The International Trade Commission voted to begin a Section 337 patent infringement investigation on imports of electronic devices having placeshifting or display replication functionality (337-TA-878). The products at issue allow users to watch their televisions remotely from a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Sling Media requested the investigation March 12, and is requesting limited exclusion and cease and desist orders (see 13031418). The ITC identified the following as respondents:
The Commerce Department published notices in the April 15 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on new pneumatic off-the-road tires from China (A-570-912). The agency made changes to the preliminary AD rate for Zhongce, and rescinded the review for 78 companies that are part of the China-wide entity for which review requests were withdrawn. The new rate is effective April 16, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
On April 12-14 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The U.S. Trade Representative is beginning reviews to consider designating Myanmar (Burma) and Laos as Generalized System of Preferences beneficiary developing countries. Myanmar had its GSP eligibility withdrawn in 1989 because of worker rights violations, while Laos has never been considered for eligibility for GSP benefits. USTR’s review will also address whether the countries should be designated as least-developed beneficiary developing countries under GSP.
The Court of International Trade sustained the Commerce Department’s decision to rescind an antidumping duty new shipper review of fresh garlic from China (A-570-831). Commerce had found that the sales being reviewed to establish Jinxiang Chengda’s AD rate were not commercially realistic, because of their high price, small quantity, and nearly simultaneous timing. The court agreed, noting that high prices could have distorted any AD rate that resulted from the new shipper review. The quantities and timing of the sale indicated that they were not indicative of future commercial behavior either, said the court.
A federal jury in Los Angeles awarded leather goods-maker Coach an $8 million judgment against a customs brokerage and its owner for violating trademark and customs laws. According to Coach, Celco Customs and its owner Shen Huei Feng “Celine” Wang acted as broker for importers that it knew were bringing in counterfeit handbags and wallets.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website April 12, 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 10-16. 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 Air Transport Association announced an organizational restructuring that it said will allow the group to better address the needs of its 240 member airlines. As part of the reorganization, which will take effect July 1, IATA’s seven regional groups will be consolidated into five by creating combined Americas and Africa and Middle East operations. The reorganization will also create a new division, “Airports, Passenger and Cargo Services,” that will combine IATA’s main activities with respect to airports, security, passenger and cargo services. The new division will be led by Thomas Windmuller, currently Senior Vice President -- Member and Government Relations. The renamed “Member and External Relations” division will be led by newly-promoted Paul Steel, currently Director of Aviation Environment, IATA said.