CBP is expanding the number of supply chain entity party types that can input Global Business Identifiers in the ACE Cargo Release from the original six optional parties or filers to include two new parties: “Intermediary” and “Source,” according to a Federal Register notice seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget for CBP's planned changes in information collection.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Commerce Department is beginning an anti-circumvention inquiry on allegations that standard steel welded wire mesh made in the U.S. using low-carbon steel wire from Mexico is circumventing the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on standard steel welded wire mesh from Mexico (A-201-853/C-201-854), the agency said in a notice.
Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., and Neal Dunn, R-Fla., introduced a bill to change the scope of packages eligible for de minimis. No bill text was available Jan. 10 from Suozzi's office, but former Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said before he retired that Suozzi would be taking over his push to curtail de minimis.
The country of origin for Corning Optical Communications’ fiber optic cables is France, and as such, the cables aren't subject to Section 301 measures even though part of the manufacturing process occurred in China, a CBP ruling released earlier this month said.
The International Trade Commission is temporarily suspending enforcement of a limited exclusion order (LEO) banning importation and sale of plastic food trays by Ningbo Linhua Plastic Co., Ltd., that infringe patents held by Clearly Clean Products, it said in a notice to be published Jan. 10. The ITC originally issued the LEO in February 2021 (see 2103020015). The ITC is suspending the LEO because, "the subject patent claims were found unpatentable by the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board," overruling the complainant's opposition. However, the ITC has "determined to grant partial relief and to temporarily suspend enforcement of the LEO pending the cancellation of its subject patent claims or the reversal or vacatur of the Federal Circuit’s decisions," because the "LEO’s patent claims are still subject to U.S. Supreme Court appeal."
The Court of International Trade on Jan. 8 denied the government's bid for default judgment against importer Rayson Global and its owner and CEO Doris Cheng in a customs penalty case, with Judge Timothy Stanceu taking issue with the U.S. claim for a monetary penalty totaling nearly $3.4 million.
A policy analyst with Washington think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation argues that CBP should conduct randomized audits using forensic testing technology to ensure that goods imported from Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as Temu, are abiding by federal regulations aimed at preventing the use of forced labor from the Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
Textile industry representatives questioned the logic of the Section 301 investigation on Nicaragua's human rights and labor rights violations, arguing that while they deplore the despotism of Nicaragua's leaders, none of the actions burden or restrict U.S. commerce. Rather, if the government were to decide that Nicaragua's violations merited the withdrawal of tariff benefits for its apparel exports, that action is what would burden U.S. commerce.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is restricting imports of live animal commodities originating from or transiting through Belize, after detecting New World screwworm in cattle in the country, USDA said in a news release Jan. 7.