The Agricultural Marketing Service released the Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report (OSCAR) for the week of April 17-23. 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.
The International Trade Commission is asking for input by June 18 on its newly initiated investigations into the probable economic effect on U.S. industry and consumers of eliminating tariffs on a wide range of products from the EU. The investigations were requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (see 13032801, and will be used to assist in negotiations for the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement, announced in March (see 13032105).
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued a final rule clarifying its control over permanent imports of defense articles, in light of the removal of some items from the State Department’s U.S. Munitions List as part of Export Control Reform. The final rule amends 27 CFR 447 to remove a cross reference to the USML; clarifies that the Attorney General has the authority to control defense articles for permanent import, regardless of the State Department’s decisions on whether those articles are controlled for export or temporary import; and clarifies that articles controlled for import by the Attorney General are part of the USML. The final rule is effective April 22.
The International Trade Commission is publishing notices in the April 19 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):
5 Diamond Promotions’ flag pole sets fall within the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China (A-570-967/C-570-968), said the Commerce Department in a final scope ruling. According to Commerce, the sets don’t meet the finished goods kit exclusion because they’re not packaged to include all necessary parts for assembly. The flag pole parts are bundled with packages that contain the other necessary parts on importation, but the individual packages must be opened and the parts repackaged to contain a single full set for the consumer.
Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the following voluntary recalls April 18 (country of manufacture in parentheses):
On April 18 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 will continue to refuse admission into the U.S. of drug products manufactured at Kanebo Cosmetics’ Odawara Japan facility, the agency said in a warning letter. According to FDA, an inspection found “significant violations of current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations for finished pharmaceuticals.” The agency recommended the company find a third-party consultant with CGMP expertise to assist in bringing the facility into compliance.
On April 18 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries for April 12-18: