CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
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 Court of International Trade on Jan. 30 said that for drawback purposes the 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings should be read starting with their directly adjacent text and not the superior indented text. Judge Claire Kelly said the "plain meaning" of the statute governing substituted unused merchandise drawbacks refers to the "words describing the article adjacent to the 10-digit number."
Sarah Bianchi, deputy U.S. trade representative for Asia and Africa for more than two years, left the agency Jan. 29.
The Federal Maritime Commission on Jan. 29 approved a request from Taiwanese carrier Wan Hai Lines to immediately impose a westbound Red Sea Surcharge for certain cargo that must be diverted away from the region due to attacks by Houth rebels. Carriers typically need to wait 30 days before imposing a new surcharge, but Wan Hai asked the FMC for an exception to help recover the costs of having to take a longer path around Southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Jan. 29 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):
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Jan. 29 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 has released the preliminary results of its antidumping duty new shipper review on certain frozen fish fillets from Vietnam (A-552-801) covering Co May Import Export Company Limited during the review period of Aug. 1, 2022, through Jan. 31, 2023. The agency calculated a zero percent AD rate for subject merchandise both produced and exported by Co May. If this finding is confirmed in the final results, Commerce will not require AD cash deposits for subject merchandise produced and exported by Co May until further notice. For now, such merchandise from Co May will continue to enter at the $0.14/kg Vietnam-wide rate (see 2309110057).
On Jan. 26 the Food and Drug Administration posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
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.