The Commerce Department intends to end antidumping and countervailing duties on pasta from Italy (A-475-818/C-475-819) for ravioli and tortellini stuffed with cheese or vegetables, it said in the preliminary results of a changed circumstances review. Pasta importer Grandi Pastai Italiani requested the partial revocation, and domestic pasta manufacturers have indicated they support the request. If partial revocation is finalized, CV duties on ravioli and tortellini stuffed with cheese or vegetables would end effective Jan. 1, 2012, and AD duties would end effective July 1, 2012, said Commerce. The following language would be added to the scope:
The Commerce Department is postponing until Nov. 21 the due date for its preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from China (C-570-017). The United Steel Workers trade union asked for the extension, and Commerce says it has no reason to deny the request. Once Commerce makes its preliminary determination, it can suspend liquidation and require cash deposits of estimated CV duties. The preliminary determination was originally due Sept. 17.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Taiwan (A-583-008). Commerce determined the only company under review, Shin Yang Steel Co., Ltd., did not undersell subject merchandise during the period of review, assigning the company a zero percent AD duty rate. Subject merchandise from Shin Yang entered between May 1, 2012 and April 30, 2013 will be liquidated without any assessment of AD duties, and future entries of circular welded pipe exported by Shin Yang will not be subject to AD duty cash deposit requirements until further notice. The new AD duty cash deposit rate takes effect Aug. 14.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on stainless steel bar from Brazil (A-351-825). These final results will be used to set final assessments of AD duties on importers for entries between February 2012 and January 2013. New AD duty cash deposit rates set in this review will take effect Aug. 13.
The Chinese government is considering an agreement to settle the ongoing antidumping duty investigation on crystalline silicon photovoltaic products from China (A-570-010), according to documents it recently filed with the Commerce Department. In an Aug. 8 letter, China said it is “considering the possibility of negotiating a Suspension Agreement with respect to this investigation,” and asked for a week-long extension of the applicable deadline. Commerce subsequently granted the extension, giving China until Aug. 15 to submit a proposed suspension agreement. If a suspension agreement is finalized, Commerce will end its investigation in return for guarantees that China will stop dumping or even stop exporting subject merchandise to the U.S. altogether. The agreement would be subject to monitoring and periodic reviews, and Commerce would be able to reinstate its investigation if it finds China is failing to comply. Commerce set AD duty cash deposit requirements at 26.33% to 165.04% in its preliminary determination issued at the end of July (see 14073011). Solar products from China are also subject to a countervailing duty investigation (see 14060914).
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Aug. 8, 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 issued the final results of its countervailing duty administrative review on cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate from South Korea (C-580-837). The agency assigned zero percent CV duty rates to six companies, so CV duties will not be assessed on importers of subject merchandise from these companies entered between January 2012 and December 2012. Future entries from these companies will not be subject to an CV cash deposit requirement until further notice.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling against software firm Alice (WID June 20 p1), which criticized abstract software patents, major tech companies are diverging on how they believe the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) should interpret the decision, according to comments filed to the PTO (http://1.usa.gov/1kn6lmz). The PTO issued preliminary instructions on what the decision meant for companies examining patents (http://1.usa.gov/1nHVmR7). Microsoft, which favored the high court’s narrow ruling, approved of the PTO’s subsequent “clear, thoughtful, and prompt guidance.” It said “no major changes are required to the substantive description, interpretation, or application of the Alice decision set forth in the preliminary instructions.” Google and Twitter filed joint comments arguing the PTO should go further. “The guidance should make clear that claims directed toward abstract ideas can arise in all fields, not only the specific categories identified in the Preliminary Guidance, and should provide multiple examples of abstract ideas as instruction for examiners."
The Commerce Department published notices in the Aug. 7 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):
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling against software firm Alice (CD June 20 p13), which criticized abstract software patents, major tech companies are diverging on how they believe the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) should interpret the decision, according to comments filed to the PTO (http://1.usa.gov/1kn6lmz). The PTO issued preliminary instructions on what the decision meant for companies examining patents (http://1.usa.gov/1nHVmR7). Microsoft, which favored the high court’s narrow ruling, approved of the PTO’s subsequent “clear, thoughtful, and prompt guidance.” It said “no major changes are required to the substantive description, interpretation, or application of the Alice decision set forth in the preliminary instructions.” Google and Twitter filed joint comments arguing the PTO should go further. “The guidance should make clear that claims directed toward abstract ideas can arise in all fields, not only the specific categories identified in the Preliminary Guidance, and should provide multiple examples of abstract ideas as instruction for examiners."