Brian Feito

Mexico's Diario Oficial of May 21, 2012, lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy as follows:

An upstate New York man was sentenced May 16 to three years probation and ordered to pay restitution of $13,377 for importing counterfeit Viagra and Cialis tablets into the U.S., said Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to court documents, between January and June 2011, Curtis Henry, 53, of Rochester, ordered more than 700 counterfeit Viagra and Cialis tablets from a source in China. After receiving the counterfeit pharmaceutical tablets, Henry sold them in Rochester. This investigation was done by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Animal Plant Health Inspection Service is tracing 10-12 potential birth cohort cattle of the dairy cow that was confirmed positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (commonly known as mad cow disease), it said in an update May 18. APHIS also said samples of the BSE-positive dairy cow were sent to The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reference laboratories in Canada and England. Both laboratories have confirmed that the index cow was positive for atypical (L-type) BSE, according to APHIS.

The Codex Committee on Import & Export Inspection & Certification Systems (CCFICS) invited Codex Members and Observers to participate in a meeting in Grange, Ireland, July 9-12, 2012, to consider Section 4 of the Proposed Draft Principles and Guidelines for National Food Control Systems, said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Australia and the European Union will co-chair the meeting. Parties interested in participating should contact Ann Backhouse, Australian Secretariat (codex.contact@daff.gov.au) and Bernadette Klink-Khachan, European Union Codex Contact Point (codex@ec.europa.eu) by May 22, 2012.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is soliciting nominations for membership on the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI), which provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on meat and poultry inspection programs. NACMPI has up to 20 members, and each selection is for a 2-year term. Nominations, including a cover letter to the Secretary, the nominee’s typed resume or curriculum vitae, and a completed USDA Advisory Committee Membership Background Information form AD-755, must be received by June 20, 2012.

The International Trade Administration is amending its regulations to end the opportunity to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order for specific companies with consecutive years of zero margins. The ITA’s final rule, which will be effective for all administrative reviews initiated on or after June 20, 2012, amends 19 CFR 351.222 to eliminate the provision for revocation of an AD or CV order for an exporter or producer based on its receipt of AD rates of zero for three consecutive years, or CV rates of zero for five consecutive years.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it's reopening the period to submit comments on its proposed rule to provide for new risk-based conditions for the importation of live bovines and products derived from bovines with regard to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, commonly known as mad cow disease), published in the Federal Register on March 16, 2012. APHIS is now accepting comments until June 14, 2012. Comments on the proposed rule were originally due by May 15, 2012, but APHIS said it will accept comments that were submitted in the interim period between that date and publication of this extension of the comment period.

The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by about May 25, 2012, on an amended patent complaint filed on behalf of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation which alleges violations of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the U.S., the sale for importation, and the sale within the U.S. after importation of certain radio frequency integrated circuits and devices containing same (D/N 2877). Although the ITC's FR notice said the due date for comments is 8 days after publication (i.e., May 26), ITC officials said that, because that date falls on a Saturday, comments are due by the preceding Friday (i.e., May 25). ITC is asking for comments on any public interest issues that might affect ITC consideration, including whether the issuance of an exclusion order and/or cease and desist order would impact the public interest.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry said it will hold a “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Producers and Consumers Meeting” on September 19 in Tokyo, along with the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) and the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC). METI said LNG producers and consumers inside and outside Japan may take part in this meeting to share perspectives on the long-term demand for LNG and providing a transparent LNG trading market.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will begin issuing permits for the importation into the continental U.S. of fresh celery, arugula, and spinach from Colombia effective May 18, 2012, it said in a notice. APHIS said importation will be subject to the following phytosanitary measures: (1) must be imported as commercial shipments only; (2) each consignment must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Colombia, including an additional declaration for celery and spinach that each consignment has been inspected and is free of pests; and (3) each shipment is subject to inspection upon arrival at the port of entry into the continental U.S.