A federal judge sentenced two New York residents to 12 months in prison for their roles in a conspiracy to import falsely classified and counterfeit Nike shoes, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York. Huang Yue Feng and He Bin “Julie” Wang, formerly husband and wife, had pleaded guilty to the charges in 2009. The defendants also forfeited over $400,000 in cash and property.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Feb. 26, 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.)
The Food and Drug Administration is proposing new requirements for nutrition facts labels on food, in two proposed rules set for publication on March 3. Under one proposal, FDA would revise the information required on nutrition facts labels and change how the nutrition facts are presented. That proposed rule would also require that manufacturers keep records on added sugar, the amount of dietary fiber, and certain vitamin contents. FDA’s other proposal would increase recommended serving sizes to bring them into line with current eating habits, and would require an additional column of nutrition information for packages that contain more than one serving but could be consumed in one sitting. Under both proposed rules, nutrition facts labels would have to comply with the new requirements within two years of the date any final rule takes effect. Comments on each proposal are due June 2.
The Drug Enforcement Administration placed the drug alfaxalone into Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act. The substance was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as an anesthetic for cats and dogs in 2012. Effective March 31, alfaxalone will be subject to new registration, labeling, recordkeeping, and import and export requirements.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to reschedule hydrocodone combination products from schedule III to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. If finalized, this proposed rule would tighten controls on hydrocodone combination products by imposing the regulatory controls and criminal sanctions of schedule II on those who handle the substance, including importers and exporters. Hydrocodone itself is already classified by DEA in schedule II. Comments are due by April 28.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Feb. 26 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 extending the deadline for the preliminary determination in its antidumping duty investigations on grain-oriented electrical steel from China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Poland, and Russia (A-570-994, A-851-803, A-428-842, A-588-871, A-580-871, A-455-804, A-821-821). Commerce began the investigations in October (see 13103020), on the basis of a petition filed by domestic steel producer AK Steel (see 13101707). AK Steel requested that Commerce push back its deadline to give the agency more time to request and analyze information from Chinese companies. The agency’s preliminary findings are now due May 2.
The Commerce Department is beginning an antidumping duty new shipper review on xanthan gum from China (A-570-985) at the request of the Meihua, which includes Meihua Group International Trading (Hong Kong Limited, Langfang Meihua Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., and Xinjiang Meihua Amino Acid Co., Ltd. The new shipper review will cover subject merchandise produced by Meihua Amino Acid and exported by Meihua Group. Commerce will determine if Meihua is independent from state control, and therefore eligible for an estimated AD cash deposit rate other than the high 154.07% China-wide entity rate it would currently receive.
The Commerce Department is beginning an antidumping duty new shipper review on wooden bedroom furniture from China (A-570-890) at the request of Wuxi Yushea Furniture Co., Ltd., for merchandise the company both produces and exports to the United States. Commerce will determine if Wuxi Yushea is independent from state control, and therefore eligible for an estimated AD cash deposit rate other than the high 216.01% China-wide entity rate it currently receives.
The Commerce Department issued the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on laminated woven sacks from China (A-570-916). Commerce said all nine of the companies under review didn't submit separate rate applications of certifications demonstrating that they are independent from state control, so the agency preliminarily assigned these nine companies the high "China-wide entity" rate. These preliminary results are not in effect. Commerce may modify them in the final results of this review and change the estimated AD cash deposit rate for these companies: