Department of Commerce January 11, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In February of 2009, Congress enacted the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009, which in part was intended to establish a new Community Trade Adjustment Assistance (Community TAA) Program under chapter 4 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2371 et seq.) (Trade Act) to help communities respond to the loss of jobs caused by the layoffs at firms and other types of employers impacted by trade competition. This notice announces general policies and application requirements for the Community TAA Program. Grants made under the program may be used to support a wide range of technical, planning, and infrastructure projects to help communities adapt to pressing trade impact issues and diversify their economies.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement international conservation and management measures adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), and the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP). The measures pertain to vessels that have been identified by these regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) as having engaged in illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing activities and included on their respective IUU vessel lists. As a party to these RFMOs, the United States is obligated to take certain actions against the listed IUU vessels in a manner consistent with our laws and policies. This proposed rule would clarify the domestic processes by which the United States intends to meet these obligations. Specifically, it would implement obligations to restrict entry into any port or place of the United States and access to port services by vessels on the IUU vessel lists of the aforementioned RFMOs. It would also prohibit the provision by persons and business entities subject to U.S. jurisdiction of certain services to, and commercial transactions with, such vessels. NMFS is seeking public comment on the proposed rule.