The International Trade Administration published notices in the Aug. 20 Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
Blends of honey and rice syrup fall within the scope of the antidumping duty order on honey from China (A-570-863), the International Trade Administration said in its final affirmative determination of circumvention. The ITA said it received no comments on its preliminary determination, and so adopted it unchanged as final.
The International Trade Administration initiated a changed circumstances review to determine whether to terminate the suspension agreement and antidumping investigation of fresh tomatoes from Mexico (A-201-820) in response to a request by the domestic U.S. industry. Mexican tomato growers are opposing the request. According to the Florida Tomato Exchange, termination of the AD investigation would allow domestic industry to file a new petition for an AD investigation. Comments on the ITA's investigation are due by Sept. 4.
On Aug. 17-19 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Food and Drug Administration issued a guidance entitled “Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding the Final Rule, Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs During Production, Storage, and Transportation.” The guidance contains questions and answers on FDA’s July 9, 2009, final rule requiring shell egg producers to implement measures to prevent Salmonella Enteritidis from contaminating eggs on the farm and from further growth during storage and transportation, and requiring these producers to maintain records concerning their compliance with the final rule and to register with FDA. The final rule became effective Sept. 8, 2009.
On Aug. 17 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails Aug. 17 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 Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) is inviting member countries and observer organizations to participate in an electronic working group to draft an annex for the prevention and reduction of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A contamination in sorghum, reported the Food Safety and Inspection Service. This annex should cover the stages of primary production, storage and distribution to the point of usage of sorghum. The annex will be proposed for the existing Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Mycotoxin Contamination in Cereals (CAC/RCP 51-2003). The working group will be led by Nigeria, and co-chaired by Sudan. Parties in the U.S. that are interested in contributing to the U.S. participation in this electronic working group should contact the U.S. Codex Office (USCodex@fsis.usda.gov).
Mandatory wholesale pork reporting will begin Jan. 7, 2013, said the Agricultural Marketing Service. On that date, packers will be required to submit the price of each sale, quantity, and other characteristics (e.g., type of sale, item description, destination) that AMS will use to produce market reports that will be disseminated to the public. A final rule set for publication in the Aug. 22 Federal Register will implement the new requirements, pursuant to the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010, which added wholesale pork cuts to the commodities required to be reported by larger packers through the livestock mandatory reporting program. Cattle, swine, sheep, boxed beef, boxed lamb, and imported lamb meat already are covered under the program, AMS said.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website Aug. 17, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for 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.)