Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Clears House, On to Senate

On January 16, 2018, the House of Representatives passed the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018, H.R. 4318, 402 to 0. The bill now goes to the Senate. Tariff relief will be effective 30 days after enactment.

CPSC Staff to Attend Textile Standards Meetings

On January 21 though 24, 2018, Paige Witzen and Jacqueline Campbell of the Consumer Product Safety Commission will be attending the ASTM International Committee Meetings, D-13 on Textiles, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

CARE LABELING RULE Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

On January 16, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission published in the Federal Register (83 FR 2156) Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

The Care Labeling Rule requires manufacturers and importers to attach a permanent care label to all covered textile clothing in order to assist consumers in making purchase decisions and in determining what method to use to clean their apparel. Also, manufacturers and importers of piece goods used to make textile clothing must provide the same care information on the end of each bolt or roll of fabric.

Estimated annual hours burden: 32,600,587 hours (solely relating to disclosure).

Staff estimates that approximately 10,744 manufacturers or importers of textile apparel, producing about 18.4 billion textile garments annually, are subject to the Rule's disclosure requirements. The burden of developing proper care instructions may vary greatly among firms, primarily based on the number of different lines of textile garments introduced per year that require new or revised care instructions. Staff estimates the burden of determining care instructions to be 100 hours each year per firm, for a cumulative total of 1,074,400 hours. Staff further estimates that the burden of drafting and ordering labels is 80 hours each year per firm, for a total of 859,520 hours. Staff believes that the process of attaching labels is fully automated and integrated into other production steps for about 40 percent of the approximately 18.4 billion garments that are required to have care instructions on permanent labels. For the remaining 11.04 billion items (60 percent of 18.4 billion), the process is semi-automated and requires an average of approximately ten seconds per item, for a total of 30,666,667 hours per year. Thus, the total estimated annual burden for all firms is 32,600,587 hours (1,074,400 hours to determine care instructions + 859,520 hours to draft and order labels + 30,666,666 hours to attach labels).

Estimated annual cost burden: $214,221,229 (solely relating to labor costs).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 19, 2018.

WOOL RULES: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request.

On January 16, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission published in the Federal Register (83 FR 2154) Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request.

The Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 ("Wool Act") prohibits the misbranding of wool products. The Wool Rules establish disclosure requirements that assist consumers in making informed purchasing decisions and recordkeeping requirements that assist the Commission in enforcing the Rules.

Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 1,880,000 hours (160,000 recordkeeping hours + 1,720,000 disclosure hours). Recordkeeping: Staff estimates that approximately 4,000 wool firms are subject to the Wool Rules’ recordkeeping requirements. Based on an average annual burden of 40 hours per firm, the total recordkeeping burden is 160,000 hours.

Disclosure: Approximately 8,000 wool firms, producing or importing about 600,000,000 wool products annually, are subject to the Wool Rules’ disclosure requirements. Staff estimates the burden of determining label content to be 30 hours per year per firm, or a total of 240,000 hours, and the burden of drafting and ordering labels to be 60 hours per firm per year, or a total of 480,000 hours. Staff believes that the process of attaching labels is now fully automated and integrated into other production steps for about 40 percent of all affected products. For the remaining 360,000,000 items (60 percent of 600,000,000), the process is semiautomated and requires an average of approximately ten seconds per item, for a total of 1,000,000 hours per year. Thus, the total estimated annual burden for all firms is 1,720,000 hours (240,000 hours for determining label content + 480,000 hours to draft and order labels + 1,000,000 hours to attach labels). Staff believes that any additional burden associated with advertising disclosure requirements would be minimal (less than 10,000 hours) and can be subsumed within the burden estimates set forth above.

Estimated Annual Cost Burden: $16,380,000, rounded to the nearest thousand (solely relating to labor costs)

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 19, 2018.

2017 Notorious Markets List Spotlights Global Piracy and Counterfeiting, Defends American Products and Workers

On January 12, 2018, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced the findings of the 2017 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets, also known as the Notorious Markets List (List). The List highlights 25 online markets and 18 physical markets around the world that are reported to be engaging in and facilitating substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.

This activity harms the American economy by undermining the innovation and intellectual property rights (IPR) of U.S. owners of IPR in foreign markets. Imports in counterfeit and pirated physical products is estimated at nearly half a trillion dollars, or around 2.5% of global imports.

The 2017 Notorious Markets List maintains its special focus on the distribution of pirated content and counterfeit goods online. This year, the report highlights illicit streaming devices as an emerging piracy model of growing concern. The report also calls on several e-commerce platforms to improve takedown procedures, proactive measures, and cooperation with right holders—particularly small and medium-sized businesses—to decrease the volume and prevalence of counterfeit and pirated goods on their platforms.

Over the past year, some market owners and operators have made efforts to address the widespread availability of pirated or counterfeit goods in their markets. Some governments also continue to institute novel strategies to combat piracy and counterfeiting. These strategies include: voluntary initiatives with advertising networks to cut off financial support for websites devoted to copyright infringement; installing intellectual property enforcement centers on-location in high-priority physical markets; and using skills training to reorient former counterfeit sellers towards operating legitimate businesses. At the same time, we vigilantly monitor marketplaces with a record of piracy and counterfeit goods.

USTR first identified notorious markets in the Special 301 Report in 2006. Since February 2011, USTR has published annually the Notorious Markets List separately from the Special 301 Report, pursuant to an “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets,” to increase public awareness and help market operators and governments prioritize IPR enforcement efforts that protect American businesses and their workers.

The Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets identifies particularly notable online and physical markets that facilitate unfair competition with U.S. products. The report does not constitute an exhaustive list of all markets reported to deal in pirated or counterfeit goods around the world, nor does it reflect findings of legal violations or the U.S. Government’s analysis of the general IPR protection and enforcement climate in the country concerned. Such analysis is contained in the annual Special 301 Report issued at the end of April each year.

FTZ Board Re-Opens Comment Period in Polypropylene Yarn Case

On January 12, 2018 the Foreign Trade Zone Board published in the Federal Register (83 FR 1608) Foreign-Trade Zone 186--Waterville, Maine; Application for Production Authority; Flemish Master Weavers; Subzone 186A; Invitation for Public Comment on Additional Information

The FTZ Board is inviting public comment on a new submission by the City of Waterville, Maine, grantee of FTZ 186, containing additional information pertaining to the production application of Flemish Master Weavers (FMW). The application, which was subject to a public comment period through August 7, 2017, requests unrestricted authority for FMW to produce machine-made woven area rugs from foreign-status continuous filament polypropylene yarn within Subzone 186A at the FMW facility in Sanford, Maine. The new submission on which the FTZ Board is now inviting public comment includes additional information concerning the supply of domestically-produced continuous filament polypropylene yarn and additional HTSUS Subheadings to describe that yarn.

Public comment is invited from interested parties. The closing period for their receipt is February 12, 2018.

Clients of Agathon Associates and subscribers to Agathon Associates' Trade Advisor Service can find the full history of the FMS filing at www.agathonassociates.com/textile-pri/ftz/2017-28-B.htm. You will need to enter your username and password. If you do not know your username and password email David Trumbull at david@agathonassociates.com.

Army Coat Contract Awarded

American Apparel Inc., Selma, Alabama, has been awarded a maximum $71,056,800 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Army combat uniform coats. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Maximum dollar amount is for the life of the contract. This was a competitive acquisition with 13 responses received. Location of performance is Alabama, with a Jan. 10, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2018 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-18-D-1020).