The Commerce Department began administrative reviews for certain firms subject to antidumping and countervailing duty orders with April anniversary dates. Producers and exporters subject to any of these administrative reviews on China or Vietnam must submit their separate rate certifications or applications by July 12 to avoid being assigned high China-wide or Vietnam-wide rates.
Just after the administration asked the International Trade Commission to examine the emissions intensity of the steel and aluminum sectors, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the Senate to tell the Energy Department to conduct a comprehensive study of the emissions from the production of aluminum, cement, iron and steel, plastic, and products made from all those materials, fertilizer, glass, lithium-ion batteries, paper and pulp, solar panels and cells, wind turbines, crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, hydrogen, refined critical minerals and uranium.
Nigeria recently announced new import taxes and bans on a range of products, including alcohol, vehicles and pharmaceuticals, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported May 25. New taxes apply to imports of all alcoholic beverages, motor vehicles with engines, single-use plastics and certain telecommunication services. An import ban now applies to motor vehicles over 12 years old, certain pharmaceutical products -- such as paracetamol, vitamin B‑complex, aspirin and multivitamins -- and certain fertilizers.
The State Department last week called on Russia to stop preventing agricultural exports and other food products from leaving Ukraine, saying it would help lower global food prices and get “urgently needed grains to people around the world.” Moscow should “end its illegal war in Ukraine to allow a return to normal agricultural production and trade and an immediate and significant improvement in global food security,” the agency said. It also stressed that U.S. sanctions aren’t blocking agricultural trade, and the U.S. offers authorizations to allow “transactions involving agricultural products and fertilizer.”
Easy Healthcare will make “significant changes” to its ovulation tracking app, Premom, to ensure data isn’t shared with third parties, said Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) in a Wednesday news release announcing the healthcare company’s voluntary compliance settlement with the FTC and the AGs of Connecticut and Oregon.
The European Commission this month added a new frequently asked question covering the "Asset Freeze and Prohibition to Make Funds and Economic Resources Available" to its Russia sanctions FAQs. The entry asks whether a non-sanctioned entity can request permission to use derogations on trade in fertilizers if it does not consider itself to be owned by a sanctioned party, but its counterparts do. "Would that amount to an acknowledgement of ownership and/or control by the sanctioned person over the company?” the FAQ asks.
The European Commission released a guidance note May 3 pertaining to the implementation of "firewalls" that allow EU entities controlled by sanctioned individuals and entities to trade in agricultural products, including wheat and fertilizers. The firewall "removes the control by the designated person so that the EU entity’s business operations in the trade in agricultural and food products, including wheat and fertilisers can continue, while keeping the funds and economic resources owned by the designated person frozen." The guidance discusses the requirements of a firewall, including "entities for which a firewall may be established," as well as the implementation of a firewall. The guidance breaks down firewalls by legislation and operators and the exchange of information concerning cross-border situations.
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission published the following Federal Register notices May 5 on AD/CVD proceedings:
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register May 5 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 on May 4 released the preliminary results of its countervailing duty administrative review on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco (C-714-001). The agency calculated a preliminary rate of 14.49% for OCP S.A., the only company under review. That 14.49% CVD rate would apply for cash deposit purposes, and for the purposes of assessments for entries from OCP for entries Nov. 30, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2021. Changes to OCP's cash deposit rate would take effect beginning on the date of publication of the final results in the Federal Register.