The International Trade Commission affirmed antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from China in a unanimous 6-0 injury vote Nov. 7, so the International Trade Administration will issue AD and CV orders on the merchandise. The ITA found combined AD and CV rates of 23.75 to 254.66 percent in its Oct. 17 final determinations. The ITC also voted 4-2 that critical circumstances do not exist for solar cells from China, so the AD/CV duties will not apply to entries of subject merchandise in the 90-day period prior to the respective AD/CV preliminary determinations, and CBP will refund cash deposits collected during that period.

The decision by Netflix to adopt a stockholder rights plan was “a very reasonable thing to do in light of the recent accumulation of shares and options by an activist investor,” spokesman Jonathan Friedland said Monday. The activist investor he was clearly referring to, but declined to name, was Carl Icahn, who disclosed in an SEC filing last week that he and his affiliated companies bought about a combined 10 percent of Netflix. Icahn bought the shares with the belief that they were “undervalued due to the Issuer’s dominant market position and international growth prospects,” Icahn said in the filing. Icahn also believes Netflix “may hold significant strategic value for a variety of significantly larger companies that are engaging in more direct competition with one another due to the evolution” of the Internet, mobile and “traditional industry,” the filing said. The Netflix board adopted the stockholder rights plan, often called a “poison pill,” to “protect” the company and its stockholders from “efforts to obtain control” of Netflix that the board “determines are not in the best interests of Netflix and its stockholders, and to enable all stockholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in Netflix,” it said in a news release Monday. Under the plan, Netflix is issuing one right for each current share of common stock outstanding at the close of business Nov. 2, it said. Initially, the rights won’t be exercisable and will trade with shares of Netflix common stock, but if the rights become exercisable, each right will entitle stockholders to buy one one-thousandth of a share of a new series of participating preferred stock at an exercise price of $350 per right, it said. The rights will be exercisable only if a person or group buys 10 percent (or 20 percent in the case of institutional investors filing on Schedule 13G) or more of Netflix common stock in a transaction not approved by the board, it said. If a person or group acquires the 10 or 20 percent or more of outstanding common stock, each right will entitle its holder to buy, at the right’s exercise price, a number of shares of Netflix common stock having a then-current market value of twice the exercise price, it said. The rights will expire Nov. 2, 2015, unless they have previously been redeemed by the board, it said.

The decision by Netflix to adopt a stockholder rights plan was “a very reasonable thing to do in light of the recent accumulation of shares and options by an activist investor,” spokesman Jonathan Friedland said Monday. The activist investor he was clearly referring to, but declined to name, was Carl Icahn, who disclosed in an SEC filing last week that he and his affiliated companies bought about a combined 10 percent of Netflix. Icahn bought the shares with the belief that they were “undervalued due to the Issuer’s dominant market position and international growth prospects,” Icahn said in the filing. Icahn also believes Netflix “may hold significant strategic value for a variety of significantly larger companies that are engaging in more direct competition with one another due to the evolution” of the Internet, mobile and “traditional industry,” the filing said. The Netflix board adopted the stockholder rights plan, often called a “poison pill,” to “protect” the company and its stockholders from “efforts to obtain control” of Netflix that the board “determines are not in the best interests of Netflix and its stockholders, and to enable all stockholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in Netflix,” it said in a news release Monday. Under the plan, Netflix is issuing one right for each current share of common stock outstanding at the close of business Nov. 2, it said. Initially, the rights won’t be exercisable and will trade with shares of Netflix common stock, but if the rights become exercisable, each right will entitle stockholders to buy one one-thousandth of a share of a new series of participating preferred stock at an exercise price of $350 per right, it said. The rights will be exercisable only if a person or group buys 10 percent (or 20 percent in the case of institutional investors filing on Schedule 13G) or more of Netflix common stock in a transaction not approved by the board, it said. If a person or group acquires the 10 or 20 percent or more of outstanding common stock, each right will entitle its holder to buy, at the right’s exercise price, a number of shares of Netflix common stock having a then-current market value of twice the exercise price, it said. The rights will expire Nov. 2, 2015, unless they have previously been redeemed by the board, it said.

The decision by Netflix to adopt a stockholder rights plan was “a very reasonable thing to do in light of the recent accumulation of shares and options by an activist investor,” spokesman Jonathan Friedland said Monday. The activist investor he was clearly referring to, but declined to name, was Carl Icahn, who disclosed in an SEC filing last week that he and his affiliated companies bought about a combined 10 percent of Netflix. Icahn bought the shares with the belief that they were “undervalued due to the Issuer’s dominant market position and international growth prospects,” Icahn said in the filing. Icahn also believes Netflix “may hold significant strategic value for a variety of significantly larger companies that are engaging in more direct competition with one another due to the evolution” of the Internet, mobile and “traditional industry,” the filing said. The Netflix board adopted the stockholder rights plan, often called a “poison pill,” to “protect” the company and its stockholders from “efforts to obtain control” of Netflix that the board “determines are not in the best interests of Netflix and its stockholders, and to enable all stockholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in Netflix,” it said in a news release Monday. Under the plan, Netflix is issuing one right for each current share of common stock outstanding at the close of business Nov. 2, it said. Initially, the rights won’t be exercisable and will trade with shares of Netflix common stock, but if the rights become exercisable, each right will entitle stockholders to buy one one-thousandth of a share of a new series of participating preferred stock at an exercise price of $350 per right, it said. The rights will be exercisable only if a person or group buys 10 percent (or 20 percent in the case of institutional investors filing on Schedule 13G) or more of Netflix common stock in a transaction not approved by the board, it said. If a person or group acquires the 10 or 20 percent or more of outstanding common stock, each right will entitle its holder to buy, at the right’s exercise price, a number of shares of Netflix common stock having a then-current market value of twice the exercise price, it said. The rights will expire Nov. 2, 2015, unless they have previously been redeemed by the board, it said.

The appeals court ruling in Hitachi v. United States on CBP protest deadlines is not consequential enough to merit review, said the U.S. government in its Nov. 2 reply brief to Hitachi’s request for a hearing by the Supreme Court. The issue took four decades to arise, the government said, and importers have the option of accelerated disposition of CBP protests if they seek judicial review.

RadioShack, struggling to turn a profit in its wireless business, was slapped with a shareholder suit accusing it of misleading investors in shifting to a low-margin wireless reseller “with no reasonable plan” to grow net income, the suit said.

The International Trade Commission began an enforcement proceeding against six companies to investigate allegations that they violated a general exclusion order and cease and desist orders related to the Section 337 patent investigation of certain ground fault circuit interrupters and products containing same (337-TA-739). Leviton Manufacturing alleges that Menard, Westside Wholesale Electric & Lighting, and American Ace Supply violated cease and desist orders by (1) selling ground fault circuit interrupters that violate some of its patent claims; (2) selling these products during the Presidential review period without posting an appropriate bond, and (3) by failing to file accurate reports with the ITC. Leviton also alleges that Shanghai ELE, Shanhai Jia AIO, and American Electric Depot violated the general exclusion order against these products by importing ground fault circuit interrupters during the Presidential review period without posting the appropriate bond.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products that may be considered technical barriers to trade. Broker Power delays its publication of these postings for 2 - 3 weeks because there is often a delay until NIST makes the text of the regulations available.

International trade, particularly with China, got an airing during the Oct. 22 Presidential debate, despite the much heavier emphasis on the Middle East and security concerns. President Barack Obama said the U.S. had boosted its exports to China and China's currency was at its most favorable level for the U.S. balance of trade in decades. Republican candidate Mitt Romney said China is in a "silent" trade war with the U.S. and he will label China a currency manipulator "on day one" of his presidency, which he said "allows us to apply tariffs where they're taking jobs."

CBP is adopting a final rule amending its regulations for the preferential tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA or Peru FTA) by adding a new subpart Q to 19 CFR Part 10, etc., the agency said in a Oct. 18 Federal Register notice. CBP said it received no comments on its interim final rule, adopted in November, and only made a technical change from the interim rule, available (here).