The Federal Trade Commission posted a proposed rule that would amend its Textile Fiber Products Identification Act regulations on textile labeling. The proposal would amend provisions on fiber content disclosures to adopt a revised ISO standard and loosen disclosure requirements for hang-tags. The proposed rule would also add language clarifying country of origin for labeling purposes is determined under customs laws and regulations. Comments on the proposed rule are due by July 8.
The International Trade Commission is publishing notices in the May 6 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will appear in another ITT article):
The International Trade Commission issued limited exclusion orders barring imports of certain electric fireplaces from Shenzhen Reliap Industrial, and Yue Qiu Sheng, both of Shenzhen, China. The fireplaces were found to have violated Section 337 by infringing copyrights and trade secrets held by Twin-Star International and TS Investment Holding. The consolidated Section 337 investigation on electric fireplaces (337-TA-791/826) began in January 2012 (see 12011707). The other respondent, Whalen Manufacturing, settled with Twin-Star in July.
The Commerce Department published notices in the May 6 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):
On May 3-5 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
On May 3, the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes May 3 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.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to allow imports of fresh jackfruit, pineapple and starfruit from Malaysia into the continental U.S. The fruits would have to be irradiated for insect pests, inspected, and imported in commercial consignments. Each fruit would also be subject to its own additional requirements for associated pests, APHIS said. Comments on the proposed rule are due by July 6.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website May 3, 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 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that certificates of origin for post-importation NAFTA claims are due within a year of the date of importation, but remanded for CBP to explain why it waives the one-year time limit for post-entry claims filed under its reconciliation program, but not for paper claims. As had the Court of International Trade in November 2011, the appeals court said 19 CFR 10.112, which allows for late submissions of supporting documentation for duty-free claims, doesn't apply to NAFTA post-importation refund claims.