The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of International Trade’s denial of plaintiff Ford Motor Company, Inc.’s claims of a refund of $2.65M in Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) paid on exports. CAFC agreed with CIT that Ford did not submit the proof of payment of export taxes required by the regulations for either pre- or post-July 1, 1990, refunds of HMT paid on exports. A dissenting judge said CIT improperly entered summary judgment in favor of CBP, and that the case should have gone to trial.
The Census Bureau posted a brief educational guide, as part of its monthly series “Trade Term of the Month”, on the term “EEI”, the Electronic Export Information reported in the Automated Export System (AES). The guide includes information reported in the EEI, as well as procedures for when incorrect EEI information is reported in the AES.
On April 24, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Food and Drug Administration issued its weekly Enforcement Report for April 25, 2012, that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.
Changes to Canada’s unilateral economic sanctions on Burma, including suspension of some sanctions, were announced on April 24 by Canada Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. Among other things, changes include lifting most prohibitions on imports, exports, and investment, and removal of Burma from Canada’s Area Control List.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is requesting comments by June 25, 2012, on a proposed rule that would amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to, among other things: (1) update various entries in the Hazardous Materials Table and corresponding special provisions; (2) clarify the lab pack requirements for temperature-controlled materials; and (3) revise the training requirements to require that a hazardous material employer must make hazardous materials employee training records available upon request to an authorized official of the Department of Transportation (DOT) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The International Trade Commission voted to institute an investigation of certain semiconductor integrated circuit devices and products containing same (337-TA-840). The products at issue in this investigation include semiconductor chips and packages.
According to the International Trade Commission, a section 337 patent complaint on certain drill bits and products containing the same was filed on behalf of Boart Longyear Company and Longyear TM, Inc. on April 25, 2012. The proposed respondents are:
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the April 26, 2012, Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
On April 25, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports: