The International Trade Commission voted to begin an investigation into whether imports of sleep-disordered breathing treatment systems and components are violating Section 337 by infringing patents held by ResMed. The products are used in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea by delivering pressurized air to the user to keep that user’s breathing passages open during sleep, the petition for investigation said (see 13040201). According to ResMed, Apex Medical makes infringing breathing treatment systems abroad, and imports them into the U.S. through its affiliate Apex Medical USA. Medical Depot, which does business as Drive Medical Design & Manufacturing, also imports infringing breathing treatment systems it buys from Apex Medical, the complaint alleged. ResMed is requesting the ITC issue limited exclusion and cease and desist orders against the proposed respondents.
Steel shelving used in wine coolers, beverage coolers, and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant cooling units fall within the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on kitchen appliance shelving and racks from China (A-570-941 / C-570-942), said the Commerce Department April 22. U.S. importer U-Line Corporation had requested the scope ruling, arguing the shelves fell outside of the scope because they are not for use in residential refrigerators. But according to the Commerce department, the end use of the racks is irrelevant, and the shelving met the dimensional criteria set forth in the scope.
On April 26 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
On April 26, the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries for April 19-26:
The Bureau of Industry and Security will hold a teleconference and webinar May 1 on changes to the Automated Export System that will result from the initial implementation to Export Control Reform final rule (see 13041518). Gerry Horner, director-Office of Technology Evaluation at the Bureau of Industry and Security, will discuss Export Administration Regulations Parts 758.1 and 758.2 on AES filing and post-departure filing requirements. He will also talk about what specific AES changes may impact software providers and companies with in-house programs that interface with AES, BIS said. Participants will be able to ask questions via email during the webinar.
Deckers Corporation appealed the Court of International Trade’s April 12 dismissal of its challenge to CBP’s classification of its Teva sports sandals. Deckers had argued they should be classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) as sports footwear, but CBP instead found them to be footwear with open toes or open heels. The sandals were made for running and training, and the openings don’t detract from that function, Deckers had argued. CIT, though sympathetic, said it couldn’t ignore the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s ruling on similar footwear from Deckers in a test case the company had itself requested.
The 9th U.S, Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court judgment that said a freight forwarder was not liable for damages related to the misdelivery of goods, because the bill of lading set a one-year time limit for lawsuits. The Hecny Group had signed a guarantee that, in return for an exclusive role in delivery of Clevo’s computer parts to Brazil-based Amazon PC Industria e Comercio de Microcomputadores, Hecny would not release the goods until presented by Amazon with the bill of lading. The bill of lading was kept by Clevo until Amazon made full payment. Clevo argued that the guarantee had no time limit for misdelivery suits. But the court found that the bill of lading was issued after the guarantee, and so superseded it and put a time limit in place.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website April 26, 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 Agricultural Marketing Service released the Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report (OSCAR) for the week of April 24-30. The weekly report contains data on container availability for westbound transpacific traffic at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.1 from the eight member carriers of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA).2 Although the report is compiled by AMS, it covers container availability for all merchandise, not just agricultural products.