The New River Valley Economic Development Alliance has submitted an application to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to reorganize FTZ 238 under the Alternative Site Framework, and expand the zone to cover 22 counties and 10 independent cities in Virginia, according to an FTZ Board Federal Register notice. Under the reorganization, the zone's service area would cover Alleghany, Amherst, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Campbell, Carroll, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Grayson, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Pulaski, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Smyth, Tazewell and Wythe Counties. It would also include the independent cities of Bedford, Buena Vista, Covington, Danville, Galax, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Radford, Roanoke and Salem. The zone would be adjacent to the New River Valley Airport Port of Entry. ASF streamlines processes for designation of new FTZ subzones and usage driven sites within the larger service area by allowing companies to request zone status through the relatively simple "minor boundary modification" process. Comments on the application are due by May 5.
Commerce can choose not to apply an alternative antidumping duty calculation method even if it finds targeted dumping, said the Court of International Trade on Feb. 27 as it sustained the 2010-11 administrative review on ball bearings from France, Germany and Italy. During the review, Commerce had gone a step beyond its normal test for determining if targeted dumping occurred by running an additional test to see if the targeted dumping accounted for a significant portion of overall sales. The agency decided it did not. In response to a challenge from the Timken Company, CIT ruled that Commerce is allowed to run the additional test and decide not to change its calculation method, because the underlying law only says the agency “may” modify its calculations if it finds targeted dumping.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Feb. 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 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.)
Mexico's Diario Oficial of Feb. 27-28 lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy and Secretary of Finance as follows:
Effective March 1, ocean carriers or NVOCCs must electronically submit advance manifest information to Japan Customs, under a law enacted by the Japanese Diet in 2012 (see 12081402). The Advance Filing Rules require a vessel operator or NVOCC to electronically submit to Japan Customs information on maritime container cargoes to be loaded on a vessel intended for entry into a port in Japan, no later than 24 hours before departure of the vessel from the port of loading.
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by April 11 on the “two for one” earned import allowance program (EIAP) for apparel assembled in the Dominican Republic. Under EIAP, apparel manufacturers in the Dominican Republic who use U.S. fabric to produce some apparel earn credits to enter apparel made from non-U.S. fabric into the U.S. duty free. Under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), the ITC is required to conduct annual reports on the effectiveness of the program and potential areas for improvement. The past two reports have said the program does not provide enough incentives to stem the recent fall in trade in apparel between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic (see 12072703 and 13072921). This year’s report is due to Congress by July 25.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Feb. 28 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The International Trade Commission on Feb. 27 voted to begin an investigation to determine whether imports of televisions and television tuners are infringing patents held by Cresta Technologies in violation of Section 337. CrestaTech requested the investigation on Jan. 28, alleging that infringing integrated circuit television tuners are being manufactured overseas by MaxLinear and Silicon Laboratories, and are being imported as part of televisions made by Samsung, LG, Sharp and VIZIO without CrestaTech’s authorization (see 14013124). The patents at issue cover an integrated circuit tuner that eliminates the need for bulky and complicated “can tuners,” allowing electronics manufacturers to make thinner flat panel televisions, it said. CrestaTech is requesting limited exclusion orders and cease and desist orders against the following respondents:
The Commerce Department published notices in the Feb. 28 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department is giving advance notice that it and the International Trade Commission will next month consider revoking the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on citric acid from China and Canada (A-570-937/C-570-938, A-122-853) in their automatic five-year sunset reviews scheduled to begin in April. Advance notice is given because sunset reviews have short deadlines. An order will be revoked unless Commerce finds that revocation would lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping and the ITC finds that revocation would result in continuation or recurrence of material injury to a U.S. industry. As a result, a negative determination by either Commerce or the ITC would result in the revocation of these orders.