On March 14, 2012, the Coalition for Sugar Reform submitted testimony to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, lambasting the current sugar program as outmoded and counterproductive, and calling for its abolishment or revamp in the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill. According to the testimony, U.S. sugar subsidies hurt consumers by artificially raising prices, hurt small businesses by artificially restricting supplies, and hurt workers by encouraging relocation of manufacturing facilities offshore. The Coalition stated that, due to changes to the sugar subsidy regime in the 2008 Farm Bill, U.S. sugar prices are currently at record highs and are substantially higher than world prices.
On March 14, 2012, the Senate passed S. 1813, a bill to reauthorize the Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for two years. The bill, also known as Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), would maintain funding at current levels, indexed for inflation, among other things. Press reports indicate that the House must take up the bill quickly, as current highway funding expires on March 31, 2012.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that the 33rd Session of the Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) concluded on March 9 in Budapest, Hungary. The Committee focused on three main agenda items: the proposed draft Principles for the Use of Sampling and Testing in International Food Trade, the endorsement of methods of analysis provisions in Codex standards, and provisions on the use of propriety methods in Codex standards.
The International Trade Administration unveiled a new version of the interagency intellectual property rights (IPR) resource and information website www.STOPfakes.gov, which ITA states is particularly relevant to small and medium-sized businesses. Among other features, a self-paced IPR tutorial is available in several languages, users can report IPR theft to federal law enforcement and obtain a free one-hour consultation with a lawyer knowledgeable on IPR protection, and manuals are available on foreign IPR systems.
According to the International Trade Commission, a section 337 patent complaint on certain audiovisual components and products containing the same, was filed on behalf of LSI Corporation and Agere Systems Inc. on March 12, 2012. Proposed respondents are:
The International Trade Administration is amending the final results for its recently published antidumping duty administrative review of small diameter graphite electrodes from China (A-570-929) in order to correct an error in the AD cash deposit rate for three exporters. The amended rates, which are effective March 14, 2012, are expected to be implemented by U.S. Customs and Border Protection soon.
The International Trade Administration has issued the final results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain frozen fish fillets from Vietnam (A-552-801) which sets AD cash deposit rates for 13 manufacturer/exporters, continues the Vietnam-wide cash deposit rate from the last review, and rescinds the review with respect to four companies1 that reported no shipments of subject merchandise. These rates, which are effective March 14, 2012, are expected to be implemented by U.S. Customs and Border Protection soon.
At two separate Congressional hearings on March 7, 2012, representatives of the American Association of Port Authorities emphasized the need for federal support for seaport security and maintenance improvements to federal navigation channels, noting the challenges that underfunding security and dredging pose for national security and U.S. international competitiveness.
On March 13, 2012, President Obama signed H.R. 4105 into law, amending 19 USC 1671 so that the countervailing duties on non-market economy (NME) countries, such as China and Vietnam, can continue to apply and adjustments of antidumping margins for double counting can be made. These changes were needed in light of certain court and WTO rulings.
The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a final rule, effective April 16, 2012, amending 21 CFR Parts 1301 and 1309 to adjust the fee schedule for DEA registration and reregistration fees necessary to recover the costs of the Diversion Control Program relating to the registration and control of the manufacture, distribution, dispensing, importation, and exportation of controlled substances and List I chemicals as mandated by the Controlled Substances Act.