The International Trade Administration made a preliminary affirmative countervailing duty determination that countervailable subsidies are being provided to exporter/manufacturers of circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe from India (C-533-853). The ITA found a preliminary CV rate 285.95%1, which is effective on March 30, 2012. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is expected to implement these CV cash deposit/bond requirements soon.
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 denied, without prejudice, the U.S. Government’s motion for default judgment against Country Flavor Corp. in the sum of $617,562.00 as a civil penalty for negligence, as well as $34,363.45 for lost revenue, for unpaid antidumping duties on 13 entries of frozen fish that Country Flavor imported from Vietnam in 2006. While the CIT ruled that, as Country Flavor defaulted and made no attempt to demonstrate that it acted with reasonable care, the Government demonstrated negligence, the CIT also ruled that the U.S. Government failed to provide a basis for determining either the appropriate amount of civil penalty to be imposed or the amount of antidumping duties that remained unpaid.
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the March 30 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):
According to the International Trade Commission, a section 337 patent complaint on certain computer and computer peripheral devices and components thereof and products containing same was filed on behalf of Technology Properties Limited, LLC on March 27, 2012. The proposed respondents are:
In its October 2011 Automated Export System (AES) Newsletter, the Census Bureau provided guidance on determining whether a shipment is routed. The article states that a routed transaction is one where the Foreign Principal Party of Interest (FPPI) facilitates the movement of goods out of the U.S. Conversely, if the USPPI selects and authorizes the freight forwarder to move the goods out of the country, it is considered a standard transaction (not a “Routed Transaction”).
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by about April 6, 2012, on a patent complaint filed on behalf of Microchip Technology Incorporated 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 semiconductor integrated circuit devices and products containing same (D/N 2888). 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.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reports that a Codex electronic working group (eWG) will meet to discuss animal feed.
Mexico's Diario Oficial of March 28, 2012 lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy as follows:
On March 23, 2012 the U.S. Trade Representative notified the World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of its decision to appeal an adverse DSB panel ruling against U.S. country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements for retail meat products.
In its first step toward implementing the WTO's findings in three zeroing disputes, the International Trade Administration issued the preliminary results of its section 129 proceedings to recalculate, pursuant to the USTR's instructions, the antidumping cash deposit rates currently in effect for certain companies whose merchandise is subject to 8 AD duty orders on certain products originating from the European Union and Japan. The ITA has preliminarily found AD cash deposit rates of zero for 25 companies, and found reduced AD rates for 7 companies (one company’s rate is unchanged1). These preliminary AD cash deposit rates are not in effect.