Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

• The Commerce Department will initiate dumping and countervailing duty cases against imports of light-walled rectangular pipe and tube from China, Korea, Mexico and Turkey (Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from China, Korea, Mexico and Turkey, ITA, (24 ITR 1089; 7/26/07)
  
  

• Consular posts have been notified that a drunk driving conviction is not grounds for statutory visa ineligibility but such cases must now be referred for consideration as to whether such persons have a physical or mental disorder and demonstrate behavior associated with that disorder which constitutes a threat to property, safety or the welfare of the individual or third persons (84 IR 1610; July 16, 2007) 

• A Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) is being issued to amend the standards of representation and professional conduct for attorneys and other practitioners appearing before EOIR, BIA and immigration judges to increase the number of grounds for discipline and improve the clarity and uniformity of the existing rules (84 IR 1553; July 9, 2007)     

• An application for labor certification was denied where the advertisements used for the recruitment ran more than 180 days before the date when the application was were filed
• The employer cited 20 C.F.R Section 656.17(c) as providing for applications that are not filed electronically shall be date stamped but noted the regulation fails to clarify the meaning of the language
• The employer argued the practice of the DOL prior to PERM was to consider matters filed as of the date of the postmark sending the form to USDOL
• The Board held that the regulation was intended to set the filing date for mailed applications as of the date of the stamp provided by the Certifying Officer (CO) (Matter of Café Vallarta, 2007 – PER 00029; BALCA June 12, 2007; 84 IR 1447; July 2, 2007
  
  

• New regulations are issued in limiting foreign investment in several industries including telecommunications and healthcare (24 ITR 985; 7/12/07)
  
  

• H.R. 2992 (SBA Trade Programs Act of 2007) requires the SBA to develop trade policies to support small business including providing technical assistance in trade remedy investigations, prosecuting trade dispute cases and increasing export assistance (24 ITR 1068; 7/26/07) 

• The Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2007 (S.1607) is headed for markup of the bill to achieve WTO compliant balance to prevent currency manipulation from undervaluation of China’s currency (24 ITR 1075; 7/26/07) 

• H.R. 3077 (The Foreign Seafood Safety Act of 2007) is to improve protection of seafood consumers from unsafe imports (24 ITR 1080; 7/26/07) 

• Several companies have joined as plaintiffs to challenge the application of Article 6(3) of the European Union’s (EU) Registration Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) in the Administrative Court, the High Court of Justice, the Royal Courts of Justice in London claiming that the requirement that the reactive monomers be registered while polymers are exempt is an irrational scope of application of the EU rules (24 ITR 1028; 7/19/07) 

• Draft items telling chemical manufacturers how to pre-register and share data under REACH was released July 6 and open to comment through August 17, 2007 (24 ITR 1029; 7/19/07)
  

• H.R. 2798 reauthorizes the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) and includes a measure to prohibit support being provided to any country considered to be a state sponsor of terrorism (24 ITR 1067; 7/26/07)
• The Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 (H.R.556) goes to the president to be signed into law requiring the intelligence community to analyze foreign investments to ensure such investments are consistent with the security interests of the United States (24 ITR 979; 7/12/07) 

• The House and Senate have approved bills (H.R.1, S.4) to implement unfulfilled recommendations of the 9/11 Commission (24 ITR 1017; 7/19/07)

• A chart summarizing acceptable documents for presentation at U.S. ports for arrivals applying for U.S. admission may be addressed by comments submitted on or before August 27, 2007 per 72 Fed. Reg. 35088 (June 26, 2007; 84 IR 1539; July 9, 2007) 

• The Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) implements the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA)
• The rule provides that on full implementation, U.S. citizens and certain classes of nonimmigrants may enter the U.S. only with passports or alternative documents designated by DHS
  

Sources: IR - Interpreter Releases, Federal Publications, Inc.; Financial Times (FT); ITR - International Trade Reporter, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.; IB-Bender’s Immigration Bulletin; ILT - Immigration Law Today, American Immigration Lawyers Association Monthly Journal;  IL - International Lawyer, SMU School of Law; FT- Financial Times; TE - The Economist Magazine; GATM - German American Trade Magazine published by the German American Chamber of Commerce; WSJ - Wall Street Journal; ILN/ABA-International Law News, American Bar Association; TMIJ-Tax Management International Journal, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.; AILA - American Immigration Lawyer’s Association