Brian Feito

The Census Bureau released its report entitled “Profile of U.S. Importing and Exporting Companies” for 2009-10, which provides a statistical analysis of imports and exports by company size, company type, state of origin and destination, industry, etc. Highlights of the report include:

From April 4 to April 5, 2012, the Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports:

Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade Michelle O’Neill said she will lead an automotive parts and components trade mission to Russia, April 23-27, 2012. Representatives from 13 U.S. automotive manufacturing and service companies that supply parts and environmental solutions ranging from fenders, gaskets, and induction heating system, to emission reduction, leak testing, and engineering design will visit Moscow, Samara, and St. Petersburg, in order to meet with potential buyers to increase exports. In 2010, vehicles sales in Russia grew 30 percent, and are expected to continue at about 15 percent per year through 2015, according to the International Trade Administration.

A Miami businessman pleaded guilty in connection with the illegal receipt, purchase and sale of ozone-depleting refrigerant gas that had been smuggled into the U.S., following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Criminal Investigation Division and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The investigation revealed that Carlos Garcia, 53, of Mar-Cone Appliance Parts Co., would routinely seek out and arrange the purchase of black market hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 (HCFC-22), which is a widely used refrigerant for residential heat pump and air-conditioning systems, from various importers who did not hold the required unexpended consumption allowances, totaling about 55,488 kilograms of restricted HCFC-22, with a fair market value of approximately $639,458. The refrigerant gas was distributed by Mar-cone throughout the United States.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule, effective April 13, 2012, amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by establishing a new Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) “500” series, 0Y521, for items that warrant control on the CCL but are not yet identified in an existing ECCN (for example, because the item is an emerging technology). BIS said the 500 series is equivalent to United States Munitions List (USML) Category XXI (Miscellaneous Articles), but is a temporary classification while the Government either works to adopt a multilateral control; determines a longer-term control; or determines that the item does not warrant control. These items are subject to a case-by-case license review policy through regional stability (RS1) controls, with GOV and item-specific license exceptions.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is requesting comments by about May 14, 2012, on three new information collections that it submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for approval regarding (1) Requirements for Request to Amend 7 CFR Part 319 Import Regulations; (2) Importation of Christmas Cactus and Easter Cactus in Growing Media from the Netherlands and Denmark; and (3) Importation of Peppers from the Republic of Korea.

Mexico's Diario Oficial of April 13, 2012, lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy as follows:

The Court of International Trade remanded the results of the International Trade Administration’s initial remand of the 2005-06 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India (A-533-820). CIT sustained the ITA’s remand redetermination of Indian intervenor-defendant Essar’s duty-drawback claim in response to domestic plaintiffs’ arguments, as well as its decision to use invoice date as the date of sale, rather than the date of the letter of credit, as it had in the original final results. However, CIT remanded the initial remand results (i) for application of the ITA’s new policy on adjusting cost of production in accordance with the adjustment to Essar’s export price resulting from its duty-drawback claim, and (ii) to allow for the correction of a ministerial error discovered by Essar and agreed to by the ITA. CIT says that the ITA has until May 25, 2012 to amend and correct the initial remand results. (Slip Op. 12-48, dated 04/11/12, Judge Aquilino)

Commerce Secretary John Bryson today announced the appointment of seven new members of the Manufacturing Council, which advises the Secretary of Commerce on government policies and programs that affect U.S. manufacturing and provides a forum for proposing solutions to industry-related problems. Each of the appointments fills an existing vacancy, and will bring the Council up to a total of 25 members. New appointees to the Manufacturing Council are as follows:

The Court of International Trade denied the U.S. Government’s motion to amend an August 2011 judgment against defendants Great American Insurance Company of New York and Washington International Insurance Company. The government moved to amend the judgment, in which the CIT granted in part the government’s request to recover antidumping duties on bonds covering entries subject to the AD order on freshwater crawfish tail meat from China (A-570-848), in order to collect pre and post-judgment interest. CIT denied the government’s Rule 59(e) motion to amend the judgment because the Government’s request was to consider the issue for the first time, rather than reconsider the issue, which contravenes the purpose of a Rule 59(e) motion. The CIT did not consider the Government’s argument that it is entitled to prejudgment under 19 USC 580. (CIT Slip Op. 12-49, dated 04/11/12, Judge Goldberg)