The Commerce Department began administrative reviews for certain firms subject to antidumping and countervailing duty orders with July anniversary dates. The agency said it intends to issue the final results of these reviews by July 30, 2014.
New lobbyist registrations on trade-related issues include:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Aug. 26. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, and tobacco; and certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying textile articles and/or other articles; the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc.
The Trade Aged Liquidation ADCVD Entry Summary report (ESM-8027) will be inactivated until Oct. 5 due to security concerns, said CBP in a CSMS message.
CBP said its Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1304 was created Aug. 26, containing 4,478 ABI records and 24,686 harmonized tariff records. The update contains modifications made as a result of the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations: Adjusting Supplemental Assessment on Imports (see 13070115). Adjustments required by the verification of the 2013 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are also included, CBP said in a CSMS message. The modified records can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 19 - Aug. 23 in case they were missed.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) revoked the ocean transportation intermediary license of Transporte Medrano/Medrano Express on July 25, the agency said in an Aug. 23 press release. The agency has received complaints that consumers are unable to contact the company or locate their goods. The company "is no longer authorized to provide ocean transportation services" and "consumers and businesses should not tender cargo to Medrano Express or its agents for the international shipment of goods."
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements added certain polyester/nylon cut corduroy fabric to the list of items not available in commercial quantities in a timely manner under Annex 3.25 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CAFTA-DR). The fabric, which is classified in subheading 5801.32 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, was added in unrestricted quantities. Effective Aug. 27, this corduroy fabric may be sourced from outside the DR-CAFTA member countries without affecting eligibility for DR-CAFTA treatment.
CBP again set the interest rate at 3 percent for when a reconciliation results in additional money owed to CBP, it said. It applies for the quarter ending Sept. 30.