The Commerce Department published notices in the Nov. 24 Federal Register 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 issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on solid fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate from Russia (A-821-811) (here). Commerce determined the two companies under review, JSC Acron (and affiliate JSC Dorogobuzh) and MCC EuroChem (and affiliates OJSC NAK Azot and OJSC Nevinnomyssky Azot), did not undersell subject merchandise during the period of review, assigning both companies zero percent AD duty rates. Subject merchandise from Acron and EuroChem entered between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 will be liquidated without any assessment of AD duties, and future entries of ammonium nitrate exported from Russia by Acron and EuroChem will not be subject to AD duty cash deposit requirements until further notice. Changes to cash deposit rates from these final results take effect Nov. 24.
Customs agencies around the world recently completed a joint operation aimed at illicit tobacco trade that resulted in the seizure of 593 million cigarettes, 77 tons of smoking tobacco, and 31 tons of raw tobacco, according to an Oct. 13 press release from the World Customs Organization. In what the WCO is billing as “the first global Customs operation” focused on tobacco, 93 customs administrations participated in Operation GRYPHON between October 2013 and March 2014. Worldwide, they arrested over 100 people, and are still working on 35 investigations.
A court challenge may be brewing on CBP’s controversial decision to prohibit the filing of protests to claim duty preferences under several free trade agreements, say customs lawyers. A lawsuit could soon be brought by an importer denied the ability to claim preferences by the new policy, although that would require the importer have enough money at stake to justify filing suit, said several lawyers. Another lawyer proposes that importers and trade groups band together to challenge the policy in its entirety as an illegally-issued regulation. Pressure against the change could also come from countries with agreements that are affected by the change, as well as smaller importers that make their voices heard at CBP headquarters.
The World Customs Organization recently announced the completion of the new version of its Harmonized System (HS) tariff schedule. The body made over 200 changes to tariff subheadings and notes (here), including modernizing changes such as new provisions for light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, hybrid cars and buses, and the removal of any provision for typewriters. Other changes affect the classification of tropical woods, bamboo and rattan; mosquito nets; monopods, bipods, and tripods; and the distinction between sports equipment in Chapter 95 and sports apparel in Chapters 61 and 62. Adopted by the WCO Council in June, the changes will enter into force on Jan. 1, 2017. As a signatory, the U.S. must amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule by that time to reflect the changes to the international classification scheme. The U.S. and other WCO members now have six months to notify the international organization of objections before changes take effect.
The World Customs Organization recently announced the completion of the new version of its Harmonized System (HS) tariff schedule. The body made over 200 changes to tariff subheadings and notes (here), including a more detailed scheme for the classification of seafood imports and hazardous chemicals. Adopted at by the WCO Council in June, the changes will enter into force on Jan. 1, 2017. As a signatory, the U.S. must amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule by that time to reflect the changes to the international classification scheme. The U.S. and other WCO members now have six months to notify the international organization of objections to any changes before they take effect.
The International Trade Commission recently posted the first changes to the 2014 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Revision 1 to the 2014 HTS implements changes in AGOA eligibility and clarifies a list of exemptions to the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) that was added in January (see 14010221). It also adds new statistical suffixes for golf cart and all-terrain vehicle tires, gas stoves, refrigerator-freezers, ribbon cable connectors, magnets, and wheels and tires for various equipment and machinery, among other products. A record of the changes is (here). All of the changes in Revision 1 took effect July 1.
The TV incentive auction is “absolutely not a train wreck,” said FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Thursday during an event on the Future of Mobile, sponsored by AT&T, Politico and TechNet. Clyburn also said she welcomes IP transition experiments in places like Carbon Hill, Alabama (http://soc.att.com/1yRbmYy).
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website June 16, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
The Commerce Department began administrative reviews for certain firms subject to antidumping and countervailing duty orders with April anniversary dates. The agency said it intends to issue the final results of these reviews by April 30, 2015.