The International Trade Administration made a preliminary affirmative antidumping determination that drawn stainless steel sinks from China (A-570-983) are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The ITA found preliminary AD rates of 54.25% to 76.53%, which are effective Oct. 4. CBP is expected to implement these AD cash deposit/bond requirements soon. Pursuant to the ITA's October 2011 final rule, no bond will be accepted in lieu of a cash deposit.
On Oct. 2 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
On Oct. 2 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails Oct. 2 announcing changes 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 working group is meeting regularly to develop the new U.S.-Canada Greenhouse Certification Program(GCP), said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in an update on the ongoing overhaul of the program. The GCP memorandum of understanding has been extended to permit the existing program to continue until the reform is completed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Canadian Food Inspection Agency are on track, said APHIS.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service amended the Select Agent and Toxin Regulations, pursuant to its third biennial review of the list, in a final rule set for publication in the Federal Register on Oct. 5. The final rule amends both the Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) list and the Veterinary Services (VS) lists of select agents and toxins. APHIS reorganized the list based on the relative potential of each agent or toxin to be misused to adversely affect human, plant, or animal health, and also made changes such as the addition of definitions and clarification of language concerning security, training , biosafety, biocontainment, and incident response.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Oct. 1-2:
Industrial supply company W. W. Grainger of Illinois agreed to pay a civil penalty of $12,000 to settle charges that it violated the Bureau of Industry and Security antiboycott regulations. Grainger failed to timely report 12 requests to engage in a boycott, BIS said.
PhibroChem will pay $31,000 to settle alleged violations of the Export Administration Regulations, according to an agreement with the Bureau of Industry and Security. In 2008, PhibroChem exported sodium fluoride to Mexico without a license, BIS said, but knew that it needed BIS authorization. As part of the settlement, PhibroChem neither admitted nor denied its guilt.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website Oct. 2, 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://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.)