Public PolicyRSS

  • November 3, 2009

    US, Africa Trade Talks Focus On Food Security

    At a meeting with officials from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, U.S. officials have underscored a push to expand the partnership between the U.S. and the African economic organization on issues such as biotechnology development and trade-related food security issues.

  • November 3, 2009

    Flavored Tobacco Bans Ignite Trade Issues

    Recent regulatory actions by the U.S. and Canada imposing sweeping restrictions on the manufacture and sale of flavored cigarettes have prompted the expected protests from the tobacco industry, but experts say the bans are also causing potentially damaging trade friction with producers in foreign markets.

  • November 3, 2009

    US Hails Taiwan's Lifting Of Ban On American Beef

    The U.S. government has welcomed an official announcement by the Taiwanese government that it will expand access for American beef importers to the Taiwan market.

  • November 2, 2009

    Power Cos. Face Biggest Cap-And-Trade Losses: Report

    Southern Co. and American Electric Power Co. Inc. will likely be among the biggest losers under a U.S. cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases, even though their emissions are well below that of oil giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., according to a newly released report.

  • October 30, 2009

    Md. OKs $4.5B Nuke Deal, But Companies May Balk

    Maryland regulators cleared the way Friday for a $4.5 billion proposed deal under which power giant Electricite de France International SA will snap up 49.99 percent of Constellation Energy Group Inc.'s nuclear power assets, but the companies were circumspect as to whether they would pull the trigger given new conditions imposed on the deal.

  • October 30, 2009

    China Slams Carbon Tariff Proposals

    A Chinese representative to the World Trade Organization told reporters that plans to penalize imports from countries with lax carbon dioxide emission standards, currently on the table in both the European Union and U.S., would result in unworkable and unfair global trade restrictions.

  • October 29, 2009

    Judge Hands ABA Win In Fight Over Red Flags Rule

    A federal judge on Thursday voided the Federal Trade Commission's enforcement interpretation of the controversial Red Flags Rule in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which the American Bar Association claimed would have jeopardized lawyers' time-honored methods of billing clients.

  • October 29, 2009

    House Dems Square Off Over CFPA Leadership

    The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee voted Thursday to set a five-person commission at the helm of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, putting it at odds with the single-regulator system approved by the House Financial Services Committee last week.

  • October 29, 2009

    Atrazine Among 67 Pesticides To Be Tested By EPA

    Controversial chemical atrazine is among seven pesticides that will undergo preliminary screening by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for potential effects on human and animal endocrine systems, the agency announced Thursday.

  • October 29, 2009

    House Dems Tout New Health Care Reform Bill

    Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have pitched a revised health care reform bill that proponents say would extend coverage to 96 percent of Americans, create a health insurance exchange with a public option, and call on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare.

  • October 29, 2009

    JFTC Releases Guidelines On Exclusionary Conduct

    Japan's antitrust authority has released guidelines on exclusionary conduct under its competition laws as part of its stepped up efforts to regulate monopolies and promote fair trade.

  • October 29, 2009

    Industry Reps Rip Into Senate Bill's Carbon Target

    As the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee readies for a vote on climate-change legislation, energy and manufacturing representatives urged senators on Thursday to soften the bill's tough carbon reduction goals to avoid creating a devastating “energy gap."

  • October 29, 2009

    House Health Care Bill Gives FTC More Authority

    The Federal Trade Commission will have the authority to investigate anti-competitive practices in the health insurance industry without congressional approval under the U.S. House of Representatives' proposed health care bill, according to a news report Thursday.

  • October 29, 2009

    Geithner Faces Down 'Too Big To Fail' Bill Critics

    U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday defended a proposal to create a new wind-down authority for "too big to fail" companies, which critics in the U.S. House of Representatives said could stretch federal authority too far while changing too little about future bailouts.

  • October 28, 2009

    GOP Bill Aims To Keep Convicts Away From Drug Trials

    Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation to make it easier for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to debar clinical investigators who have been convicted of crimes.

  • October 28, 2009

    Senate Bill Aims To Revive Super 301 Authority

    Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., introduced a bill Wednesday that would reinstate Super 301 authority under the Trade Act of 1974, an attempt to reshuffle enforcement priorities and give trade officials new powers to combat violations of U.S. trade agreements.

  • October 28, 2009

    House Panel Advances Credit Rating Bill

    A key U.S. House of Representatives panel has approved a measure that would create tough new rules for credit rating agencies and expose the firms to additional legal liability.

  • October 28, 2009

    Experts Urge Funding For Clean Tech In Climate Bill

    If breakthrough clean technology developments are unable to match carbon reduction goals mandated in the U.S. Senate's climate change bill, consumer costs will rise and manufacturers could lose ground to foreign competitors, industry experts warned Wednesday.

  • October 28, 2009

    SEC Mulls Increased Regulation For Dark Pools

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will continue to propose tightening regulation on dark pools, the agency told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Wednesday.

  • October 28, 2009

    EU Unveils Plan To Limit Cargo Van Emissions

    The European Commission formally debuted long-awaited legislation Wednesday for new emissions limits on commercial cargo vans, sticking to ambitious targets despite vocal opposition from automakers across the European Union.