deeply,” he said Friday during a luncheon speech at the National Press Club in Washington (http://bit.ly/YwiWTg). Over the years, the MPAA content ratings system has evolved, he said: There are more descriptors involved and “a lot of the technology has changed.” The content platforms “provide so many more places where visual entertainment can be seen,” he said. “We're working to provide the assistance and support we can in that area.” It’s an important issue and “we're going to be working with the administration and others to find out the ways that we can be supportive,” he said.
MPAA is a part of the conversation within the Obama administration on questions about gun violence, said Chairman Chris Dodd. “I care about it deeply,” he said Friday during a luncheon speech at the National Press Club in Washington (http://bit.ly/YwiWTg). Over the years, the MPAA content ratings system has evolved, he said: There are more descriptors involved and “a lot of the technology has changed.” The content platforms “provide so many more places where visual entertainment can be seen,” he said. “We're working to provide the assistance and support we can in that area.” It’s an important issue and “we're going to be working with the administration and others to find out the ways that we can be supportive,” he said.
Feb. 20 International Trade Administration Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee meets, 9:30 a.m., in Washington, D.C. -- http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2013-00668_PI.pdf
CBP announced the location and agenda for the next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC), March 6 at 1 p.m. (ET) in Washington, D.C. Online registration for webcast and in-person participation is available through March 4, said a Feb. 19 notice.
CBP is in the midst of a rewrite of its Part 146 Foreign Trade Zones regulations that will include modernizing and automating current procedures, as well as eliminating burdensome requirements that serve CBP no purpose, said David Murphy, acting assistant commissioner in the CBP office of field operations. The reforms will “improve efficiencies, and remove redundancies and burdensome paper requirements, while at the same time balancing the need to expedite cargo and maintain security,” he said at the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones 2013 Regulatory and Legislative Seminar Feb. 12 in Washington, D.C. CBP is also close to finalizing changes to its in-bond regulations, and the final rule could come out in May or June, another official said.
The election of half of the board members for the National Custom Brokers & Forwarders Association of America begins later this month. Nominations and nominating petitions are due Feb. 22. If there's a contested election, proxies will be sent to members in the areas represented by March 8. The results will be announced April 8 at the annual meeting in Rancho Mirage, Calif.