The Commerce Department intends to exempt lithographic-grade aluminum sheet from antidumping duties on common alloy aluminum sheet from Germany (A-428-849), it said in the preliminary results of a changed circumstances review. Eastman Kodak Company requested the exemption, and the original petitioner for the AD order on German aluminum sheet, Aluminum Association Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet Trade Enforcement Working Group, as well as two other domestic producers, said they don't oppose it.
Human Rights Watch says that "some car manufacturers in China have succumbed to government pressure to apply weaker human rights and responsible sourcing standards at their Chinese joint ventures than in their global operations," and argues that car companies should disengage from all suppliers that source aluminum from Xinjiang, and should map aluminum supply chains back to the bauxite mines, whether for aluminum ingots or semi-fabricated aluminum.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Jan. 26 declined to dismiss a False Claims Act suit from a whistleblower that alleges her employer misclassified footwear to avoid tariffs. Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger said the fact none of the defendants served as the importer of record for the allegedly undervalued footwear imports is irrelevant for purposes of establishing liability under the FCA (United States ex rel. Devin Taylor v. GMI USA Corp., S.D.N.Y. # 16-7216).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
An analysis of how the stricter rule of origin for auto imports has been implemented -- including the unprecedented labor value content element -- praised coordination among the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Labor Department, CBP and other agencies with expertise, but noted that final regulations have been held up because the U.S. has not reached a final resolution in the dispute it lost at a USMCA panel.
Customs lawyer Ted Murphy, remarking on the nine-page letter from the House Select Committee on China regarding Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and other customs issues (see 2401220005), said firms should be aware that enforcement of laws that affect trade with China is a top priority.
The Biden administration recommends that metal importers avoid sourcing from or brokering through Myanmar-military owned or affiliated companies, "even if their supply chains appear to be completely outside" the country, so that their sourcing doesn't violate sanctions.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance formally petitioned for the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to add eight Chinese processing companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act's Entity List.
The Commerce Department is again amending its preliminary determination in the AD investigation on boltless steel shelving from Thailand (A-549-846), it said in a Jan. 24 notice. Commerce said the AD rate tables in both its original preliminary determination from November (see 2311280055) and in a first amended preliminary determination issued Jan. 2, listed the rates on a "chain rate" (i.e., produced and exported by) basis, rather than on a “produced and/or exported by” basis. The agency made no changes to the rates themselves. The amended table is as follows:
CBP found substantial evidence that Suzhou Quality Import and Export evaded antidumping and countervailing duty orders on Chinese-origin aluminum extrusions, the agency said Jan. 23. Suzhou Quality imported extruded aluminum fence posts but didn't enter these extrusions as subject to the AD/CVD orders, the announcement said.