Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., and Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., introduced a bill, the U.S.-Africa Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership Act of 2024, that directs the U.S. to develop a strategy to promote the African Continental Free Trade Agreement's implementaiton, and to promote trade and investment in Africa for industries where the U.S. has a comparative advantage relative to other non-African countries.

The Court of International Trade ruled May 9 that an importer would recoup 22.4% of Section 301 duties it paid on an entry of kids’ erasable e-writing tablets from China.

A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website May 8, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.

CBP has released its May 8 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 58, No. 18). While it contains recent court decisions, no customs rulings are included.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:

Trade groups, companies and a union that represent the aluminum and steel sectors told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that they need more protection from import competition, by expansion of the scope of Section 232 tariffs, and by re-negotiation of the rules of origin in both trade agreements and the Section 232 exclusion for Canada and Mexico.

Former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jayme White will join Kelley Drye as a senior international trade adviser starting May 13 in the international trade practice group, the firm announced. White joined USTR in 2021, engaging with nations in the Western Hemisphere, Europe and the Middle East. USTR noted his departure in October, saying he led the enforcement of the USMCA, along with the global deal on sustainable steel and aluminum and negotiations on a critical minerals agreement. Prior to joining USTR, White worked in the office of then-Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and as chief adviser for international competitiveness and innovation for the Senate Finance Committee.

The Federal Maritime Commission has jurisdiction on cargo moved inland only under a through bill of lading, and contracts between a vessel-operating common carrier and a motor carrier not based on the through bill of lading would "likely be" outside the scope of commission's new detention and demurrage rule released in February (see 2402230049), the commission said. The FMC, in a correction to that rule set to be published in the May 9 Federal Register, stressed that a vessel-operating common carrier must comply with the new detention and demurrage requirements when issuing an invoice if FMC's jurisdiction applies.

The Centers for Disease Control is finalizing its new requirements for imports of dogs to address the risk of rabies. Among other changes from its July 2023 proposed rule (see 2307110062), the agency no longer will require that U.S.-vaccinated dogs that have been in countries at high risk for rabies be imported through a port with a CDC quarantine station, though foreign-vaccinated dogs still will be subject to that requirement.

The International Trade Commission published notices in the May 8 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):