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PRODUCT SAFETY — PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNS H.R. 2715 INTO LAW On August 12, 2011, President Obama signed H.R. 2715 into law and the Federal Register assigned it Public Law #112-28. This bill provides the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) greater authority and flexibility to implement current regulations without imposing undue burden on specific manufacturers. Moreover, it limits phthalate usage to only inaccessible parts and makes the new lead standard of 100 ppm prospective for children's products. In addition, it modifies third-party testing requirements. (Jeanene Medley/Michael McDonald)
CAFTA-DR — U.S. GOVERNMENT REQUESTS ARBITRATION PANEL IN GUATEMALA LABOR CASE The U.S. government announced August 9 that it has requested an arbitration panel in the United States' ongoing labor case against the Government of Guatemala. The U.S. government claims that Guatemala has failed to effectively enforce its labor laws as required by the U.S./Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). The United States accuses the Government of Guatemala of failing to meet its obligations under CAFTA-DR with respect to the enforcement of Guatemalan labor laws, including those related to the right of association, the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, and acceptable conditions of work. The United States requested formal consultations in July 2010 regarding the issues in this case. If the arbitration panel finds Guatemala failed to effectively enforce labor laws, it can impose a $15 million fine against the country, which must be used to address the labor issues. (Nate Herman) SUSTAINABILITY — FESSLER USA COMPLETES SOLAR PROJECT AT PENNSYLVANIA FACTORY FesslerUSA, an Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania company that provides design services and manufactures knit fabric, apparel, and consumer products, on August 9 celebrated the completion of a 450 kW photovoltaic solar power generation system, mounted on the roof of its Deer Lake vertical manufacturing facility. The system consists of over 1,600 solar panels covering about half of the facility's roof. The solar power system will generate about 450,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year, and will provide over half of the facility's current energy usage. The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by several state and national government representatives as well as several local business leaders and AAFA staff members. The solar project will make FesslerUSA one of the larger businesses in Pennsylvania to run the majority of its operations off solar power. (Greg Yahr) APPAREL/FOOTWEAR RETAIL SALES RISE IN JULY According to the U.S. Census Bureau's August 12 release of July 2011 Advanced Monthly Sales, seasonally adjusted retail sales at U.S. clothing and clothing accessories stores, which includes shoe stores, grew 0.5 percent in July from the previous month and rose 7.7 percent from July 2010. July seasonally adjusted retail sales at U.S. department stores slipped 0.8 percent from June, but were 0.4 percent higher than in July 2010. July seasonally adjusted retail sales at all U.S. general merchandise stores (including discount stores such as Kohl's, Target and Walmart as well as regular department stores) were unchanged from June's 0.5 percent increase, yet grew 3.7 percent over July 2010 sales figures. July overall retail sales rose 0.5 percent from June, and climbed 8.5 percent from July 2010. (Jeanene Medley/Nate Herman) UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU...TO COMMENT! Congress and many government agencies are soliciting comments on a range of issues that may affect your business. For a list of upcoming comments, please click here.
AAFA WELCOMES NEW MEMBER: FOREIGN-TRADE ZONE CORPORATION
Compromise, or We Shoot the Pentagon from National Journal The debt ceiling agreement reached by the Obama administration and Congress essentially released the hostage of America's good faith and credit, only to replace it with the Defense Department. More 'Made in China' Taking Over US? Not By a Long Shot from The Wall Street Journal A rebound in China's trade surplus to $31 billion in July — the highest level since January 2009 — seems likely to spark a new round of hand-wringing on the iniquities of an undervalued yuan. More Made in China: Fake Stores from The Wall Street Journal In China's "fake world," consumers can shop for furniture at an imitation IKEA store, eat a six-inch sandwich at an outlet strikingly similar to Subway, and then grab dessert at "Dairy Fairy" — where they might knock back an Oreo-flavored "Ice Storm" whose, thick, creamy texture takes unabashed inspiration from the famous Dairy Queen "Blizzard." More |
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