The Commerce Department has published the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on hydrofluorocarbon blends from China (A-570-028). The agency made changes to its preliminary finding that the one mandatory respondent, Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., did not make sales at less than fair value during the review period Aug. 1, 2021, through July 31, 2022, and in the final results assigned it a 101.14% dumping margin.
Democrats that represent Michigan and Ohio, where Big 3 automakers' plants are concentrated, are asking that the Section 301 review hike tariffs on Chinese automakers. Section 301 tariffs already apply a 25% tariff, making the total duty for a Chinese auto 27.5%.
Both co-sponsors of a bill to restrict Chinese goods from de minimis eligibility said that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who has the power to advance the bill, is interested in marking up the bill.
CBP reminded members of the trade community that starting March 1 the agency will require self-certification statements to be uploaded to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for non-industrial diamonds with a weight of 1.0 carat or greater, diamond jewelry and unsorted diamonds, in a CSMS message on Feb. 29. The Office of Foreign Assets Control banned Russian diamonds of those types in February to comply with an executive order signed in December that prohibits the importation of diamonds, fish and seafood if they were produced "wholly or in part" in Russia, CBP said (see 2402080081 and 2312260061).
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on steel nails from China (A-570-909). These final results will be used to set final assessments of AD duties on importers for subject merchandise entered Aug. 1, 2021, through July 31, 2022.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Agricultural Marketing Service will begin with a period of soft “enforcement discretion” once its new regulations on organic import certificates take effect on March 19, but importers should nonetheless be working now to get their organic certifications as required under the rules, an AMS official said, speaking during a recent webinar.
Kelley Drye customs attorney John Foote, in analyzing the news that some Porsches, Audis and Bentleys couldn't enter the U.S. because of a part connected to Uyghur forced labor, (see 2402150026), said the story is an example of thorough supply chain tracing and ethical compliance action from Volkswagen, the company that made the cars.
More Canadian companies are shifting their supply chains to run through the U.S. so their products can be exported from America rather than Canada, said John Boscariol, a trade lawyer with McCarthy Tétrault. Boscariol, speaking during a virtual event this week hosted by the American Bar Association, said U.S. export rules are more flexible than Canadian ones, and companies are finding it easier to sell certain items to U.S. consignees rather than ship directly from Canada to another foreign country.
A group of 12 members of the House Ways and Means Committee has urged the Biden administration to investigate allegations that at least six Chinese fishing companies that supply U.S. markets employ Uyghur forced labor.