The antidumping investigation on lemon juice from Mexico will be terminated, after the International Trade Commission unanimously voted June 10 that ending the case won’t injure U.S. industry. The decision also ends the 2007 agreement suspending the investigation, eliminating floors on export prices Commerce set for several Mexican companies. The agreement had brought to an end an AD duty investigation where Commerce had preliminarily found dumping by Mexican companies.
Small businesses are not taking advantage of the small batch manufacturer exception to children’s product testing, said Randall Hertzler, vice president-Handmade Toy Alliance, at a July 10 Consumer Product Safety Commission hearing on agency priorities for fiscal years 2014 and 2015. Although the measure can reduce costs for small businesses, it also requires that the names of companies that use the exception are published in a public registry. According to Hertzler, members of the Handmade Toy Association don’t want to be on a public list of companies that don’t test their products.
On July 10 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 July 10 that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.
The Food and Drug Administration will no longer allow use of bisphenol A-based epoxy resins as coatings in infant formula packaging, according to a final rule that takes effect July 12. The agency said it’s removing the approved use from its food additive regulations at 21 CFR 175 because the chemical is no longer used by the industry, and not because of safety concerns. “FDA’s action is based solely on a determination of abandonment and is not related to the safety of BPA,” FDA said in a press release (here). “The agency’s current safety review supports the safety of BPA for use in the manufacture of food contact articles as authorized in the food additive regulations,” it said.
On July 10, the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes July 10 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.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service posted its “illustrative list” of plants that are considered “common cultivars” or “common food crops,” and are therefore exempt from Lacey Act requirements. The definitions for the terms were finalized in a July 9 final rule 13070808). APHIS said wild specimens of plants on the list are not subject to the exemptions, and must still meet Lacey Act requirements. The list isn’t exhaustive, only listing examples of plants for which certain parts, derivatives, and products meet the criteria to be “common cultivars” or “common food crops.” Additional examples may be added if APHIS finds that they qualify, the agency said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is reopening until Sept. 10 the period for comments on its proposal to overhaul its regulations on imports of plants for planting. APHIS proposed to move plant-specific requirements to the Plants for Planting Manual in its April 25 rule, as well as a reorganization of its prohibited plants lists and a change to procedures for banning and allowing importation. The agency said it would accept comments received between the end of the previous comment period and the beginning of this new one. APHIS will hold a conference call and web presentation on the provisions of the proposed rule on Aug. 14 from 3-5 p.m., it said. Participants are required to register (here).
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website July 10, 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 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.)