The International Trade Administration has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping duty administrative reviews:
The International Trade Administration has issued a notice stating that it is postponing the preliminary antidumping duty determination on steel wire garment hangers from China by 50 days to March 18, 2008.
Reuters reports that major West Coast shipping ports such as Seattle and Long Beach will be the first targets of the Consumer Product Safety Commission's new import surveillance program, which will permanently assign agency personnel to key ports full-time. The new tracking system will give CPSC personnel data about shipments bound for the U.S. even before they leave foreign ports, with a focus on high-risk products. (Reuters, dated 01/07/08, available at http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN0742025720080107)
The Transportation Security Administration has issued a press release stating that to meet the 9/11 law's requirement for 100% screening of air cargo on passenger planes by 2010, a new Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP) office will allow the aviation and cargo industries to assume direct responsibility for screening, which could be done at factories and warehouses, with phase one of the program beginning in 2008. (TSA press release, dated 01/03/08, available at http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/aircargo_security.shtm )
The International Trade Administration has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping duty new shipper reviews:
Leap Wireless may be open to roaming agreements or other deals, but FCC anti-collusion rules for the 700 MHz auction mean Leap can’t talk with MetroPCS or other carriers about it, Leap CEO Doug Hutcheson told the Citi Conference in Phoenix. Leap would consider any way to gain scale, and news about that effort will “follow at an appropriate time,” he said. In a separate Q-and-A session, MetroPCS CEO Roger Linquist said his company hasn’t “reached any agreement” with Leap Wireless or other carriers. The quiet period means MetroPCS can’t talk about it, but “no, we haven’t had progress,” he said. MetroPCS is “over” Leap, he added. “We took our shot, and I think most of you know what the story is.” MetroPCS’s priority is to expand into AWS markets, he said. The carrier is “really happy with what we're seeing” in the Los Angeles market launched last summer, said Chief Financial Officer Braxton Carter. Sprint Nextel’s Boost Mobile helped raise awareness of prepaid in Los Angeles, but MetroPCS steadily is taking market share, Linquist said. Leap plans a 2008 rollout of Auction 66 markets, Hutcheson said. It’s also adding 600 cellsites in mature markets that haven’t seen much investment since launch, he said. At 2007’s end, half were up and ready, he said. Leap said this week that in Q4 it added 152,000 subscribers, net, down from a year earlier but better than in Q3. Earlier this week, Leap gave preliminary net subscriber adds for Q4 2007. The growth beat analyst and company predictions, Stanford Group said. Low churn of 4.2 percent helped the results, it said. They beat expectations because “late in the holiday season and after, we saw a pretty large surge in reactivation” by old customers, Hutcheson said. More than 60 percent use Leap as their only phone service, but churn is aggravated by geography and customer finances, said Hutcheson. Leap “is not everywhere” and people often move out of its region, he said. Exacerbating that is the fact many Leap customers are young, he said. “When you're younger, you certainly move around more.” Churn is also high because many Leap customers have tight budgets, he said. Linquist answered a similar question during the MetroPCS Q&A. Churn doesn’t account for reconnects by old customers, he said. Unlike postpaid carriers, prepaid providers often see former customers return, he said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a notice announcing that the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for tuna and skipjack, in airtight containers, not in oil, in containers, weighing with their contents not over 7 kg each, which opened on January 2, 2008, exceeded the preliminary TRQ limit at the opening. All entries presented at the over-quota (high) rate since the opening have been charged and may be released.
FCC Chairman Martin must “immediately notify” FCC aides of their right to communicate with Congress, House Commerce Committee leaders said in a letter sent Tuesday to Martin. The instructions are related to an investigation that the committee began Dec. 3 to examine whether the FCC’s regulatory practices are fair and open. Among commitments sought was a promise that Martin would publish the text of proposed rules before commission meetings to give adequate time for review.
The International Trade Administration has issued its final results of the antidumping duty administrative review of certain stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Taiwan for the period of June 1, 2005 through May 31, 2006.
Preliminary specs for wireless HD transmission within homes are completed and will be presented to hardware makers soon for product development, the WirelessHD Consortium said Thursday, confirming its earlier timetable. The technology, also called WiHD, uses the unlicensed 60-GHz band to beam HD video and audio signals over a short range among displays and source units. Initial throughput for Version 1.0 WiHD is 4 Gbps, with higher data rates possible, the consortium said. With release of the Version 1.0 spec, CE manufacturers and others can pursue product development, for possible sale this year or in early 2009, WiHD said. It’s developing a compliance testing program and licensing terms for manufacturers, and a logo that will enable consumers to recognize compliant products.