The Commerce Department is amending some countervailing duty rates on 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane from China (C-570-999), after finding errors in its April 18 preliminary determination. The agency said the CV duty rates it calculated for T.T. International and the "all others" companies were too high because of a mistake in its calculations. Cash deposit requirements for T.T. and the "all others" companies are being lowered accordingly.
Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on May 28 the following voluntary recalls of imported products:
The Environmental Protection Agency on May 27 announced the first-ever Energy Star labels for clothes dryers. The new specifications will recognize “a selection of highly efficient electric, gas, and compact dryers” that use 20 percent less energy than what is required by minimum standards. It also establishes an optional “connected” criteria for residential clothes dryers that give feedback to users on performance issues and the energy efficiency of different cycle selections.
On May 28 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 is formally reclassifying pancreatic drainage stent and delivery systems as Class II devices that do not require premarket approval, in an order that codifies a reclassification that took effect Dec. 18. The devices had been classified in Class III, and required the filing of a premarket approval application before distribution. But FDA reclassified them in response to a request from Xlumena, Inc. related to the AXIOS Stent and Delivery System. Although they will no longer need FDA approval, the devices will still be subject to certain extra "special controls" related to testing, biocompatibility, and labeling. pancreatic drainage systems will not be exempt from premarket notification requirements.
On May 28 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website May 28, 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.
The Federal Trade Commission is amending its regulations on wool labeling, as part of a broader effort to modernize its labeling rules that has already seen changes for textiles and fur products. The final rule, which has yet to be published in the Federal Register but was made available by the FTC on the agency’s website, was approved by the FTC on May 28 in a unanimous 5-0 vote. The new regulations relax fiber content disclosure requirements on hang tags, clarify definitions on cashmere and virgin or new wool, update the definition of country of origin to match CBP’s interpretation, and make changes to guaranty provisions. However, just as with the textile and fur labeling changes, the FTC's proposal to require annual renewal of continuing guaranties is not being adopted at this time.
Federal agencies recently released the Spring 2014 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda provides a rough (though non-binding) timeline for agency regulatory actions during the coming year. Scheduled rulemakings for “other government agencies” involved in import regulation like the Agriculture Department and Environmental Protection Agency include changes to dairy tariff-rate quotas and standards on wood packing materials from Canada and composite wood formaldehyde standards. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration remains embroiled in implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission continues its work to implement safety standards, as well as changes to certificates of compliance.
The Federal Trade Commission published its final rule amending its fur labeling regulations in the May 28 Federal Register. The changes align the fur labeling rules with the agency’s textile regulations and revise the fur labeling rules’ animal Name Guide. The FTC voted to approve the changes and released its final rule in early May (see 14050726). The changes take effect Nov. 19.