The Commerce Department is ending antidumping duties on 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) from China (A-570-934) and India (A-533-847), after domestic HEDP companies didn’t express an interest in keeping the duties in place. Effective for entries on or after April 28, 2014, Commerce will direct CBP to end suspension of liquidation and AD duty cash deposit requirements. Entries prior to that date will still be subject to duties.
A domestic manufacturer filed requests on May 29 for new antidumping and countervailing duties on steel nails from India, South Korea, Malaysia, Oman, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam. According to the Mid Continent Steel & Wire, underselling by exporters in the seven countries are causing falling prices and a loss of market share for U.S. companies.
Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on May 29 the following voluntary recalls of imported products:
On May 29 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 its weekly Enforcement Report for May 28 that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.
The Food and Drug Administration is tightening controls on ultraviolet tanning lamps, reclassifying the devices from class I into class II and requiring a special "black box" warning. The reclassification makes the tanning lamps subject to premarket notification requirements, and imposes special controls that FDA deemed necessary for safe use. The final order also renames the devices "sunlamp products," but includes language that clarifies the requirements apply to both sunlamp products and UV lamps intended for use in sunlamp products.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a new guidance for industry on agency policies and procedures related to expedited drug development and review programs. The guidance, titled ‘‘Expedited Programs for Serious Conditions—Drugs and Biologics” (here), provides a “single resource” for information on FDA emergency expedited review, including fast track designation, breakthrough therapy designation, accelerated approval, and priority review designation, said FDA. It addresses the applicability of expedited programs to rare diseases, clarification on available therapy, and flexibility in manufacturing and product quality, among other things.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes May 29 to 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 Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Special Import Quota #16 for upland cotton that will be established on June 5, allowing importation of 14,941,776 kilograms (68,627 bales) of upland cotton. It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Sept. 2, and entered into the U.S. by Dec. 1. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally-adjusted average rate for the period October 2013 through December 2013, the most recent three months for which data are available.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website May 29, 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://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.