The FTC said International Trade Commission exclusion orders in favor of a standard essential patent (SEP) holder, where infringement is based on implementation of standardized technology, “has the potential to cause substantial harm to U.S. competition, consumers and innovation.” It made the statement in response to an ITC request for comments in Investigation Nos. 337-TA-745 and 337-TA-752. The cases involve products such as iPhones and Xbox 360s.
The Federal Trade Commission said International Trade Commission exclusion orders in favor of a standard essential patent (SEP) holder, where infringement is based on implementation of standardized technology, "has the potential to cause substantial harm to U.S. competition, consumers and innovation." It made the statement in response to an ITC request for comments in Investigation Nos. 337-TA-745 and 337-TA-752. The cases involve products such as Apple smartphones and Microsoft Xboxes.
The State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls said DTrade has been upgraded to version 2.4.2 to improve DT2e performance, enforce submission policy, and improve the clarity of industry submission notification. Some changes are technical changes that will be transparent to DT2e end users.
CP Kelco filed antidumping petitions with the International Trade Administration and International Trade Commission June 5, alleging xanthan gum from Austria and China is being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. “Xanthan gum imports have increased dramatically over the past several years due to what we believe to be unfair pricing practices of Chinese and Austrian producers,” said John Taylor, vice president-supply chain and logistics for CP Kelco, which is a subsidiary of the J.M. Huber Corporation.
The Court of International Trade dismissed Rack Room Shoes’ request for rehearing of its constitutionality challenge of certain tariff provisions of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) on the grounds that the tariffs unconstitutionally discriminate by gender and age.
China is challenging several aspects of U.S. countervailing duty proceedings before the World Trade Organization, including determinations of state ownership and control, treatment of Chinese export restraints as subsidies, and application of Adverse Facts Available (AFA), according to details of the May 25 Chinese request for consultations released by the WTO.
Importers should be given a chance to contest alleged non-compliance with energy conservation or labeling standards before goods are prevented from entering the U.S., said the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) in comments to the Departments of Homeland Security and Treasury. The proposed rulemaking would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to seize specified appliances and equipment that don't comply with the Energy Policy & Conservation Act energy efficiency or labeling requirements. A notification should be given to the importer if an agency intends to notify CBP of noncompliance, said NEMA. The proposed rules say the Department of Energy (DOE) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may direct CBP to refuse admission of the covered import or recommend conditional release of the covered import to be brought into compliance.
The International Trade Administration initiated administrative reviews for certain firms subject to antidumping or countervailing duty orders with April anniversary dates. The ITA has also received a request to revoke in part two antidumping orders for one exporter each. The ITA intends to issue the final results of these reviews no later than March 31, 2013.
The Court of International Trade granted the U.S. government’s renewed motion for default judgment against Country Flavor Corp. of $617,562.00 as a civil penalty for negligence, as well as $28,984.75 for lost revenue, for unpaid antidumping duties on 13 entries negligently misidentified by Country Flavor, that were later found to be subject to the antidumping duty order on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam (A-552-801). CIT’s ruling followed its denial of the government’s motion for default judgment in March 2012 due to discrepancies and omissions in the Government’s submissions. While CIT granted the government’s renewed motion because it submitted additional evidence to support and correct its contentions, it excoriated the government for its errors, and said such errors undermine the credibility of the involved individuals as well as CIT’s general ability to rely on government representations.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted an updated version of its spreadsheet of ACE ESAR A2.2 (Initial Entry Types) programming issues.