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Proposed
FCC Rulemaking Addresses DTV Consumer Education Contact: Julie Kearney
Contact: Julie Kearney
Contact: Doug Johnson California Withdraws Energy Standard for Converters The California Energy Commission (CEC) has begun the process to withdraw its regulation for digital television adapters (DTAs, or digital-to-analog converter boxes). Although the DTA regulation is not yet “off the books,” it will be after the formalities. This outcome represents a big win for CEA, and it is our second significant win before the California Energy Commission, following last year’s lobbying win on the external power supply regulatory amendments. Contact: Doug Johnson FTC Completes Review of EnergyGuide Appliance Labeling Rule The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently concluded its review of the Appliance Labeling Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 305, which governs the use of the yellow EnergyGuide label found on major appliances. As part of the review, the FTC explored a broad range of issues, including the effectiveness of the EnergyGuide label, its design and content, and possible alternative label designs. The FTC also announced that it will not pursue a labeling program for televisions, stating that it "will continue to monitor this issue and may seek further comment on television labeling once DOE issues revised test procedures." Additional Links: FTC Final Rule Contact: Doug Johnson CEA Seeking Unified Approach to International Materials and Substances Restrictions Policies CEA is leading an effort among a group of interested technology companies, as well as trade associations representing the information technology, electrical components, medical devices, home appliances and electrical equipment industries, to develop guidelines for use to defend interests where substance restrictions occur internationally. The approach will be to educate governments in order to avoid unnecessary or divergent substance restrictions. For those governments that are considering their own substance restriction regulation, this industry coalition group will provide a set of recommended industry guidelines (and possibly standards) as appropriate. These guidelines are currently under development. Contact: Parker Brugge or Joanne Sonenshine CEA
Comments on Draft Energy Star Specifications for TVs and Set-top Boxes Contact: Doug Johnson
 Additional Links: Testimony of Doug Johnson Contact: Doug Johnson
  CEA Highlights Top Policy Initiatives at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Annual Meeting Every
year, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
brings
together thousands of state legislators and their staff for its annual
meeting.
For the third year in a row, CEA exhibited at the show, highlighting many of its recent initiatives, including myGreenElectronics.org, DigitalDriver.org and CE.org/HDTV. Contact: J. David Grossman   Proposed Legislation Would
Protect Municipal Broadband Service and Promote New Competition
The House and Senate have each introduced the Community Broadband Act of 2007 (S.1853/H.R. 3281). The legislation requires that no state regulation or requirement prevent a public provider from offering broadband services and prohibits a municipality from discriminating against a competing private provider. CEA supports the legislation and believes municipalities must be allowed to pursue broadband network solutions. Additionally, private sector firms must not be foreclosed from choosing to invest in and partner with municipalities. Additional Links: Text of S.1853; Text of H.R. 3281; CEA Press Release 08/02/07 Contact: Michael Petricone CEA Participates in House Small Business Committee Roundtable on Broadband On July 31st, CEA's Veronica O’Connell participated in a roundtable discussion on broadband policy hosted by the House Small Business Committee. The roundtable discussion focused on current and potential policies impacting the deployment of broadband in rural areas and the adoption of broadband by small businesses. During the roundtable, Ms. O’Connell presented results of our recent survey on consumer adoption of broadband. Additional Links: Broadband in America: Access, Use and Outlook (July 2007) Contact: Michael Petricone FCC Adopts Auction and Service Rules for the 700 MHz Spectrum On July 31st, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to adopt auction and service rules for the 700 MHz spectrum. In addition to allocating spectrum to public safety organizations, the rules also would allow consumers to connect to new wireless networks using the devices and applications of their choice. Additional Links: FCC 700 MHz Order; CEA Press Release 07/31/07 Contact: Julie Kearney  NAFTA Ministers to Reduce
Trade Barriers in Consumer Electronics Sector; Focus on Environmental
Cooperation
Trade Ministers from the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Countries (Canada, Mexico and the United States) agreed to facilitate trade beyond tariff elimination in specific sectors of interest to the three countries. Among the sectors, consumer electronics was named among the first targets for next steps. Accordingly, NAFTA Ministers agreed to work together to “lower trade barriers to ensure that the [consumer electronics] industry has the tools and market access it needs to succeed in all three countries. Ministers also agreed to work with the trilateral Commission of Environmental Cooperation (CEC) to explore ways to address the environmental impacts of the lifespan and disposal of consumer electronics.” CEA will work directly with the office of the U.S. Trade Representatives in the development of this sectoral agreement. For more information, please visit: Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) website. Contact: Sage Chandler or Joanne Sonenshine CEA Member Urges Congress to Avoid Exposing U.S. Exports to Retaliation In testimony before a U.S. House Committee this month, Skip West, President of MAXSA Innovations testified that the global production network allows U.S. technology companies to keep a robust domestic manufacturing presence focused on high-value products where America retains a competitive advantage, while keeping innovative products coming to the market at affordable prices for U.S. consumers. West noted that consumer electronics imports from China support thousands of American jobs, including jobs in research and development, marketing, distribution and after-sales support. Additional Links: Testimony of Skip West; CEA Press Release 08/02/07 Contact: Sage Chandler Register now for the 2007 CEA Industry Forum, October 14-17 in San Diego. Industry Forum is packed with four solid days of educational programming and networking opportunities. On Wednesday, October 17 from 10:00am - 11:30am, CEA's Government Affairs Council (GAC) will meet. All CEA members are invited to attend! Additional Links: Industry Forum Event Schedule Contact: J. David Grossman CEA Member? Visit CEA's Member-Only website
for the latest Government Affairs news, contact information and
documents. Interested in Joining CEA's
Government Affairs Council (GAC)? CEA
Government Affairs Staff
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