On May 20 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
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The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for May 21:
The Capital Region Airport Commission submitted an application to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to reorganize FTZ 207 under the Alternative Site Framework, and expand the zone to cover 30 counties and 5 independent cities in central Virginia, according to an FTZ Board Federal Register notice. Under the reorganization, the zone's service area would cover Amelia, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buckingham, Caroline, Charles City, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Essex, Greensville, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Middlesex, New Kent, Northumberland, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George, Richmond and Westmoreland Counties, as well as the Cities of Colonial Heights, Emporia, Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond. The proposed reorganization under the Alternative Site Framework would streamline processes for the designation of new FTZ subzones and usage driven sites within that service area by allowing companies to request zone status through the relatively simple "minor boundary modification" process. Comments on the application are due by July 21.
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board approved the expansion and reorganization under the Alternative Site Framework of FTZ 235 in Lakewood, New Jersey. The zone will now cover Ocean, Middlesex, Monmouth, Union and Burlington Counties. The reorganization will allow companies throughout the service area to request subzone status through the relatively simple "minor boundary modification" process.
A Texas man pleaded guilty May 20 to conspiring to smuggle and distribute counterfeit and misbranded pharmaceuticals, said the Justice Department. Nasif Baqla of Houston pleaded guilty in Southern Texas U.S. District Court to trafficking counterfeit Viagra. DOJ says that, in July 2010, a package of counterfeit Viagra tablets was shipped from China to Houston, intended for Baqla and a co-conspirator. The package was intercepted by CBP officers, said DOJ. Baqla claimed the pills were his and that he received them on behalf of a friend. Although the tablets were marked with trademarks that were almost indistinguishable from genuine Viagra pills, the drugs in the package were counterfeit and misbranded, It said.
A Jordan-based shipping company will be banned from U.S. ports for two years and pay $500,000 to settle charges that it violated environmental laws, said the Justice Department. Arab Ship Management pleaded guilty May 20 to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to a modification to the pollution control system on the livestock carrier M/V Neameh that allowed oil sludge to be pumped directly overboard. According to DOJ, the Coast Guard discovered the issue in 2013 during an inspection while the M/V Neameh was anchored in Delaware Bay. Heavy oil sludge was discovered on the discharge side of pollution prevention equipment. The vessel’s piping arrangement had been modified in a prohibited manner so as to allow oil sludge to be pumped directly overboard, said DOJ. The inspection also revealed discrepancies in oil record books, as well as fake oily waste disposal receipts, it said.
A husband and wife were recently sentenced to 14 months in prison and $70,000 in restitution for misdeclaring their imported Chinese apparel to be samples in order to avoid paying duties. Hoang Minh “Tommy” Nguyen and Dung Hanh “Yuna” Dao in February pleaded guilty in Eastern California U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill on May 8 sentenced them to time served and restitution. The government had earlier seized money from several bank accounts, as well as a house in Patterson, California.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website May 20, 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.
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) now faces accusations that it evaded over $16 million in taxes and import duties in China, according to press reports. Chinese official newspaper Legal Daily recently accused the company of avoiding taxes and duties on HIV treatment drugs it imported into China between 2006 and 2008, said Bloomberg (here). GSK is already facing bribery charges in China. Reuters relayed a report from Legal Daily that said GSK overvalued imports of HIV and hepatitis treatment drug Lamivudine in order to avoid paying value-added tax and corporate income tax (here). The report also said GSK evaded duties by donating the imported drugs to support Chinese state treatment of HIV, said Reuters. GSK could have instead donated cheaper drugs produced at its plant in China, it said.
The Energy Department is proposing revised energy efficiency test procedures for dehumidifiers. The agency’s proposed rule would add new testing and certification requirements, and amend the definition for covered products. DOE will hold a hearing on the proposal June 13 in Washington, D.C. The meeting will also be broadcast via live webinar. Comments on DOE’s proposed rule are due Aug. 4.