The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of International Trade’s denial of plaintiff Ford Motor Company, Inc.’s claims of a refund of $2.65M in Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) paid on exports. CAFC agreed with CIT that Ford did not submit the proof of payment of export taxes required by the regulations for either pre- or post-July 1, 1990, refunds of HMT paid on exports. A dissenting judge said CIT improperly entered summary judgment in favor of CBP, and that the case should have gone to trial.
Brian Feito
Brian Feito is Managing Editor of International Trade Today, Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. A licensed customs broker who spent time at the Department of Commerce calculating antidumping and countervailing duties, Brian covers a wide range of subjects including customs and trade-facing product regulation, the courts, antidumping and countervailing duties and Mexico and the European Union. Brian is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2012.
The Court of International Trade found that there is no regulation, statute, or practice establishing a time limit for interested party submissions that rebut information that the International Trade Administration places on the record, and consequently remanded the ITA's decision to reject as untimely plaintiffs’ rebuttal of data that the ITA had placed on the record in a new shipper review of honey from China (A-570-863).
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced that Ping Cheng and Prime Technology Corporation, both of New York State, have agreed to $125,000 fines and two-year denial of export privileges for each to settle allegations that they conspired to violate the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The two-year denial period, as well as $75,000 in fines for each, will be suspended as long as neither commits additional export control violations during the two year period. According to BIS, the violations involve attempts to export carbon fiber to China for use by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) without the required U.S. government authorizations.
The Food and Drug Administration issued its weekly Enforcement Report for April 25, 2012, that lists the status of recalls and field corrections for food, drugs, biologics, and devices. The report covers both domestic and foreign firms.
The Census Bureau posted a brief educational guide, as part of its monthly series “Trade Term of the Month”, on the term “EEI”, the Electronic Export Information reported in the Automated Export System (AES). The guide includes information reported in the EEI, as well as procedures for when incorrect EEI information is reported in the AES.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service said the U.S. submitted comments regarding table olives to an electronic working group from the Committee on Processed Fruits & Vegetables, and issued a report on pomegranate sizing and uniformity from an electronic working group of the Committee on Fresh Fruits & Vegetables. Details follow:
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is requesting comments by June 25, 2012, on a proposed rule that would amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to, among other things: (1) update various entries in the Hazardous Materials Table and corresponding special provisions; (2) clarify the lab pack requirements for temperature-controlled materials; and (3) revise the training requirements to require that a hazardous material employer must make hazardous materials employee training records available upon request to an authorized official of the Department of Transportation (DOT) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the April 26, 2012, Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a Federal Order to restrict importation of plants for planting known to be hosts of Phytophthora ramorum. Therefore, APHIS is requiring specific countries to have in place an annual pest exclusion program that incorporates monitoring, sampling, testing and a validation process to verify the absence of P. ramorum in a place of production.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails April 25, 2012, announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.