Drawback filers will likely face a period of at least four to six months under interim procedures once drawback transitions to ACE over the Feb. 24 weekend, Michael Cerny of Sandler Travis said during a Feb. 23 webinar. Though CBP finished talks with the trade community nearly a year ago, proposed regulations drafted by CBP on drawback processes under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 continue to languish in the interagency review process, so filers will begin life in the new framework under a “draft guidance” issued by CBP on Feb. 9 (see 1802120020).
The International Trade Commission seeks public comments by March 22 on a potential limited exclusion order banning importation of UV-curable coatings for optical fibers and coated optical fibers by Momentive UV Coatings (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. The ITC began the Section 337 investigation in December 2016, based on a complaint filed by DSM alleging Momentive and OFS Fitel are manufacturing and importing infringing coatings, including the Momentive’s KlearShield line (see 1612020017). The ITC is also accepting comments on a potential limited exclusion order and cease and desist order against OFS, although the administrative law judge in the case did not find the U.S.-based company violated Section 337.
Google and Microsoft were among the top 50 companies in EU lobbying spending in 2017. Google dropped from sixth in 2016 to 18th, ahead of Microsoft at 26th, LobbyFacts.eu said. Google was in the top 10 as of Wednesday, with an outlay of 5.25 million-5.5 million euros ($6.5 million-$6.8 million), upping the spending it reported to the EU transparency register to pass Microsoft (4.5 million-4.75 million euros). Google outpaced Microsoft and Facebook among lobbying organizations with the most high-level meetings at the European Commission, EU Integrity Watch reported. Continued strong lobbying on digital single market and digital economy issues by companies is increasingly accompanied by U.S.-style corporate tactics, European civil society organizations said.
Google and Microsoft were among the top 50 companies in EU lobbying spending in 2017. Google dropped from sixth in 2016 to 18th, ahead of Microsoft at 26th, LobbyFacts.eu said. Google was in the top 10 as of Wednesday, with an outlay of 5.25 million-5.5 million euros ($6.5 million-$6.8 million), upping the spending it reported to the EU transparency register to pass Microsoft (4.5 million-4.75 million euros). Google outpaced Microsoft and Facebook among lobbying organizations with the most high-level meetings at the European Commission, EU Integrity Watch reported. Continued strong lobbying on digital single market and digital economy issues by companies is increasingly accompanied by U.S.-style corporate tactics, European civil society organizations said.
The mainstream headphone market’s shift from wired to wireless has had little impact on the devoted high-performance Head-Fi.org community, as we saw at the group’s CanJam headphone audio show in New York Saturday.
South Korea recently filed a World Trade Organization challenge to U.S. rules and policies on application of “adverse facts available” in antidumping and countervailing duty cases, the WTO said. In a request for consultations dated Feb. 20, South Korea said the U.S. sets unduly high rates for foreign exporters that the Commerce Department has deemed uncooperative, in effect levying a penalty and disregarding information that could lead to the most accurate rates possible. South Korea also challenges provisions enacted as part of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 that allow Commerce to use the highest rate possible in cases of exporter non-cooperation, without the need to corroborate the accuracy of the rate. The challenge alleges that these rules and practices, as well as the results of five AD/CVD proceedings where they were applied, violate WTO rules on AD/CVD cases. The request for consultations begins a 60-day period of discussions between the U.S. and South Korea. If that period passes without agreement, South Korea may request a dispute settlement panel to decide the case.
No new lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 12-18.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 5-11:
CBP released its draft guidance for drawback changes under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act to help provide detail on interim policies between when the agency starts accepting claims and when regulations are finalized. Along with a draft of Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (see 1801290007) and business process documents, "this guidance document will serve as a reference for the tentative policy and procedures relating to major drawback change," CBP said. The agency recently said it did not expect to publish proposed drawback regulations by the time CBP starts taking TFTEA claims on Feb. 24 (see 1802020053).
China has asked for consultations under World Trade Organization rules to discuss safeguard tariffs the United States is levying against washing machines and solar panels. The request, filed at the WTO on Feb. 6, is the first step in a dispute process on whether the tariffs violate international trade law. "We believe the measures taken by the United States are not consistent with its obligations," China wrote in its requests.