On November 18, 2009, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions amended and unanimously approved¹ S. 510, the "FDA Food Safety Modernization Act."

The Treasury Department has posted its 2009 report to Congress on the International Trade Data System. The ITDS project is an interagency effort to build an electronic "single-window" system for reporting imports and exports to the government. ITDS will allow traders to make a single electronic report, with the relevant data distributed to the appropriate agencies. (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/10/09 news, 09111010, for initial BP summary on the report) ( posted 11/23/09, available at http://www.itds.gov/xp/itds/whats_new/).

Note that Daily Update on Capitol Hill Trade Actions does not appear in today's issue of International Trade Today. Publication of this feature will resume as new information becomes available.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued its 2009 Performance and Accountability Report, stating that the agency met or exceeded most of its 2009 Performance Plan goals, highlights of which include:

Federal Maritime Commission sources have confirmed that it voted not to proceed with a new Notice of Inquiry on ocean transportation intermediary OTI agents, which was the subject of a recent FMC order, during its November 19, 2009 meeting. (The FMC recently issued a remand order affirming that it is lawful for licensed OTIs, including non-vessel operating common carriers and ocean freight forwarders, to engage unlicensed persons to act as their agents to perform OTI services - but only to the extent consistent with the Landstar court decision.) (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/17/09 news, 09111710, for BP summary announcing the meeting.)

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America has posted notices to its website responding to member inquiries regarding the 10+2 interim final rule. Among other things, NCBFAA says that CBP has confirmed that all warning messages regarding Importer Security Filings should be disregarded. CBP has also informed NCBFAA that ISF filers do not need to wait for carriers to submit their Automated Manifest System filing in order to submit an ISF filing. Waiting until the AMS is filed may result in a late filing of the ISF. (NCBFAA responses available at http://www.ncbfaa.org/News/ItemsDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=10245)

On November 18, 2009, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions unanimously approved S. 510, the "FDA Food Safety Modernization Act" by ordering it favorably reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.¹

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its 2009 Annual Report to Congress on November 19, 2009. In addition to security issues (especially cyber warfare), the report discusses the U.S.-China trade relationship, China's currency, its violations of World Trade Organization commitments, and new Chinese laws and policies that may restrict foreign access to China's market. The report offers 42 recommendations for Congressional action. Executive Summary is available here.(Report, posted 11/19/09, available at http://www.uscc.gov/annual_report/2009/annual_report_full_09.pdf)

The Port of Oakland reports that six major U.S. West Coast ports and two western railroads came together at the World Shipping Summit (WSS) in Qingdao, China to announce their collaboration. The U.S. West Coast Collaboration (USWCC) is comprised of the major container-ports on the U.S. West Coast - Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Oakland, Long Beach, and Los Angeles - along with BNSF Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad. The USWCC showcased the benefits of the U.S. West Coast as the premier region for trans-Pacific trade. (Press release, dated 11/12/09, available at http://www.portofoakland.com/newsroom/pressrel/view.asp?id=186)

According to China's Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, AQSIQ and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission signed a Joint Announcement at the recent U.S.-China Consumer Product Safety Summit in which the U.S. expressed its intent to introduce a series of policies and activities in the following months to stress the responsibilities of U.S. importers as members of the supply and distribution chain, including stressing procedures to ensure product quality during manufacture and before entering the market such making sure foreign producers fully understand the requirements of U.S. government on the products. (News release, dated 11/12/09, available at http://english.aqsiq.gov.cn/NewsRelease/NewsUpdates/200911/t20091112_130452.htm)