The International Trade Administration said it found dumping and illegal subsidization of drawn stainless steel sink imports from China in the final determination of its antidumping investigation. The ITA found AD duty rates of 27.14 percent to 76.53 percent, and CV duty rates of 4.8 percent to 12.26 percent, it said. AD cash deposit rates are slightly lower after adjustment for export subsidies, ranging from 24.12 to 76.45 percent, said the ITA. The ITA will direct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation for AD duty purposes and collect AD cash deposits, but will not suspend liquidation for CV duty purposes at this time because the provisional measures period has expired. The International Trade Commission is set to make its final injury determination by April 5, at which point the ITA will issue AD/CV duty orders if the ITC finds injury.
On Feb. 20 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
During the week of Feb. 11-17, the Food and Drug Administration modified the following existing Import Alerts (not otherwise listed on the FDA's new and revised import alerts page) on the detention without physical examination and/or surveillance of:
The Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to Belgian device manufacturer Medsys, alleging several violations of FDA regulations including Medical Device Reporting. FDA said it will deny premarket approval applications for Class III devices related to the violations, and will not grant requests for certificates to foreign governments, until the violations have been corrected.
The Food and Drug Administration said a draft guidance on distinguishing device recalls from product enhancements is now available. The guidance would clarify when a change to a device meets the definition of a recall, and whether FDA should be notified. Device improvements do not necessarily mean old versions of a device need to be recalled, FDA said, but when the new version of a device corrects an identified defect or failure the public should be notified without delay. Comments on the draft guidance are due by May 23.
On Feb. 20 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Feb. 20 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.
A World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) commission recommended upgrading its risk classification for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the U.S. to “negligible risk,” reported the Department of Agriculture. “Negligible risk” is the lowest level of risk in the OIE code. The decision came after a review of U.S. measures to combat the cattle disease, also known as mad cow disease. The OIE General Assembly will review the commission’s determination and come to a final decision in May, USDA said.
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for Feb. 21:
The Court of International Trade sustained the results of a remand of the 2006-07 antidumping duty administrative review of chlorinated isocyanurates from China (A-570-898). CIT had remanded in November 2011, in response to a challenge by two domestic producers to the data used by the International Trade Administration for calculation of surrogate values. The ITA had been directed to reconsider values used for urea, steam coal and ammonia gas by-products. After reconsideration, the ITA made no changes, and the court accepted the agency’s reasoning over the arguments of the domestic producers.