The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes June 27 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 Food Safety and Inspection Service revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries for June 21-27:
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for June 28:
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website June 27, 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.)
The Obama administration will suspend Generalized System of Preference benefits for Bangladesh for worker’s rights violations, effective Aug. 30, according to a presidential proclamation that has yet to be published in the Federal Register (here). The proclamation sets forth changes to the GSP resulting from the 2012 annual review, including new competitive need limitation (CNL) waivers and the withdrawal of GSP coverage for a corn product from Brazil and passenger tires from Indonesia. The proclamation also makes changes to the HTS related to the World Trade Organization’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA).
The International Trade Commission is publishing notices in the June 27 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will appear in another ITT article):
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by July 5 on public interest issues raised by Knowles Electronics’ Section 337 patent infringement allegations against Goertek’s silicon microphone packages. In its June 21 complaint, Knowles said Goertek is manufacturing and importing into the U.S. silicon microphone packages that infringe its patents (see 13062601). The products at issue are silicon microphones that include a Micro-Electric-Mechanic System (MEMS) microphone die encased within a surface-mountable package, Knowles said. They are used in consumer electronic products like cellphones, notebooks, headsets, and digital cameras made by companies such as Samsung, Apple, Motorola and HTC. Knowles is seeking limited exclusion and cease and desist orders.
The Commerce Department will investigate whether merchandise produced and exported by Shanghai General Bearing Company (SGBC) is still not subject to the antidumping duty order on tapered roller bearings from China (A-570-601) following the company’s acquisition by the SKF Group, said the Commerce Department in an initiation of a changed circumstances review. Commerce partially revoked the AD duty order for SGBC in 1997. But a merger with the SKF group in 2012 raises questions about whether the current version of SGBC is the successor-in-interest to the formerly independent entity.
The International Trade Administration issued the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on honey from China (A-570-863). The agency said it will no longer review four companies that withdrew their review requests, so their current AD rates will not be changed by this review.1 None of the other companies under review demonstrated independence from state control, Commerce said. If these preliminary results are finalized, all of those non-separate rate companies will be assigned to the China-wide entity with an AD rate of $2.63/kg. These preliminary results are not in effect. Commerce may modify them in the final results of this review and change the estimated AD cash deposit rate for these companies.
M-Wave’s film-faced plywood products are not subject to the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on multilayered wood flooring from China (A-570-970 / C-570-971), said the Commerce Department in a final scope ruling. The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film that covers the plywood obscures the “wooden” look of the material, putting it outside of the scope, the agency said.