CBP released its "hold" on EU steel and aluminum quotas Jan. 2, with quota limits remaining unchanged from the levels set for 2023, CBP said in a CSMS message Jan. 3. That same day CBP posted updated quota bulletins for steel and for aluminum. The "STX" steel extended exclusions for 2024 announced by the Commerce Department are available in ACE starting Jan. 4, CBP said.

The International Trade Commission posted the 2024 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the restoration of AGOA benefits for Mauritania and their removal for the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger and Uganda, as well as a lengthy list of 10-digit-level changes for fruits and vegetables, chemicals, medicaments and recycled aluminum. Changes were effective as of Jan. 1 unless otherwise noted.

Companies, labor unions and domestic producer coalitions that support antidumping and countervailing duties on Vietnamese exports all said Vietnam has not changed its practices enough to be considered a market economy in AD/CVD cases in the 21 years since the last evaluation of its status found it wasn't.

Chandri Navarro, former partner at Hogan Lovells, joined Baker McKenzie as senior counsel in the North America International Commercial and Trade Practice in Washington, D.C., the firm announced. Navarro, who worked at Hogan Lovells for over 20 years, is a Customs and International Trade Bar Association board member and an American Bar Foundation fellow.

The Federal Maritime Commission hired David Eng as the agency's new secretary. Eng, who most recently worked as a branch chief at the Departmental Appeals Board of the Department of Health and Human Services, will process Shipping Act complaints and communications submitted to the FMC, maintain records of meetings, and conduct other clerical activities on behalf of the commission.

International shipping companies are being forced to "reroute their vessels" around the Cape of Good Hope amid a rise in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on ships transiting the Red Sea, "adding significant cost and weeks of delay to the delivery of goods," the U.S. and 12 other countries said in a joint statement Jan. 3 (see 2312200045). They said the Houthi attacks on ships are "jeopardizing the movement of critical food, fuel, and humanitarian assistance throughout the world."

Correction: Changes to the tariff schedule resulting from the addition and removal of countries from African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits also affected various other notes in the tariff schedule beyond General Note 16, including U.S. Note 7(a) to Subchapter II of Chapter 98 and U.S. Notes 1 and 2(d) to Subchapter XIX of Chapter 98 (see 2401020049).

The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Jan. 3 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):

The Commerce Department released the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on utility scale wind towers from Malaysia (A-557-821), calculating a 25.92% AD rate for CS Wind Malaysia Sdn Bhd and its parent company, CS Wind Corp., the lone mandatory respondent in this review.

The Commerce Department published the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on prestressed concrete steel wire strand from Malaysia (A-557-819). The agency modified its preliminary calculation method, based on comments received, but the final results didn't change the zero percent AD rate determined in the preliminary results for all four companies under review: Kiswire Sdn. Bhd.; Wei Dat Steel Wire Sdn. Bhd.; Southern Steel Sdn. Bhd.; and Southern PC Steel Sdn. Bhd. Commerce will liquidate entries from the four companies during the period Nov. 19, 2020, through May 31, 2022, without regard to AD, and future entries from the four won't be subject to an AD cash deposit requirement until further notice. The new rates take effect Jan. 3.