The International Trade Administration has issued a notice highlighting the antidumping and countervailing (AD/CV) duty-related provision of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KFTA), which took effect on March 15, 2012. Article 10.7 of the KFTA, which covers AD/CV duties, requires, among other things: (1) notification to the other party after receipt of a petition; and (2) the opportunity for the other party to take action on price and/or quantity of subject merchandise, after both initiation and the preliminary determination, in order to reach a settlement. This provision is not subject to dispute settlement, and only the notification requirements are binding.
The International Trade Administration has issued a fact sheet announcing its affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty investigations of bottom mount combination refrigerator-freezers from Korea and Mexico (A-580-865 and A-201-839, respectively), and the countervailing duty investigation of the same product from Korea (C-580-866), its finding of targeted dumping for two companies from Korea, and its finding of AD critical circumstances for one company from Mexico.
The International Trade Administration has issued a fact sheet announcing its affirmative final determinations in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of certain steel wheels from China (A-570-973, C-570-974), its finding of AD critical circumstances for one company and the China-wide entity, and its finding of CV critical circumstances for all other Chinese producers/exporters.
The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress for March 16, 2012:
On March 19, 2012 the following trade-related bill was introduced:
The following are the trade-related hearings scheduled from March 20-23:
Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced on March 19, 2012 that he sent three separate petitions to the Food and Drug Administration requesting the agency permanently remove regulatory approval for the use of bisphenol-A (BPA) in (i) infant formula and baby and toddler food packaging, (ii) small reusable household food and beverage containers, and (iii) canned food packaging, on the grounds that manufacturers have stopped using BPA in these products.
Officials at the U.S.-Panama Business Council state that the Panamanian Minister for Commerce and Industry, Ricardo Quijano, has set a goal of October 1, 2012 for the implementation of the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement. Quijano attended the recent “Panama Week” conference held March 15-16 in Washington, DC.
The Census Bureau has issued AES Broadcast #2012023 announcing that the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) will host an Automated Export System (AES) Compliance Seminar and AESPcLink Workshops in Houston, Texas on April 3-4, 2012. Census experts will cover the filing requirements of the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), how to classify commodities by providing an understanding of the Schedule B classification requirements, and provide a thorough overview of the AES. The second day will offer a hands-on AESPcLink training Workshop. Email documents@brokerpower.com for a copy of the March 16, 2012 broadcast. Full details available here.
The Census Bureau has issued AES Broadcast #2012021 as part of a new series of monthly educational broadcast messages on the Automated Export System. This month Census is highlighting AES error codes 256 (USPPI Postal Code Not Valid for State) and 628 (1st Unit of Measure Code / Schedule B/HTS Mismatch). The broadcast covers the reasons for these error messages and how to resolve them. Email documents@brokerpower.com for a copy of the March 18, 2012 broadcast.