Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report

U.S. imports from Caribbean countries continued to decline in 2014 while exports saw a modest rebound, according to a biannual report to Congress on the operation of the U.S. trade preferences for the Central American and Caribbean region (known collectively as the Caribbean Basin Initiative) from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

These regulations include provisions on definitions, prohibited transactions, licenses, authorizations, statements of licensing policy, and procedures.

The Department of Energy is proposing to require that persons importing any covered product or equipment subject to an applicable energy conservation standard provide a certification of admissibility to the DOE through the Automated Commercial Environment prior to importation.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on China's compliance with its World Trade Organization obligations finds that, as in past years, the overall picture presented by China’s WTO membership remains complex despite some positive results.

Argentina’s new president, Mauricio Macri, has announced a series of measures to boost the national economy, restore financial markets and increase foreign trade. These actions, which include lifting controls on foreign currency, ending restrictions on imports and removing export taxes, are designed to reverse policies imposed by former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

President Obama issued Dec. 21 a proclamation removing Burundi from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, extending an agricultural agreement with Israel and making certain other technical changes.

Reaping the benefits of Russia’s World Trade Organization membership is becoming increasingly difficult as Russia continues to move away from the core WTO tenets of trade liberalization, transparency and rule of law in favor of inward-looking, import substitution economic policies.

World Trade Organization members reached agreement on a series of trade initiatives largely benefiting least-developed countries but failed to find consensus on the fate of the long-running Doha Round negotiations at a ministerial meeting in Kenya that wrapped up Dec. 19.

This review identifies dozens of physical and online marketplaces that reportedly engage in and facilitate substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting. This year’s report also highlights emerging trends in the marketing and distribution of counterfeit goods online.

Covered goods include next-generation multi-component integrated circuits, medical equipment, GPS devices, tools for manufacturing printed circuits, video game consoles, portable interactive electronic education devices, printer ink cartridges, static converters and inductors, loudspeakers, computer software, video cameras, testing instruments and touch screens, which are currently subject to tariffs of up to 35 percent.

Congress could soon act to repeal mandatory country of origin labeling requirements for meat products, which could stave off an estimated $1 billion in retaliatory trade sanctions that Canada and Mexico have threatened to impose as early as Dec. 18.

The primary obstacle to Senate passage of the bill appears to be the addition of a permanent ban on states and local governments imposing taxes on Internet access.

The investigation covers fishing lures, gaming machines, PVC, and products of the chemical or allied industries.