The U.S. Trade Representative requested International Trade Commission investigations into the economic effects of the elimination of tariffs on goods from the EU, both in general and with a specific focus on agricultural products. The reports would be used to assist the USTR in negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement with the EU, formally announced March 20 (see 13032105).
The Food Safety and Inspection Service said it will begin its pilot May 28 on submission of electronic import inspection applications for meat, poultry, and egg products (FSIS Form 9540-1) through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), and is accepting requests to participate from importers and customs brokers by that date. The pilot will be used to test the transfer of data from the Participating Government Agency (PGA) Message Set in ACE to FSIS’ Public Health Information System (PHIS), the agency said. FSIS also posted a draft compliance guide for importers and customs brokers on electronic filing of the form in ACE.
The Fish and Wildlife Service will not list the Rosemont talussnail as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, after a 12-month review on the bird’s status, it said in a Federal Register notice set for publication March 28. According to FWS, the bird is simply a subspecies of another kind of talussnail native to Arizona.
The International Trade Commission voted to begin a Section 337 patent investigation on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) products and components (337-TA-875). Neology filed its complaint Feb. 22, alleging patent infringement by the imported products, which are mainly used for electronic vehicle registration and toll collection purposes (see 13022530). Neology is requesting limited exclusion and cease and desist orders against the following respondents:
The International Trade Administration initiated an antidumping duty new shipper review for frozen fish fillets from Vietnam (A-552-801) at the request of Ngoc Ha Co. Ltd. Food Processing and Trading, for merchandise it produces and exports to the United States. The ITA will determine if Ngoc Ha is eligible for an estimated AD cash deposit rate other than the Vietnam-wide entity rate it currently receives.
The International Trade Administration issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review of sodium hexametaphosphate from China (A-570-908). Nobody commented on the ITA's preliminary results, so the agency continued to find that all reviewed companies either didn't have any shipments to the U.S. during the period or review,1 or didn't qualify for a separate rate. The no shipment companies will continue their AD rates found in previous reviews, while the non-separate rate companies will be assigned to the China-wide entity. The new rates are effective March 28, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
The International Trade Administration is partially revoking antidumping duty orders on diamond sawblades (A-570-900) and frozen warmwater shrimp from China (A-570-893) as part of a Section 129 determination to implement the June 2012 findings of a World Trade Organization panel. The WTO panel had found against the ITA’s use of zeroing in the respective antidumping duty investigations (see 12060830). Effective March 22, the ITA is revoking the AD duty order on frozen warmwater shrimp from China for Allied Pacific Group, Yelin Enterprise, and Shantou Red Garden. The ITA also intends to revoke the AD duty order on diamond sawblades from China for Advanced Technology & Materials, but is currently prevented from doing so by court order.
Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the following voluntary recalls March 26 (country of manufacture in parentheses):
On March 26 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 posted two frequently asked questions documents on its Jan. 16 produce safety (here) and hazard analysis and preventative controls proposed rules (here) (see 13010805 and 13010429, respectively). The Food Safety Modernization will require importers to verify compliance with the final versions of these produce safety and preventative controls rules, as part of the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP).