The U.S. Department of Transportation ("DOT") Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ("PHMSA") held a well-attended public meeting at DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C. on March 5, 2010, regarding their notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) to greatly increase the safety requirements for transportation of lithium cells and batteries, especially transportation by air. 75 Fed. Reg. 1302 (Jan. 11, 2010). (See Link for background.) At the meeting, presenters questioned the overall basis for the proposed rule and the cost-benefit analysis used to support it, raising many new issues and foreshadowing the content of more extensive and detailed written comments, which are expected to be submitted in the next several days. According to many presenters, the NPRM would have a substantially larger and broader impact on industry supply chains, consumers, international trade, and the overall U.S. economy than PHMSA’s analysis to date has acknowledged.