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.
CBP has released its Jan. 10 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 58, No. 1). While it contains recent court decisions, no customs rulings are included.
House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said he thinks the chances are good for renewing the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program in 2024, due to bipartisan interest in the legislation. "A lot of members have examples from their district of why we need GSP." He added that a three-year lapse of the benefit program is "inexcusable."
Alba Wheels Up International acquired customs broker John A. Steer, Alba said in a news release Jan. 9. The acquisition will “broaden the companies’ geographic reach” and fortify “Alba’s position as a dominant force in the customs brokerage, freight forwarding, and related industries with significant regulatory and logistics expertise across a handful of end markets,” the release said. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A Texas shipper accused major Chinese ocean carrier Cosco Shipping Lines of violating U.S. shipping regulations through unfair detention and demurrage charges, costing it nearly $2 million in damages. Visual Comfort & Co, a shipper of lighting products, said Cosco “refused” to extend free days for containers that couldn’t be returned to the port and declined to divert shipments to less crowded ports, allowing the carrier to charge “astronomical” D&D fees.
The Commerce Department has released the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on cold-drawn mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel from Italy (A-475-838). Commerce set an AD rate of 2%, unchanged from the preliminary results, for the only company under review, Dalmine S.p.A. Subject merchandise from Dalmine entered June 1, 2021, through May 31, 2022, will be liquidated with that AD rate, and the new 2% AD cash deposit rate for Dalmine takes effect Jan. 10, the date these final results are to be published in the Federal Register.