Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on March 6 the following voluntary recalls of imported products:
On March 6 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 March 5 that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.
On March 6 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes March 6 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.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website March 6, 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 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.)
CBP is modifying the scope of products covered by several Centers of Excellence and Expertise and eligible types of entries, in a March 10 Federal Register notice. The changes affect which products are covered by the Automotive & Aerospace; Base Metals; Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising; Industrial & Manufacturing Materials; Machinery; and Petroleum, Natural Gas & Mineral CEEs. New entry types include temporary importation under bond (TIB), trade fair, and antidumping/countervailing duty consumption entries. The notice also waives a CBP regulation to allow CEE test participants to submit corrected claims for duty-free treatment to the CEEs, and clarifies that responses to Notices of Action and Requests for Information must be sent electronically to the participant’s designated CEE. All of the changes take effect March 10.
The Drug Enforcement Agency issued a notice that proposes 2014 aggregate production quotas for four synthetic cannabinoids temporarily controlled in Schedule I. Comments are due April 7.
The Drug Enforcement Administration temporarily added three synthetic cathinones to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, applying strict controls to the import and export of the chemicals because of their potential for abuse. The agency says products containing synthetic cathinones are being sold at smoke shops, head shops, convenience stores, adult book stores, gas stations, and on the internet, and are marketed as “research chemicals,” “jewelry cleaner,” “stain remover,” “plant food or fertilizer,” “insect repellants,” or “bath salts.” The chemicals have no known medical use, said DEA. The final order is effective Feb. 7, and will be in effect for up to three years pending completion of a permanent scheduling order.
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by March 17 on a complaint filed by Baxter alleging violations of Section 337 of the Tariff Act by imports of patent-infringing hemostatic products by Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, Ferrosan, and Packaging Coordinators. Baxter makes FLOSEAL, a “hemostatic matrix” that, when applied to a wound with a syringe, forms clots to stop bleeding during surgical procedures. According to Baxter’s Feb. 28 complaint, Ferrosan makes a similar product, SURGIFLO, that infringes Baxter’s patented technologies (see 14030503). The SURGIFLO is then imported by Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon, said Baxter. Packaging Coordinators turns the SURGIFLO into ready-to-use kits for Ferrosan and Ethicon, it said. Baxter is requesting limited exclusion orders and cease and desist orders banning import and sale of infringing merchandise by Ferrosan, Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, and Packaging Coordinators.