The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is allowing more time for public comments proposal to allow beef imports from certain regions in Brazil. The proposed rule, issued Dec. 23, would allow beef imports from the states of Bahia, Distrito Federal, Espirito Santo, Goias, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Parana, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Rondonia, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, and Tocantins (see 13122023). The beef would be subject to the same requirements currently in place for imports of beef and bovine meat from Uruguay, including that foot-and-mouth disease hasn’t been diagnosed in the exporting region of Brazil within the previous 12 months, and that the beef comes from bovines from premises where foot-and-mouth disease hasn’t been present during their lifetime. Comments are now due April 22.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Feb. 26:
Antidumping duties on drill pipe from China may soon be no more, according to a Feb. 25 Court of International Trade decision and associated court documents. The duties had originally been imposed in 2011 after the ITC found a threat of injury to U.S. industry from dumped imports. But a CIT decision from August 2013 that was only made public in January took issue with the ITC’s findings, and sent them back down for reconsideration. The ITC on Dec. 11 filed its remand redetermination with the court, and in a reversal of its earlier position found no injury to U.S. industry. If the court affirms that redetermination, it will result in the lifting of AD duties on drill pipe form China.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Feb. 25, 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 International Trade Commission published notices in the Feb. 25 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 is asking for comments by March 5 on public interest factors related to possible patent infringement by imports of lithium silicate materials used to make dental restorations. Ivoclar Vivadent filed its complaint Feb. 19, alleging imports of lithium silicate materials by Dentsply infringe its patents in violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act (see 14022401). It said Dentsply recently began importing infringing lithium silicate dental products under the trade name Celtra Duo. Ivoclar is requesting limited exclusion orders and cease and desist orders banning importation and sale of the allegedly infringing products.
The International Trade Commission announced on Feb. 25 that it is ending an investigation into patent infringement by imported wireless electronic devices with a finding of no violation. Technology Products Limited and Phoenix Digital Solutions had in 2012 requested the ITC ban allegedly infringing imports of tablets, mobile phones, and similar devices from a litany of companies including Barnes & Noble, Garmin, HTC, Huawei, LG, Nintendo, Novatel, Samsung and ZTE (see 12082125). But an administrative law judge in September found no violation of Section 337 because the products at issue didn’t actually infringe the patents (See 13091002), and the ITC is now affirming the ALJ’s determination and ending the proceeding.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Feb. 25 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):
Correction: In a Feb. 18 scope ruling, Commerce ruled that the frame of Harp Shoppe’s trolley is too far off 90 degrees to be considered vertical (as required to be covered by the antidumping duty order on hand trucks from China), so it is not subject to AD duties (see 14022134).
On Feb. 24 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of: