Department of Homeland Security April 20, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a renewable preferential trade program that allows the eligible products of designated beneficiary developing countries to enter the United States free of duty. The GSP program expired on December 31, 2017, but has been renewed through December 31, 2020, effective April 22, 2018, with retroactive effect between January 1, 2018, through April 21, 2018, by a provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018. This document provides notice to importers that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will again accept claims for GSP duty-free treatment for merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption and that CBP will process refunds on duties paid, without interest, on GSP-eligible merchandise that was entered during the period that the GSP program was lapsed. Formal and informal entries that were filed electronically via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) using Special Program Indicator (SPI) Code ``A'' as a prefix to the tariff number will be automatically processed by CBP and no further action by the filer is required to initiate the refund process. Non-ABI filers, and ABI filers that did not include SPI Code ``A'' on the entry, must timely submit a duty refund request to CBP. CBP will continue conducting verifications to ensure that GSP benefits are available to eligible entries only.

The Coast Guard will enforce the safety zone on the Sheboygan Harbor, near the Sheboygan South Pier in Sheboygan, WI for the Rockets for Schools Rocket Launch on May 12, 2018. This action is necessary and intended to ensure safety of life on navigable waterways before, during and after this event. During the aforementioned period, the Coast Guard will enforce restrictions upon, and control movement of, vessels in the safety zone. No person or vessel may enter the safety zone while it is being enforced without permission of the Captain of the Port Lake Michigan or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary special local regulation on Pensacola Bay in Pensacola, FL. This action is necessary to protect the persons participating in the Pensacola Triathlon marine event. This regulation restricts transit into, through, and within the regulated area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Mobile (COTP) or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain waters of the Patapsco River. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on the navigable waters of the Inner Harbor at Baltimore, MD, during a fireworks display on April 21, 2018. If necessary, due to inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled to April 22, 2018. This action will prohibit persons and vessels from entering the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Maryland-National Capital Region or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Broadway Bridge across the Willamette River, mile 11.7, at Portland, OR. The deviation is necessary to accommodate the Portland Race for the Roses event. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position to facilitate the safe movement of event participants across the bridge.

In a final rule published on January 19, 2017, federal departments and agencies made revisions to the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (hereafter the ``2018 Requirements''). The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) adopted the same regulatory changes in a separate final rule published on September 18, 2017. The 2018 Requirements were scheduled to become effective on January 19, 2018, with a general compliance date of January 19, 2018 (with the exception of the revisions to the cooperative research provision). The departments and agencies listed in this document have also published an interim final rule delaying the effective date and general compliance date for the 2018 Requirements for six months, to cover the time period of January 19, 2018 until July 19, 2018. As per the interim final rule, the effective date of the 2018 Requirements is now July 19, 2018. The departments and agencies listed in this document propose delaying the general compliance date for the 2018 Requirements for an additional six months, for the time period of July 19, 2018 until January 21, 2019. This proposed rule is intended to provide additional time to regulated entities for the preparations necessary to implement the 2018 Requirements. This proposed rule, if finalized, would require regulated entities to continue to comply with the requirements of the current Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (hereafter the ``pre-2018 Requirements'') until January 21, 2019. This proposal also takes comment on whether to permit institutions to implement, for certain research studies, the following provisions in the 2018 Requirements during the period from July 19, 2018, until January 21, 2019, that the general compliance date is delayed. Those three provisions, intended to reduce burdens on regulated entities, are the 2018 Requirements' definition of ``research,'' which deems certain activities not to be research, the allowance for no annual continuing review of certain categories of research, and the elimination of the requirement that institutional review boards (IRBs) review grant applications related to the research. The way that this option is proposed, regulated entities would be required to comply with all pre- 2018 Requirements during the period that the general compliance date is delayed, except for provisions substituted by the three burden-reducing provisions of the 2018 Requirements. As described in section III, below, this flexibility is proposed only for studies for which an institution makes a choice to transition to comply with the 2018 Requirements, beginning on July 19, 2018. In order to clearly describe this proposed flexibility, including how it would impact institutions choosing to transition research to comply with the 2018 Requirements, this document proposes a redrafted transition provision.