The U.S. Department of Agriculture is soliciting nominations for membership on the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI), which provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on meat and poultry inspection programs. NACMPI has up to 20 members, and each selection is for a 2-year term. Nominations, including a cover letter to the Secretary, the nominee’s typed resume or curriculum vitae, and a completed USDA Advisory Committee Membership Background Information form AD-755, must be received by June 20, 2012.
The Animal Plant Health Inspection Service is tracing 10-12 potential birth cohort cattle of the dairy cow that was confirmed positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (commonly known as mad cow disease), it said in an update May 18. APHIS also said samples of the BSE-positive dairy cow were sent to The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reference laboratories in Canada and England. Both laboratories have confirmed that the index cow was positive for atypical (L-type) BSE, according to APHIS.
The Commerce Department said 41 companies and organizations are recipients of the 2012 President’s “E” Award, the highest U.S. government recognition a U.S. entity may receive for supporting export activity. The “E” Award recipients are contributors to the President’s National Export Initiative (NEI) goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015.
An upstate New York man was sentenced May 16 to three years probation and ordered to pay restitution of $13,377 for importing counterfeit Viagra and Cialis tablets into the U.S., said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to court documents, between January and June 2011, Curtis Henry, 53, of Rochester, ordered more than 700 counterfeit Viagra and Cialis tablets from a source in China. After receiving the counterfeit pharmaceutical tablets, Henry sold them in Rochester. This investigation was done by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's web site as of May 18, 2012, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching on the listed CBP message number at http://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 International Trade Administration is amending its regulations to end the opportunity to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order for specific companies with consecutive years of zero margins. The ITA’s final rule, which will be effective for all administrative reviews initiated on or after June 20, 2012, amends 19 CFR 351.222 to eliminate the provision for revocation of an AD or CV order for an exporter or producer based on its receipt of AD rates of zero for three consecutive years, or CV rates of zero for five consecutive years.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry said it will hold a “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Producers and Consumers Meeting” on September 19 in Tokyo, along with the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) and the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC). METI said LNG producers and consumers inside and outside Japan may take part in this meeting to share perspectives on the long-term demand for LNG and providing a transparent LNG trading market.
The International Trade Commission is publishing notices in the May 18, 2012, 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):
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by about May 25, 2012, on an amended patent complaint filed on behalf of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation which alleges violations of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the U.S., the sale for importation, and the sale within the U.S. after importation of certain radio frequency integrated circuits and devices containing same (D/N 2877). Although the ITC's FR notice said the due date for comments is 8 days after publication (i.e., May 26), ITC officials said that, because that date falls on a Saturday, comments are due by the preceding Friday (i.e., May 25). ITC is asking for comments on any public interest issues that might affect ITC consideration, including whether the issuance of an exclusion order and/or cease and desist order would impact the public interest.
Chinese exporters of solar cells received preliminary antidumping rates of 31.14% to 249.96%, the International Trade Administration announced in its fact sheet regarding its affirmative preliminary determination in its AD investigation of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules from China (A-570-979). The fact sheet says mandatory respondents Wuxi Suntech and Trina Solar received AD rates of 31.22% and 31.14%, respectively. Fifty-nine other exporters qualified for a separate AD rate of 31.18%, and all other Chinese producers/exporters received a preliminary AD rate of 249.96%.