On April 9 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
During the week of March 31 - April 6, the Food and Drug Administration modified the following existing Import Alerts (not otherwise listed on the FDA's new and revised import alerts page) on the detention without physical examination and/or surveillance of:
The Food and Drug Administration is amending its regulations on color additives to allow use of spirulina extract in more types of foods. In response to a petition from GNT USA, the agency will effective May 13 allow use of the cyanobacteria-derived blue coloring in color frostings, ice cream and frozen desserts, dessert coatings and toppings, beverage mixes and powders, yogurts, custards, puddings, cottage cheese, gelatin, breadcrumbs, and ready-to-eat cereals (excluding extruded cereals). FDA already allows use of spirulina in candy and chewing gum (see 13081214). Objections and hearing requests are due May 12.
On April 9 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes April 9 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.
A group of related apparel importers will pay $10 million to settle charges that they falsified entry documentation to avoid paying import duties, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District New York on April 9. Siouni and Zar Corp. and Dana Kay admitted to underreporting the dutiable value on invoices provided to CBP for imports of women’s apparel by using a second, unreported invoice for part of the purchase price. The complaint said the false invoices resulted in $3 million per year in unpaid duties.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website April 9, 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 http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
LAS VEGAS -- The question of how to accredit continuing education classes for customs brokers continues to bedevil CBP, but the agency is starting to make some progress toward a proposed rule, said Heather Sykes, CBP branch chief-Broker Management, at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference April 9. CBP has started work on its economic impact analysis on continuing education requirements, a necessary step before drafting a proposed rule. Rather than issue all of its "role of the broker" changes at once, CBP is now considering breaking the changes out into several "packages" of proposed regulations. One package would be the continuing education proposed rule, which Sykes very tentatively said could come in 2015. Others will address importer bona fides and broker employee reporting requirements.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the April 9 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 Commerce Department issued its final determination in the antidumping duty investigation on diffusion-annealed, nickel-plated flat-rolled steel products from Japan (A-552-869). The agency slightly decreased AD duty rates for many Japanese exporters. Changes to AD duty cash deposit requirements take effect April 10.