Alexander Fried, trade attorney at the Commerce Department, has left the agency, he announced on LinkedIn. Fried worked as an attorney adviser at Commerce since September 2022, advising the International Trade Administration on various issues, including digital service taxes, implementing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, UFLPA litigation, and trade remedies investigations and litigation.
China has made several arrests and begun multiple investigations involving exports of critical minerals since launching a special operation earlier this year to crack down on the smuggling of those minerals (see 2505090018), its Ministry of Commerce said July 19.
The Fish and Wildlife Service plans to remove the Roanoke logperch (Percina rex), a freshwater fish in the perch family, from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, saying that the threats to the species have been eliminated or reduced. The delisting fnal rule is effective Aug. 21.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the July 18 (and none for today, July 21) Federal Register on the following antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
A domestic producer recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells imported from India, Indonesia and Laos. Commerce now will decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers. The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, which includes First Solar, Mission Solar Energy, and Qcells, with Talon PV Solar Solutions as a supporter, filed the petition.
On July 18, the FDA posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is seeking public comments on an information collection related to plant pest and noxious weeds regulations. APHIS collects information so that the agency can evaluate the risks associated with the importation or interstate movement of plant pests, noxious weeds, and soil, under the Plant Protection Act. The information collection also can assist with developing risk mitigations, if necessary, for the importation or interstate movement of plant pests, noxious weeds and soil, APHIS said. Comments are due by Sept. 22.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is allowing imports of Phalaenopsis spp. orchid plants from Germany and the Netherlands to the U.S., provided that the plants are in approved growing media and have met all relevant requirements listed in USDA's Plants for Planting Manual and "detailed in a bilateral workplan." The changes take effect July 22.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the White House may be in favor of a bill that would authorize new sanctions and tariffs against Russia’s supporters, and he urged the EU to put in place similar measures.
The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, who, like the chairman, represents a state where logging is an important part of the economy, said the U.S. and Canada should return to a quota system to resolve the softwood lumber irritant.