On March 12 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 said it may reject premarket approval applications and refuse to issue certificates to foreign governments for Grantech of Taiwan after finding violations of current good manufacturing practices at the medical device company’s Taipei facility. According to FDA, the company’s first response was inadequate. But two responses by the company went unreviewed because of late submission, FDA said.
The Food and Drug Administration informed two medical device companies of violations of Medical Device Reporting and current good manufacturing practice regulations, in two warning letters dated March 1. According to FDA, inspections at Linet’s Slany, Czech Republic, facility (here) and VE Valley Electronics’ Murnau Am Staffelsee facility (here) revealed the violations. Each firm’s initial response was inadequate, FDA said. Both firms have 15 days from the date of receipt of the each respective letter to respond with corrections.
On March 12 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service will hold a meeting March 28 to discuss U.S. positions for the upcoming session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues. The meeting will be held in Arlington, Va. from 1-4 p.m. ET. Attendance by conference call is available by calling 1-866-299-3188, participant code 7033056463. Documents related to the Codex committee session, scheduled for May in Beijing, will be available on the internet (here).
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website March 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.)
“Air cargo is vital to the global economy, transporting more than $5 trillion worth of goods annually, or more than a third of world trade by value,” International Air Transport Association Director General and CEO Tony Tyler at the World Cargo Symposium in Doha, Qatar. But the last two years have been difficult for the air cargo industry, he said, noting a 2 percent decline in both air cargo demand and yields last year. “There are early signs that an upturn is on the way,” said Tyler. “To seize the opportunity we must strengthen the industry’s competitiveness.”
Mexico's Diario Oficial of March 12, lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy as follows:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 110 on tires, rims, and motor home/ recreational vehicle trailer load carrying capacity for vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs.) or less. The proposed rule would add a paragraph saying that special trailer (ST) tires are permitted to be installed on new trailers with a GWVR under 4,536 kg. It would also exclude these trailers from a vehicle testing requirement that the tire must remain on its rim when brought to a controlled stop from 97 km/h (60 mph) after a sudden loss of pressure. Comments on the proposed rule are due by May 13.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) member states voted March 11 to list five species of sharks and manta rays in Appendix II, mandating restrictions on trade in these animals, said the Fish and Wildlife Service. Three species of hammerhead sharks -- scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead, and smooth hammerhead -- as well as porbeagle sharks and manta rays were all voted onto the appendix. CITES member states will decide whether to confirm the listings at a later session.