The International Trade Administration (ITA) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) have issued various notices, each initiating automatic five-year sunset reviews on the above-listed antidumping (AD) duty orders.
CBP Issues Notice of Intent to Distribute FY 2005 AD/CV Revenues to Affected Domestic Producers, Etc
Pursuant to the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (the Offset Act), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice in the Federal Register of its intent to distribute assessed antidumping (AD) or countervailing (CV) duties for fiscal year (FY) 2005 to affected domestic producers for certain qualifying expenditures they incur after the issuance of an AD or CV order. Written certifications to obtain a continued AD or CV offset under a particular order must be received by August 1, 2005.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has rejected a Section 301 petition filed by members of Congress on the issue of China's currency, noting that this petition is similar to two previously rejected petitions. The USTR states that it believes that China has undertaken the necessary and appropriate steps to prepare for a move to a more flexible, market-based exchange rate system; therefore, a Section 301 action would not be an appropriate or productive way to achieve that goal. (USTR statement, dated 05/27/05, available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Spokesperson_Statements/May_27,_2005_Statement_from_USTR_Spokesperson_Richard_Mills_Regarding_a_Section_301_Petition_on_Chinas_Currency_Regime.html)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Los Angeles/Long Beach has issued an administrative message (dated 05/25/05) which CBP sources state indicates that until a recent Court of International Trade (CIT) decision on chondroitin sulfate (CS) is final, or is appealed and is final, filers and importers must continue to classify CS under 3913.90.2000.
CBP has posted the following to its Web site:
Congress will weigh key high-tech issues this year, and some bills will stir fierce fights, while industry will get quick wins on others, Rep. Boucher (D-Va.) told the Computer & Communications Industry Assn. (CCIA) Wed.
Congress will weigh key high-tech issues this year. Some bills will stir fierce fights, while industry will get quick wins on others, Rep. Boucher (D-Va.) told the Computer & Communications Industry Assn. (CCIA) Wed. The Congressional Internet Caucus co-founder predicted easy decisions on sweeping patent reform, a hard deadline and subsidy model for DTV transition and Internet-specific Telecom Act updating. But the broadcast flag and digital content reproduction and fair use issues will be more contentious.
A hearing on Lexar’s request for an injunction barring U.S. import of Toshiba flash memory products has been postponed until June, CFO Brian Mcgee told the CIBC Communications & Technology Conference in N.Y.C. The hearing was set for May 16 in Cal. Superior Court, Santa Clara, but the judge on the case broke an arm, Mcgee said. Earlier this year a superior court jury capped a 6-week trail by awarding Lexar $465.4 million, upon finding Toshiba stole flash-related trade secrets involving CompactFlash, Secure Digital, xD and NAND. Lexar sued in Nov. 2002, alleging theft of trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with Toshiba’s 1997-1999 representation on Lexar’s board. Later, with Lexar rival SanDisk, Toshiba formed the Flash Vision joint venture, which operates a factory in Japan. The jury awarded Lexar $255.4 million in damages for Toshiba’s alleged misappropriation of trade secrets; $58.7 million for breach of fiduciary duty; $8.2 million in pre-judgement interest; and $84 million in punitive damages. “We're going to pursue this aggressively,” Mcgee said. A separate infringement suit in U.S. Dist. Court, San Francisco, involving 9 patents is set for trial in early 2006, he said. Toshiba originally sued in Nov. 2002, seeking to have Lexar’s patent declared invalid. Lexar volleyed with counterclaims. The case also involves Toshiba customers Fuji, Memtek and PNY. Toshiba later withdrew its claim that Lexar’s patent was invalid, but in Jan. 2003 filed a separate suit, alleging Lexar products infringed Toshiba patents. Meanwhile, Lexar, which has a brand licensing agreement with Kodak, expects Kodak- branded flash memory cards to account for about 20% of its total revenue by year-end. That’s up from less than 10% of $232.4 million in revenue in the first quarter, Mcgee said. The increase will come from expanded distribution. Lexar sells Kodak branded cards through 23,000 storefronts worldwide, largely in the food, drug and mass distribution channels, he said. CE retailers have been less willing to carry the line, preferring to sell higher-speed cards, he said. Retail accounted for 85% of Lexar’s first-quarter revenue, which included sales through 67,000 storefronts, up 2,000 from the 4th quarter, Mcgee said. Lexar’s OEM business, which includes deals with Dell and Viking for flash drives, accounted for the other 15% of revenues, Mcgee said. Lexar also recorded $800,000 in licensing and royalty revenue in the first quarter, largely from an April 2001 agreement with Samsung. Under that contract, which runs through March 29, 2006, Lexar buys most of its flash memory from Samsung.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued its 43rd Annual Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004. The FMC states that the Annual Report highlights areas of particular interest, and then provides an office-by-office synopsis of each unit's activities and accomplishments during FY 2004. The following are "highlights" of the FMC's report:
With FCC broadcast flag rules invalidated by a sweeping decision of the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. (CD May 9 p1), the unanswered question at our Mon. deadline was whether the debate would shift to Congress and affect a DTV transition bill to establish a hard deadline for return of the analog spectrum.