The ITA states that it will issue appropriate assessment instructions directly to CBP within 15 days of February 12, 2004.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has posted to its Web site a notice detailing its next upcoming informational seminar entitled, Navigating the Regulations, which will be held in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico on March 9, 2004. The FMC states that this seminar provides an overview of the responsibilities of vessel operators, ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs) and maritime shipping services users in U.S. foreign trades.

Broker Power has previously reported that, effective from February 2, 2004 through April 30, 2004, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is detaining or sending to a laboratory for testing, importations of socks from at most 22 targeted countries, in order to verify their country of origin.

The Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) held a quarterly meeting on February 6, 2004 in Washington, DC to discuss, and receive updates from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials on, various customs and trade issues.

According to The Wall Street Journal, pressures are building within China's economy to re-examine the Chinese currency's tether on the U.S. dollar, with a loosening looking more like a matter of when, rather than if. The U.S., the European Union and other trading partners have urged China to let the yuan float, contending that the currency is undervalued and fueling a predatory export boom. (WSJ 02/13/04, www.wsj.com )

¹ The ITA states that only the 2002 final results CV rate will affect the CV cash deposit rate for subject merchandise on and after the publication of the final results of these four reviews.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site various materials related to the January 27-29, 2004 meeting of the Trade Support Network (TSN).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a press release announcing that on February 9, 2004, the EPA Administrator joined 52 freight shippers and carriers to promote the SmartWay Transport Partnership (SmartWay). The EPA has also posted information on SmartWay to its Web site.

The 2004 Schedule B is now available on the Bureau of Census' (Census) Web site at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/index.html for downloading, searching and browsing.

(a) These four companies each have a de minimis AD rate (Ferrara: 0.24%, Lensi: 0.36%, Pagani: 0.21%, and Pallante: 0.12%); no cash deposits will be collected although suspension of liquidation will continue.