On Feb. 28 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Feb. 28 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.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries for Feb. 22-28:
The Foreign Trade Zones Board issued the following notices for March 1:
The Court of International Trade dismissed part of a challenge to the scope exclusion on finished heat sinks in the antidumping order on aluminum extrusions from China (A-570-967) for lack of jurisdiction under the 28 USC 1581(i) residual provision, but the challenge will proceed on different grounds.
The Court of International Trade accepted a remand redetermination of the rescission of an antidumping duty new shipper review of honey from China (A-570-863), but following the court’s orders did not lead to a different result. The International Trade Administration considered the evidence it was ordered to accept in the remand, but still found that plaintiff Wuhu Fenglian Co., Ltd. and Suzhou Shanding Product Co. Ltd. did not have any bona fide sales, and confirmed its decision to rescind.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website Feb. 28, 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.)
The Import Administration is working closely with partner agencies including CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to fight antidumping and countervailing duty evasion and fraud schemes, said Assistant Secretary Paul Piquado at Georgetown Law School’s 2013 International Trade Update Conference in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28. A key tool in this cooperation is the Automated Commercial Environment, he said. The collaboration has resulted in several successful criminal prosecutions related to duty evasion and fraud, he said. (Import Administration is the unit within the International Trade Administration tasked with administering AD/CV duties.)
The Agricultural Marketing Service released the Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report (OSCAR) for the week of Feb. 20-26. The weekly report contains data on container availability for westbound transpacific traffic at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.1 from the eight member carriers of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA).2 Although the report is compiled by AMS, it covers container availability for all merchandise, not just agricultural products.
The Fish and Wildlife Service announced tentative U.S. negotiating positions, agenda items, and proposals for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, March 3-14. U.S. priorities include listing polar bears as threatened with extinction in Appendix I, efforts to combat elephant and rhino poaching, and a passport system for musicians who travel with musical instruments made from CITES-listed animal and plant species. The tentative U.S. positions are available here.