Issue 14, January 28, 2009
On January 20, 2009 the Obama White House asked all federal departments and agencies to suspend the issuance of proposed and final regulations pending further review by an agency or department head designated by President Obama. This action may result in a delay of some trade-related regulations that were scheduled to take effect in 2009.
The White House has requested that no proposed or final regulation be sent for publication in the Federal Register, and all proposed or final regulations that have not been published in the Federal Register be withdrawn until they have been reviewed and approved by the appointed department head or his designee.
In addition, a 60-day postponement of the effective date should be considered for any regulations that have already been published in the Federal Register but have not yet taken effect and the comment period on any such rules should be reopened for an additional 30 days.
This action allows for exceptions for emergencies or other urgent circumstances relating to health, safety, environmental, financial or national security matters, and it does not apply to regulations with deadlines set by legal statute or court decisions.
The memo issued by the White House means that there will be a number of trade regulations subject to review, including,
The Lacey Act – The Department of Agriculture notice containing revisions concerning the scope and phased enforcement of the import declaration requirement was withdrawn from publication. It is currently unclear what the current guidelines are since USDA officials have indicated that they will comply with the 60-day review request.
Country of Origin Labeling for Agricultural Products– It appears that the USDA will comply with the 60 day postponement on the USDA final ruling on mandatory country of origin labeling for certain agricultural products, which had been scheduled begin enforcement on March 16. This rule spells out required country of origin marking for muscle cuts of beef (including veal), chicken, lamb, goat and pork as well as ground beef (including veal), chicken, lamb, goat and pork, some perishable agricultural commodities, pecans, peanuts, macadamia nuts and ginseng.
DHL Global Forwarding will continue to monitor the affect of the White House’s request on any trade issue and will pass along pertinent additional information as it arises.
Regards,
Karl Krueger, Regulatory & Compliance Consultant
DHL Global Forwarding
