The International Trade Commission began a Section 337 investigation Jan. 9 based on allegations that imports of household furniture (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1385) from Whalen are infringing copyrights held by Toppan Interamerica, the ITC said in a news release. In its complaint, a Section 337, Toppan said Whalen Furniture is importing furniture finished with a decorative wood grain paper that copies Toppan’s copyrighted patterns (see 2312130062). The ITC will consider whether to issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders against Whalen, it said.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Jan. 10 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 is amending its final determination from the antidumping duty investigation on certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate (CTL plate) from Germany (A-428-844). The changes, based on the final decision in a Court of International Trade case, result in lower AD rates for Dillinger and the "all-others" companies. While Dillinger has received a more recent rate and its cash deposit rate isn't affected by the changes, the "all-others" cash deposit rate will change, effective Dec. 31, 2023. The amended rates are as follows:
The Environmental Protection Agency is setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 329 per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have not been imported, manufactured or processed for many years and are designated as inactive on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory, it said in a final rule released Jan. 10. As a result of the SNURs, anyone planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect March 11.
On Jan. 9, the FDA posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The FDA is proposing to end the use of four chemical solvents under its color additive regulations, it said in a pair of notices released Jan. 10. In one notice, the agency said that it filed a petition to remove provisions from the regulations for ethylene dichloride, methylene chloride and trichloroethylene. In the other, the FDA said it filed a petition to remove benzene, as well as other uses of ethylene dichloride, methylene chloride and trichloroethylene. The petitions say the chemicals have been found to cause cancer. Comments are due March 11.
The FDA on Jan. 8 announced the availability of new ways to submit cosmetic facility registrations and cosmetic product listings that will be required from foreign and domestic facilities beginning in July 2024. One is a new electronic submission method using a structured product labeling tool, as mandated by the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, which created the cosmetics registration requirements. FDA Forms 5066 and 5067 are also now available as a tool to provide cosmetic product facility registration and product listing information to the FDA. “While electronic submission is not required, FDA strongly encourages electronic submissions to facilitate efficiency and timeliness of data submission and management for the agency,” the FDA said. The original deadline for submission of cosmetics facilities was the end of 2023, but FDA extended it in November (see 2311080085).
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notices on Jan. 10:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Jan. 9, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.