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.
In the May 16, 2012 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 21), CBP published notice that it is withdrawing its proposed revocation of a ruling on plastic recorder musical instruments due to its receipt of adverse comment. CBP also published a notice that it is withdrawing its proposed modification of a ruling on Acetyl L-Carnitine Hydrochloride, as its classification is being litigated.
In a report on improving U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s detection and deterrence of antidumping and countervailing duty evasion, the Government Accountability Office urged CBP to create a policy and a mechanism for information sharing among ports regarding the use of single transaction bonds (STB) and implement a plan to systematically track and report on AD/CV duty evasion, and said the International Trade Administration should provide advance notice of issuance of liquidation instructions in order to allow CBP to better manage resources. The report, entitled “Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Management Enhancements Needed to Improve Efforts to Detect and Deter Duty Evasion”, was requested by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).
CBP continues to consider combining Importer Self-Assessment (ISA) with C-TPAT, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner David Aguilar said during a House May 17 hearing on Customs issues . He also said critical fixes to already deployed ACE capabilities are among the major goals for CBP in the coming year. E-Manifest: Rail and Sea (M1), simplified entry, and the integration of export capability are also top priorities, he said in response to questions following his written testimony.