The Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop the planned merger between US Airways Group and AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, the DOJ said in a press release. The merger, "which would result in the creation of the world’s largest airline, would substantially lessen competition for commercial air travel in local markets throughout" the U.S., said the DOJ. The suit was joined by attorneys general from Washington, D.C., Texas, Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. Both airlines offer some cargo transport.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a notice of the filing of the following agreements under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreement to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within 10 days.
CBP outlined the process for applying to become a user of the Automated Export System, which allows for paperless filing of Electronic Export Information. Interested parties who are not already using AESDirect must first file a letter of intent, then choose an interface method, and finally complete a certification with which the user's system is compatible, said CBP.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP posted a Aug. 12 version of its CF 1400 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Entrances) electronic query report of the Vessel Management System (VMS), in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by entrances. CBP also posted a version of its CF 1401 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Clearances) electronic query report of the VMS, in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by clearances.
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Aug. 12. 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.
CBP posted materials outlining the exceptions to import prohibitions as a result of President Obama's recent Executive Order that lifted import sanctions against Mayanmar (Burma) (see 13080803). The document includes links to CBP forms related to the export of jadeite or rubies from the country and a description of the order.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 5 - Aug. 9 in case they were missed.
The U.S. International Trade Commission issued an injunction Aug. 9 on Samsung mobile devices that violated two Apple patents. The ITC vote followed a hearing earlier that same day at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. There, Apple told a three-judge panel that upholding a lower court’s decision not to ban 26 Samsung mobile devices a San Jose federal jury found last year violated six Apple patents would be a “fundamental change” to U.S. patent law. Apple also faced a hearing at the U.S. District Court, Manhattan, in connection with the ruling last month that Apple violated antitrust laws by conspiring with publishers to "eliminate retail competition and raise the prices for e-books."
CBP and the Census Bureau revised their regulations for Electronic Export Information (EEI) filing for split shipments as a result of complaints from the trade industry, the agencies said. The revisions are related to a March final rule on Foreign Trade Regulations (see 13031501). According to CBP, Census "received feedback that the new split shipment requirement could not be implemented without considerable investments adding undue burden on the trade."