On June 18 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails June 18 announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service said the Codex Executive Committee (CCEXEC) will meet in Rome, Italy, June 26-29, to conduct the critical review of proposed standards and related texts to be submitted to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Also on the agenda is continued implementation of the current Strategic Plan and development of a new Strategic Plan for 2014-2019, FSIS said. The U.S. is a member of this Committee.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a notice summarizing and asking for comments on the sanitary and phytosanitary standard (SPS) setting activities on the Codex Alimentarius Commission from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012, and June 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013. The notice also provides a list of other standard setting activities of Codex, including commodity standards, guidelines, codes of practice, and revised texts.
The Bureau of Industry Security is asking for comments on two existing information collections for (a) obtaining a duplicate license when a license is lost or destroyed, and (b) transfer of ownership of validated export licenses. BIS said each action requires a letter to BIS which includes certain information or information and certification, as explained in the EAR at Section 750.9 and Section 750.10 for duplicate licenses and transfer of licenses respectively. BIS said comments should address whether the proposed collection of information is necessary; the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. Comments are due by Aug. 20.
The Court of International trade remanded the final results of another administrative review to the International Trade Administration for zeroing, despite the ITA’s argument that plaintiff Sucocitrico Cutrale didn’t exhaust its administrative remedies by raising the argument in its case briefs during the review.
The Court of International Trade affirmed the International Trade Administration’s reliance on information submitted by a Chinese informant demonstrating that Chinese paper company Max Fortune submitted false information in the 2008-09 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on tissue paper products from China (A-570-894). As a result of Max Fortune’s alleged deception, the ITA imposed an adverse facts available rate of 112.64% in the proceeding, which CIT also affirmed.
A federal jury Thursday convicted a Puerto Rican man for trafficking in counterfeit pharmaceuticals, said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Luis Angel Garcia Torres, 41, of Patillas, Puerto Rico, used the Internet to import from China and distribute counterfeit Viagra and Cialis and offered to sell the Viagra and Cialis tablets, ICE said. The retail cost at the time for Viagra and Cialis ranged from $15 to about $20 per pill, said ICE, but Garcia Torres was selling them for $2 each after purchasing the tablets for $0.45 each. Garcia Torres faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a $2 million fine, ICE said.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's web site as of June 18, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching on the listed CBP message number at http://addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)
China preliminarily decided the U.S. provides countervailable subsidies for its renewable energy sector, said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). In its investigation, initiated November 25, 2011, MOFCOM found that certain U.S. state programs, including in Washington, Ohio, New Jerset, Massachusetts, and California, constitute subsidies prohibited by the World Trade Organization, distort normal trade, and constitute trade barriers.