International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Commerce Department is setting new certification requirements for importers of wooden cabinets and vanities from Malaysia and Vietnam, after finding cabinets and vanities made under several production scenarios are covered by the scope of antidumping and countervailing duties on wooden cabinets and vanities from China (A-570-106/C-570-107).
CBP affirmed an earlier ruling that hand sanitizer dispensing stations manufactured in China should be classified for tariff purposes as “other furniture” instead of parts of mechanical appliances suited for projecting liquids, according to an agency decision rendered April 26.
Brazil, the largest exporter of semifinished steel to Mexico after the U.S., won't be subject to the melted and poured restriction the two countries recently announced, the Mexican government disclosed last week. Aluminum cast in Brazil and steel melted and poured there won't be subject to Section 232 tariffs if they are processed in Mexico and exported to the U.S.
The government of Mexico has asked the U.S. to exempt Mexican bifacial solar panels from a global safeguard tariff. Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro noted that USMCA, or T-MEC, as they call it in Mexico, has rules in this regard. The July 12 press release didn't spell it out, but safeguards are only to be applied to Mexico and Canada if their imports are integral to the injury to U.S. producers; the U.S. eventually reversed the solar panel safeguard on all Canadian panels (see 2207070041).
The National Marine Fisheries Service is seeking information from fish importers and others on nations or entities entering into international fishery management agreements related to illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing, according to a Federal Register notice. NMFS is also seeking information on vessels that have engaged in or are engaging in IUU fishing or practices that result in the "bycatch of protected living marine resources" on the high seas or within a nation’s exclusive economic zone, as well as information on any vessels that may have engaged in such activity targeting or incidentally catching sharks.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the July 15 Federal Register on the following AD/CVD injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register July 15 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 Consumer Product Safety Commission published its eFiling Quick Start Guide to help importers and trade partners through the beginning stages of eFiling implementation, CPSC said in a July 12 email notification. The guide “compiles eFiling requirements, guidance on common questions and challenges, implementation best practices, and actionable steps for importers to navigate the various stages required to prepare for eFiling,” the email alert said.
The EPA and North Kingstown, Rhode Island-based Ocean State Jobbers have settled over allegations that the company, operating as Ocean State Job Lot, violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by misbranding bug zapper pesticide devices.