The International Trade Commission ended its Section 337 patent investigation on Apple iPhones (337-TA-745) with a finding of no violation. Motorola requested the investigation in 2010, alleging violations by imports of Apple iPhones (see 13022227). After a remand on several issues, an administrative law judge found infringement of certain patents, but said the patents were invalid because they were obvious concepts.
The Commerce Department initiated an antidumping duty new shipper review on freshwater crawfish tail meat from China (A-570-848) at the request of Hubei Nature Agriculture Industry Co., Ltd., for merchandise it produces and exports to the United States. The agency will determine if Hubei Nature Agriculture is eligible for an estimated AD cash deposit rate other than the China-wide entity rate it currently receives.
The Commerce Department amended the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on steel nails from China (A-570-909), revising AD rates for most companies slightly downwards in response to allegations it made calculation errors. The agency said the new rates will apply to AD cash deposits, but liquidation is currently on hold due to a Court of International Trade injunction. The new rate is effective April 26, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
Davis Wire Corporation and Insteel Wire Products filed petitions April 23 with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting antidumping duties be imposed on prestressed concrete steel rail tie wire from China, Mexico, and Thailand (A-570-989, A-201-843, A-549-829). According to the two companies, imports of the product have increased their U.S. market share by undercutting domestic prices, which in turn has eroded the finances of U.S. producers. Domestic industry is both materially injured and threatened by injury from dumped imports, they said.
Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the following voluntary recalls April 24 (country of manufacture in parentheses):
On April 24 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 April 24 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 is extending until Sept. 16 the comment periods for its proposed rules on produce safety (here) and preventative controls for human food (HARPC) (here). The proposals, which implement provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act, were originally issued Jan. 16 (see 13010429 and 13010805, respectively). FDA also extended the comment period until Sept. 16 for its draft risk assessment for activities conducted in on-farm facilities (here).
On April 23, the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is revising its regulations on importation of plants for planting to remove entries for plant inspection stations in New Orleans and Baltimore, and add an entry for a station in Beltsville, Md. The final rule also updates the addresses in the regulations for plant inspection stations in Florida, Guam, and Hawaii. The rule is effective April 26.