The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is asking for more transparency around recent surcharges imposed by carriers, saying its members are seeing "sharply" increasing rates for shipping routes that never routed through the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden (see 2402080083 and 2401050066).
More than a hundred organizations wrote an open letter calling upon governments to unite behind a “zero-tolerance” policy to deter attacks on vessels and seafarers in the Red Sea and “anywhere in the world.” The letter, dated Feb. 8, said that more than 30% of the world’s trade moves through the Red Sea and that the attacks have caused more than $80 billion in cargo to be “diverted” around the Cape of Good Hope.
EU members last week postponed a vote on new rules that could require companies to conduct specific due diligence on their supply chains to address various environmental and social concerns, including forced labor risks.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Feb. 12 on the following AD/CV duty 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 Commerce Department has released a correction to the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on finished carbon steel flanges from India (A-533-871) covering exports of subject merchandise during the period of review Aug. 1, 2021, through July 31, 2022. Commerce said the appendix in the original final results notice, listing companies that were not individually examined, contained the names of five companies that actually were individually reviewed: Bansidhar Chiranjilal; Norma (India) Limited; R. N. Gupta & Company Limited; Uma Shanker Khandelwal & Co.; and USK Exports Private Limited. With the notice, Commerce removed those names from the appendix list.
The Commerce Department on Feb. 12 released a countervailing duty order on brass rod from India (C-533-916). The order sets permanent countervailing duties, which will remain in place unless revoked by Commerce in a sunset or changed circumstances review. Commerce will begin conducting annual administrative reviews, if requested, to determine final assessments of CV duties on importers and make changes to cash deposit rates.
The Commerce Department released its preliminary affirmative antidumping determination Feb. 12 that pea protein from China (A-570-154) is being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. Commerce found “critical circumstances” for all Chinese companies, and will retroactively suspend liquidation and impose antidumping duty cash deposit requirements for all subject merchandise as of Nov. 15, 2023.
The Commerce Department will consider whether to grant Armenia market economy status for antidumping duty purposes, it said in a notice released Feb. 12 beginning a changed circumstances review.
On Feb. 9, the FDA posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., chairman of the House Select Committee on China, announced Feb. 10 that he won't run for re-election this year. Gallagher said it is time for him to return to private life after serving four terms in the House. As the committee's top Republican, Gallagher led probes on a range of China trade issues, including a report in December that called on the U.S. to impose stronger export controls against China (see 2312120050) and revoke the country's permanent normal trade relations status (see 2312120004).