The International Trade Administration is proposing to extend until 2017 its program to monitor and require permits from importers of steel products. The ITA Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis system was originally implemented in 2002 as part of a safeguard imposing temporary tariffs on steel products. The safeguard was lifted in 2005, but the monitoring and permitting was extended that year, and again in 2009. The program is currently set to expire on March 21, 2013. The ITA’s proposed rule would extend it for four more years until March 21, 2017. Comments are due by Dec. 13.
The International Trade Administration plans a webinar Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. ET on upcoming changes in export controls in the marine industry. The Bureau of Industry and Security engineer responsible for Export Administration Regulations Category 8 will provide an overview of upcoming reforms that will bring International Traffic in Arms Regulations controlled products into BIS jurisdiction. Marine products that will be affected include submersible vessels, oceanographic equipment and related articles, as well as surface vessels of war and special naval equipment. The one hour webinar will be followed by a question and answer session. Registration for the webinar is available here.
The Foreign Agricultural Service’s Guangzhou Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) is working to tackle the problem of inconsistent customs valuation of some goods, including agricultural products, when imported into China, according to a Nov. 2 Global Agricultural Information Network report. Port officials in Shenzhen, who are responsible for determining valuation for merchandise entering under Harmonized System chapters 1-46 for all ports in China, often base their tariff calculations on their unique assessment of the commodity’s value, as opposed to the contract price or many other factors that are usually determinative of fair market prices around the world, FAS said.
Telebrands appealed the Court of International Trade’s ruling that affirmed CBP’s Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification of its PedEgg foot callus remover as other cutlery rather than a pedicure set, according to a Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit docketing notice. CIT said in a Sept. 6 opinion that the PedEgg is not a set because it is a single instrument, even though the device includes both a blade and emery pads to remove excess skin.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website Nov. 8, 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 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 Court of International Trade ordered C.H. Robinson to pay $106,407.86 in unpaid duties, plus pre- and post-judgment interest, on wearing apparel from China entered for transportation and exportation (T&E) to Mexico but allegedly diverted into U.S. commerce. CIT did not allege C.H. Robinson was party to the diversion scheme, but found that as carrier C.H. Robinson was liable for payment of the duties. C.H. Robinson provided proof of arrival at the port of exportation, but could not prove actual exportation of the merchandise after a CBP investigation indicated the merchandise was missing.
The Agricultural Marketing Service released the Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report (OSCAR) for the week of Nov. 7-13. 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.
Mexico's Diario Oficial of Nov. 8, lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy as follows:
The International Trade Administration published notices in the Nov. 8 Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The International Trade Administration issued the final results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain small diameter carbon and alloy seamless standard, line and pressure pipe from Romania (A-485-805), which sets an AD cash deposit rate of zero for ArcelorMittal Tubular Products Roman S.A. The rate is effective Nov. 9.