A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website May 6, 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 announced a new Enforce and Protect Act investigation, saying it has reasonable suspicion that Just About Foods evaded the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on xanthan gum from China, and enacting interim measures against the importer.
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.
A bill that would impose new requirements for e-commerce platforms to detect and police counterfeits, Shop Safe (Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-commerce), will be moving through the House Judiciary Committee "in the next few weeks," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said May 7. Issa, who chairs Judiciary's Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, spoke to International Trade Today after a hearing his subcommittee held on the administration's response to counterfeits.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Adrian Smith called out U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai for the lengthy wait for the Section 301 tariffs review, which officially started in July 2022 after a round of comments that year in May in favor of extending the action.
The subcommittee that covers intellectual property issues under the House Judiciary Committee questioned how Congress should address the escalating volume of de minimis packages -- and the opportunities those shipments provide for sending counterfeits and goods made with forced labor, but the CBP witness responsible for de minimis and IP declined to back any of the ideas that were bandied about.
Maersk has increased its Peak Season Surcharge as the company continues to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope for the "foreseeable future" because of Yemen-based Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea (see 2401290052), the ocean carrier said May 6. The higher charges are being put in place to offset the cost of the longer journeys, increased sailing speeds and additional fuel costs.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference will meet with Canadian National ahead of its strike deadline on May 13 and Canadian Pacific Kansas City on May 17, the teamsters said in a news release May 2. The teamsters voted on May 1 to strike if no deal is reached with both companies, and the earliest the union could strike would be on May 22, Canadian National said.
The Energy Department is amending its energy efficiency standards for consumer water heaters, it said in a final rule May 6. DOE “has determined that the new and amended energy conservation standards for these products would result in significant conservation of energy, and are technologically feasible and economically justified,” it said. Compliance with the amended standards is required for consumer water heaters manufactured or imported on or after May 6, 2029, the agency said. The final rule doesn't change the existing standard for instantaneous gas water heaters, as "DOE is still considering amended energy conservation standards" for the product. The final rule goes into effect July 5.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the May 6 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):