CBP reminded members of the trade community that starting March 1 the agency will require self-certification statements to be uploaded to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for non-industrial diamonds with a weight of 1.0 carat or greater, diamond jewelry and unsorted diamonds, in a CSMS message on Feb. 29. The Office of Foreign Assets Control banned Russian diamonds of those types in February to comply with an executive order signed in December that prohibits the importation of diamonds, fish and seafood if they were produced "wholly or in part" in Russia, CBP said (see 2402080081 and 2312260061).
The Court of International Trade on Feb. 27 ruled that Chinese exporter Ninestar Corp. wasn't required to exhaust its administrative remedies by appealing to the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force before challenging its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List "under the particular facts of this case." But Judge Gary Katzmann denied the exporter's motion for a preliminary injunction against its placement on the Entity List, finding that the company was unlikely to succeed on three of its four claims against its listing.
President Joe Biden said a regulatory effort from the Commerce Department to curtail the use of software, sensors and cameras in automobiles made by Chinese firms is one of the actions the administration is taking "to make sure the future of the auto industry will be made here in America with American workers."
Mexican Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro said in Mexico this week that if the U.S. reimposes 25% tariffs on Mexican steel exports over alleged surges, Mexico will retaliate. Mexico's steel exports are only 2.5% of the U.S. market, and U.S. steel exports are 14% of the Mexican market, so the U.S. has more to lose if Section 232 tariffs on Mexican steel return, she said.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Feb. 28 Federal Register on the following AD/CVD injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
Nano Fire and Defender Safety seek a Section 337 investigation on alleged infringement by imports of products with their patented aerosol fire extinguishing technology, the ITC said in a notice Feb. 28. Nano Fire, which licenses the technology to Defender Safety, said Halma and its affiliate Halma Holdings, as well as FirePro Systems and Hochiki America are importing fire extinguishing devices that infringe on its patented fire extinguishing composition that needs no pressure storage. Nano Fire and Defender Safety seek a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders against Halma, FirePro and Hochiki America. Comments are due to the ITC by March 7.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Feb. 28 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department soon will suspend liquidation and impose countervailing duty cash deposit requirements on imports of aluminum lithographic printing plates from China, it said in a fact sheet issued Feb. 27. Commerce set CVD rates ranging from 38.5% to 231.98% for all Chinese exporters, the agency said as it announced its preliminary determinations in its ongoing CVD investigations. Suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements will take effect for entries on or after the date of publication of the preliminary determinations in the Federal Register, which should occur in the coming days.
On Feb. 27, the FDA posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
Sen. Josh Hawley wants the baseline tariff on cars made by Chinese companies to be 100%, not 2.5%, and to apply whether those cars are assembled in China, Thailand, Brazil, Hungary or Mexico.