The Commerce Department will take a closer look at companies in non-market economy (NME) countries to see if they're free from government control, toughening its procedures for seeing if companies qualify for separate rates in antidumping investigations and reviews, it said in a Federal Register notice. The new policy will include issuing supplemental questionnaires to the companies to delve deeper into government control when Commerce thinks it’s warranted. The change in policy follows a December 2010 request for comments on the agency’s NME separate rate determinations that garnered responses from several foreign governments and domestic industry associations.
The Drug Enforcement Agency proposed 2014 quotas for the manufacture and import of some substances Schedule I and II of the Controlled Substances Act. Substances not listed in the table included in DEA's notice will have a quota of zero. DEA is also proposing quotas for the Schedule I chemicals ephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, and pseudoephedrine. Comments are due by Aug. 2.
The Commerce Department published notices in the July 2 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department will collect antidumping duties on Chinese-origin tissue paper processed in India by A.R. Printing and Packaging India Pvt. Ltd. (ARPP), after finding that the company’s reprocessing is so minor that the merchandise remains subject to the AD duty order on tissue paper products from China (A-570-894). Only merchandise processed from Chinese-origin tissue paper will be subject to the order. As Commerce explained in the preliminary results, ARPP sufficiently distinguishes between Chinese and Indian origin inputs in its inventory, so all imports from ARPP don’t have to be included.
The Commerce Department rescinded an antidumping new shipper review on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam (A-552-801) for Ngoc Ha Co. Ltd. Food Processing and Trading. Ngoc Ha withdrew its request for the new shipper review, the agency said. As a result, their temporary AD duty bonding option is being discontinued. Commerce will direct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation and collect cash deposits at $2.11/kg for merchandise produced and exported by Ngoc Ha until CBP receives instructions on ongoing administrative review of frozen fish fillets from Vietnam for the period Aug. 1, 2012 through July 31, 2013.
The antidumping duty investigation on welded stainless steel pressure pipe from Malaysia (A-557-815), Thailand (A-549-830) and Vietnam (A-552-816) will continue, after the International Trade Commission unanimously voted June 28 that subject imports are likely injuring U.S. industry. The investigations, initiated in June (see 13061124, would have ended if not for the ITC’s preliminary affirmative injury determination. The Commerce Department’s preliminary antidumping duty determinations are now due in October.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of four antidumping duty new shipper reviews on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam (A-552-801). Changes to the preliminary results of each review brought all four respondents' AD rates above zero. The new rates are effective July 2, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
Aquapharm Chemicals Pvt., Ltd. will no longer be subject to the antidumping duty order on 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-diphosphonic acid from India (A-533-846), after the Commerce Department partially revoked for the company in the final results of an administrative review. The agency made no changes from the preliminary results, continuing to assign Aquapharm, the only company under review, its third consecutive zero AD rate. Revocation for the company is effective April 1, 2012. Commerce will instruct CBP to liquidate entries during the period of review without regard to AD duties. Entries made after April 1, 2012 will no longer be subject to a cash deposit requirement and AD duty liability in connection with the HEDP AD duty order. Cash deposits for entries made after April 1, 2012 will be refunded, Commerce said.
Three domestic steel threaded rod producers filed petitions June 27 requesting the imposition of antidumping duties on imports of steel threaded rod from Thailand (A-533-855), and both antidumping and countervailing duties on steel threaded rod from India (A-549-831 / C-533-856). All-America Threaded Products, Bay Standard Manufacturing, and Vulcan Threaded Products allege that rapidly growing imports of steel threaded rod from Thailand and India are underselling U.S. industry, and pushing out domestic producers.
On July 1 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of: