The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes April 15 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 Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for April 16:
The International Trade Administration is asking for comments by May 3 on stakeholder priorities to be addressed in the Obama administration’s implementation of the Doing Business in Africa Campaign. The campaign, announced in November 2012, will assist U.S. businesses in identifying and seizing opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa to promote trade and investment with Africa. The ITA is asking for feedback on, among other things, how to help businesses find opportunities and trade in Africa; which countries and/or sector opportunities should be highlighted; and what information could the government provide about African trade and commercial opportunities.
The Court of International Trade dismissed an action challenging the U.S. Customs Service’s HTS classification of certain models of Teva sports sandals as footwear with open toes or open heels, rather than as sports footwear. CIT found the 2008 decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a test case involving similar footwear to be controlling (see 08070735). The case had been filed by Deckers Corporation over a decade ago.
In its long-awaited ruling in Union Steel v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed on April 16 the Court of International Trade’s approval of the practice of zeroing in antidumping administrative reviews, but not investigations.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website April 15, 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 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals remanded in part the conviction and sentencing of two importers for trademark violations, finding the government overstepped the bounds of the criminal trademark statute. A lower court had found the defendants guilty of, among other things, trademark violations stemming from alteration of merchandise that still bore the original mark. The appeals court said that while such “material alteration” violates the Lanham Act, which governs civil trademark cases, it does not constitute a crime under the criminal trademark statute at 18 USC 2320. The court vacated convictions on several counts, and remanded to the lower court for resentencing only on the counts of counterfeiting based on “pure” counterfeit labels.
The International Trade Commission is publishing notices in the April 15 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):
BriarTek filed a section 337 enforcement complaint April 10, alleging Delorme is continuing to offer for sale imported two-way global satellite communication devices that infringe BriarTek’s patents despite an agreement not to. According to BriarTek, a consent order between BriarTek and Delorme that went into effect April 1 barred unlicensed importation and sale of the infringing devices. Delorme never obtained the required licensing agreement, said BriarTek. Along with a cease and desist order, BriarTek is requesting penalties in the amount of twice the value of the good, or $100,000, whichever is greater.
The International Trade Commission voted April 11 to begin an investigation into whether imports of omega-3 extracts from marine or aquatic biomass are infringing patents held by Neptune Technologies and Acasti Pharma in violation of Section 337. The products at issue are extracts of omega-3 fatty acids from Antarctic krill. In its Jan. 29 complaint, subsequently amended March 21, Neptune alleged 10 companies are infringing on its patents related to the extraction and purification process of the “krill oil” (see 13013131). Neptune and Acasti are requesting limited exclusion and cease and desist orders against all respondents. The ITC said it will investigate the following companies: