On May 7, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that the 20th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) began on May 7, 2012 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The agenda for this session includes: setting maximum residue limits (MRLs) for veterinary drugs in foods; amendments to the Risk Analysis Principles applied by the CCRVDF; revision of the Risk Assessment Policy for the setting of MRLS for Veterinary Drugs in Foods; draft sampling plans for residue control for aquatic animal products; draft priority list for veterinary drugs requiring scientific evaluation or re-evaluation; and risk management recommendations for veterinary drugs for which no acceptable daily intake and/or MRL has/have been recommended by scientific evaluation. FSIS said the Session concludes on May 11.
The Bureau of Industry and Security completed the first day of its Complying with U.S. Export Controls conference in Washington, DC on May 7. At the two-day conference, which is offered by BIS in several cities throughout the year, BIS and Census outreach and counseling staff provide an in-depth examination of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). During the first day, BIS provided training on the classification of items on the Commerce Control List (CCL), license exceptions, and how to submit license applications and commodity classification requests to BIS through the Simplified Network Application Process Redesign (SNAP-R). Highlights follow:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that Kevin Demetri Britton, 19, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles, following an investigation led by ICE. According to his plea agreement, between 2010 and April 2011, Britton was an active participant in a conspiracy to ship stolen cars from the United States to countries in West Africa for resale. Members of the conspiracy in the United States hired others to steal late model vehicles -- with the keys -- so that the vehicles could be more easily sold.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced its 90-day finding that a petition to list the dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), as well as information in its files, present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted.
The International Trade Commission released its annual compilation of bi-weekly reports on textile and apparel imports from China for 2011, as requested by the House Committee on Ways and Means. The data in the report are shown on an annual and quarterly basis, by category and by Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 10-digit subheadings. The complete report is available here.
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by about May 15, 2012, on a patent complaint filed on behalf of California Institute of Technology, 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 CMOS image sensors and products containing same (D/N 2895). 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.
ITC Asks for Comments on Products w/ Interactive Program Guides & Parental Controls Patent Complaint
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by about May 15, 2012, on a patent complaint filed on behalf of Rovi Corporation, Rovi Guides, Inc., Rovi Technologies Corporation, Starsight Telecast, Inc., United Video Properties, Inc., and Index Systems, 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 products containing interactive program and parental control technology (D/N 2894). 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.
The International Trade Commission rescinded a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders in its section 337 patent investigation of certain semiconductor chips having synchronous dynamic random access memory controllers and products containing same (337-TA-661), on the basis of a settlement agreement and a Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit remand.
The International Trade Administration issued its final affirmative countervailing duty determination on high pressure steel cylinders from China (C-570-978), which reduces the CV rates for one firm and “all others”. Although this final determination takes effect May 7, 2012, ITA will only require CV cash deposits of estimated CV duties if it issues a CV order.