Immersion CEO Victor Viegas indicated on an earnings call that he was unfazed by the patent application covering haptics technology that Apple filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The application “still has quite a ways to go in terms of surviving the PTO examination” process, “especially in light of all of our prior art” on such technology, which Immersion received patents for, he said. “Even if that application were to be granted in some form,” it would not eliminate the need for Immersion’s technology, he said.
The International Trade Administration published notices in the May 4, 2012, Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The International Trade Administration issued the preliminary results of its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain activated carbon from China (A-570-904) for 11 companies. These preliminary results are not in effect. The ITA may modify them in the final results of this review and change the estimated AD cash deposit rate for this company.
The International Trade Administration issued the preliminary results of its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on frontseating service valves from China (A-570-933) for two companies. These preliminary results are not in effect. The ITA may modify them in the final results of this review and change the estimated AD cash deposit rate for this company.
The International Trade Administration issued a fact sheet May 2 announcing its affirmative final determinations in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of high pressure steel cylinders from China (A-570-977 and C-570-978, respectively. According to the ITA's fact sheet, the final AD rates range from 6.62% to 31.21%, and final CV rate for the sole respondent and all other producer/exporters is 15.81%.
President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order on Promoting International Regulatory Cooperation May 1 designed to promote American exports by helping eliminate unnecessary regulatory differences between the U.S. and other countries. The order says domestic regulatory needs must still be met, but agencies must consider the international regulatory environment in developing any rules. The White House said different regulatory requirements in different countries can significantly increase costs for companies doing business abroad.
The World Trade Organization said discussions in the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures on April 26, 2012, continued to focus on encouraging more members to notify their subsidy programs, and on improving the timeliness and completeness of notifications. The WTO said some delegations expressed concern over the latest report that half of members had so far failed to submit the required subsidy notifications, which were due June 30, 2011.
The International Trade Administration published notices in the April 30, 2012, Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The International Trade Administration said it will no longer publish certain aspects of its determinations in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings in the Federal Register. The ITA said it's taking this action due to the mounting costs of publishing notices in the Federal Register and widespread access to the Internet. According to the ITA, the content of many the ITA’s Federal Register notices will be reduced (for example, extension notices for preliminary and final results), with much of the information previously included in its FR notices being made available on the ITA’s website. The ITA said it will implement these changes incrementally, beginning May 15, 2012.
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the April 27, 2012, Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):