The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld on July 23 the legality of the Security and Exchange Commission’s 2012 conflict minerals rule, in the face of a challenge brought by the National Association of Manufacturers, the Chamber of Commerce, and Business Roundtable. The regulation, which took effect in November 2012, requires users of minerals that are necessary to the functionality or production of a product to disclose annually whether any of those minerals originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country (see 12082308).
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping investigations on steel threaded rod from India and Thailand (A-533-855, A-549-831) and countervailing duty investigation on steel threaded rod from India (C-533-856). The agency will determine whether imports of steel threaded rod from India and Thailand are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value, and whether imports from India are being illegally subsidized. A Commerce Department fact sheet said domestic petitioners alleged AD rates of 17.93 to 119.87 percent and CV rates of above de minimis for Indian exporters, and AD rates of 63.16 to 74.9 percent for Thai exporters (see 13071821).
The Commerce Department is beginning antidumping duty investigations on steel threaded rod from India and Thailand, and a countervailing duty investigation on steel threaded rod from India, it said in a July 18 fact sheet. Three domestic producers requested the investigation June 27, alleging rapidly growing imports of steel threaded rod from Thailand and India are underselling U.S. industry, and pushing out domestic producers (see 13070207). They allege dumping margins of 17.93 to 119.87 percent and above de minimis subsidy rates for Indian exporters, and dumping margins of 63.16 to 74.9 percent for Thai exporters, the fact sheet said.
Disposable medical devices produced by Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems (BD) may not be temporarily removed from a foreign trade zone (FTZ) for sterilization, said CBP in a June 21 ruling. The ruling came in response to a request on behalf of BD that CBP determine whether or not BD could temporarily remove devices such as needles, syringes, catheters and cannulas from a FTZ for sterilization purposes without entering the devices for consumption.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on frozen warmwater shrimp from India (A-533-840). In a change from its preliminary results, the agency found a de minimis AD rate for Devi Fisheries. It continued to find a zero AD rate for Falcon. Commerce will now direct CBP to liquidate entries of subject merchandise during the period of review from Devi and Falcon without regard to AD duties, and will not collect a cash deposit on such entries until further notice. Subject merchandise from about 190 companies will be subject to a 3.49% cash deposit rate, while all other companies that aren't named in the notice and don't have AD rates established in previous reviews will be subject to the "all others" 10.17% AD rate. The new rates are effective July 16, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
CBP noted that the FDA has end-dated some Affirmation of Compliance (AofC) codes, so they're no longer available for use. Use of the following codes will result in a reject, CBP said in a CSMS message:
President Obama published Proclamation 8997 and its related annexes in the Federal Register July 2, making changes to the Generalized System of Preferences program, including suspension of eligibility for Bangladesh, as well as other minor changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Revocation for Bangladesh is effective Sept. 3. All other changes to the HTS, which include GSP changes from the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2012 annual review, as well as amendments to tariff provisions in Chapter 85 and a technical change to Chapter 99, are effective July 1.
The Obama administration will suspend Generalized System of Preference benefits for Bangladesh for worker’s rights violations, effective Aug. 30, according to a presidential proclamation that has yet to be published in the Federal Register (here). The proclamation sets forth changes to the GSP resulting from the 2012 annual review, including new competitive need limitation (CNL) waivers and the withdrawal of GSP coverage for a corn product from Brazil and passenger tires from Indonesia. The proclamation also makes changes to the HTS related to the World Trade Organization’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA).
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on fresh garlic from China (A-570-831). In a change from its preliminary results, the agency found AD rates for Golden Bird and Xinboda to be de minimis. Commerce will direct CBP to liquidate entries of merchandise from those companies without regard to AD duties, and will not collect a cash deposit on such entries until further notice. The new rates are effective June 17, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
The U.S. should focus on eliminating tariffs, harmonizing trusted trader programs and making flexible rules of origin as negotiating objectives with Japan, industry groups told the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in comments posted on June 10. The comments, 89 in all, were submitted to help USTR craft negotiating objectives with Japan as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement negotiations (see 13050608).