Monday, PNCT will be OPEN 6AM to 3PM for Columbus Day Double move and reefer cut at 2 PM
 

Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports of Thermoformed Molded Fiber Products from the People’s Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP

On October 8, 2024, Genera Inc., Tellus Products, LLC, and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO filed petitions for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on the imports of Thermoformed Molded Fiber (TMF) Products from China and Vietnam. The petition alleges dumping margins of 604.40% for China, and 328.28% to 328.52% for Vietnam.  The petition identifies certain foreign producers/exporters and U.S. importers of the investigated product.

The merchandise covered by this investigation is thermoformed molded fiber products regardless of shape, form, function, fiber source, or finish. TMF products are formed with cellulose fibers, thermoformed using one or more heated molds, and cured in the mold. TMF products include, but are not limited to, plates, bowls, clamshells, trays, lids, food or foodservice contact packaging, and consumer or other product packaging.

They may be derived from any virgin or recycled cellulose fiber source (including, but not limited to, those sourced from wood, woody crops, agricultural crops/byproducts/residue, and agricultural/industrial/other waste). They may have any weight, shape, dimensionality, design, or size, and may be bleached, unbleached, dyed, colored, or printed. They may include ingredients, additives, or chemistries to enhance functionality including, but not limited to, anti-microbial, antifungal, anti-bacterial, heat/flame resistant, hydrophobic, oleophobic, absorbent, or adsorbent.

The projected date of International Trade Commission’s Preliminary Conference is October 28, 2024. The earliest theoretical date for retroactive suspension of liquidation for AD is December 17, 2024; CVD is October 28, 2024.

Please feel free to contact one of our attorneys for further information, including a complete scope description, complete projected schedule for the AD and CVD investigations; the volume and value of imports; and list of identified foreign exporters and U.S. importers.
 

CTPAT Update - The White House

On Tuesday, October 2, 2024, the President signed into law:

S. 794, the “Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Pilot Program Act of 2023” or the “CTPAT Pilot Program Act of 2023,” which requires the Department of Homeland Security to carry out a pilot program to assess whether allowing certain third-party logistics providers to participate in the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism would enhance port security or otherwise help meet the goals of the program.
 

USDA Announces Actions to Lower Food Prices, Bring Fairness to Farmers, and Promote More Competitive Food Supply Chains - USDA

Steps enhance research access to seeds to promote generic products, identify hidden fees and unfair pricing practices in beef sales markets, and set out options for transparency and fairer trading in cattle markets

WASHINGTON, October 08, 2024 — Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced multiple steps to deliver on the President’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy to promote fair and competitive markets for American farmers and ranchers, and lower food prices for American families. The following actions were announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack during a Farmers and Ranchers in Action event hosted by the White House:

• First, through a multipart framework, USDA is leveraging its funding and research capacity, as well as interagency partnerships, to increase transparency and improve researcher access to seed germplasm, the starting materials plant breeders need to create diverse, resilient, and competitive seed varieties. These were key recommendations identified in USDA’s 2023 report, “More and Better Choices for Farmers: Promoting Fair Competition and Innovation in Seeds and Other Agricultural Inputs.” 
• Second, USDA today published an interim report that assesses competitive conditions in the meat retail industry. The report draws on over 1,600 comments received from the public in response to USDA requests for information, interviews with small, medium, and large meatpackers, distributors, retailers, academics, and farmer or advocacy organizations. It identifies hidden fees and unjust/anticompetitive pricing strategies present in the beef market as a case study.
• Third, USDA announced the next steps in a new rulemaking effort under the Packers & Stockyards Act of 1921 to enhance price discovery and fairness in cattle markets. For years, USDA has fielded complaints from producers around beef packers using reported regional cash or spot prices as base prices for fed cattle formula pricing agreements, commonly known as Alternative Marketing Agreements (AMAs). USDA is issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to seek comment on several possible interventions to develop new benchmarks as AMA base prices and approaches to trading when using benchmarks. 

“Over these last four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has made historic investments in agriculture to help farmers, small businesses, and rural communities get a fair shake,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Our work on competition is about opening up new markets for farmers and delivering fairer, more competitive choices. Today’s actions will help to deliver on more choice and lower costs for seeds used by farmers, more choice and lower food costs for consumers, and a fairer marketplace for ranchers.”

“With today’s announcements, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking action to lower food prices for working families by enabling small businesses and family farms to compete fairly,” said National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard. “For too long, consolidation in the agriculture industry has been swallowing up family farms, lowering incomes and choices for farmers, and raising prices at the grocery store. Today’s announcements build on our work to restore fair competition in farming and food markets and to lower grocery prices for working families.”

“USDA is taking smart, strategic steps to open up pathways for continued innovation and improved competition in seed markets, new retail choices for small businesses and working family consumers alike, and fairer, more competitive trading in America’s world-leading cattle market,” said USDA’s Senior Advisor for Fair and Competitive Markets Andy Green. “These represent the first steps into these markets in a long time, and so we’re both listening to all while we’re doing so but we’re putting the relevant industries on notice that in the coming months, the USDA alongside its Federal partners will be amping up our scrutiny of these markets closely to protect fair, open, and honest competition.”

As President Biden outlined in the Competition Executive Order, consolidation in the agricultural industry is making it too hard for small family farms to survive as they face concentrated market power in the channels for selling agricultural products. In part due to the Administration’s efforts to tackle predatory pricing throughout the American economy, grocery inflation has improved as has certain key agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, but meat prices remain too high and competition in seeds markets remains highly constrained.

Seed Competition Framework

USDA’s framework for promoting research access to germplasm represents a three-part strategy for enhanced seed system diversity, competition, and resilience. Specifically, the framework:

• Identifies opportunities for better defining patent-related disclosure for seeds so researchers understand their freedom to operate. A letter from USDA to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) USPTO describes the need for more clarity on breeding history and pedigrees and ensuring accessibility to seeds samples placed in patent depositories to adequately disclose plant-related inventions. Clarifying disclosure requirements for utility patents on seeds would help ensure researchers can better understand the scope and bounds of patent rights on plant-related inventions and conduct the research necessary to develop new innovations.
• Provides guidance to USDA researchers around observational uses of protected germplasm in the context of patent law. The ability to observe and understand patented inventions is necessary for federal scientists to pursue critical research and to innovate without fear of infringement. View USDA’s guidance for federal researchers.
• Encourages that germplasm developed by federal funding be shared for research and plant breeding, thus reflecting existing best practices. This will potentially help ensure that the germplasm pool is available for future innovation for both private and public breeders alike to bring new and diverse choices to the market. View USDA’s guidance for federally-funded research.

To learn more about USDA’s focus on seed competition, and to report a complaint, visit the Farmer Seed Liaison webpage.

Access to Retail Report

Released today, USDA’s interim report “Competition and Fair Practices in Meat Merchandising,” uses beef markets as a case study to better understand access to retail dynamics for producers and processors. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) conducted an investigative study, took public comment, and supported academic examination of the topic.

This interim report has identified a trend of increasing market concentration nationally and regionally, particularly among the top four packers, distributors, and retailers. The report also highlights the views of commenters and interviewees, including farmers and small to midsize or independent packers and retailers, who describe their concerns with problematic practices by intermediaries.

As next steps, USDA will be continuing the investigative study already commenced, including through subpoenas. USDA is also announcing that the Agricultural Marketing Service will be commencing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the coming months to seek public input around potential next steps.

Together, these efforts will protect free and fair competition on the merits for businesses operating in the retail channel; ensure that small, midsize, or independent businesses can continue to raise and process livestock; and help these businesses distribute and sell meat to the families and local communities that they serve.

Cattle Price Discovery Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR)

The Competition Executive Order directed USDA to address the unfair treatment of farmers and improve conditions of competition in the markets for their products through rulemaking actions under the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act. USDA was also directed to identify measures to enhance price discovery, increase transparency, and improve the functioning of the cattle and other livestock markets.

Upon publication in the Federal Register, AMS’s Packers and Stockyards Division will be seeking comment on a range of targeted options to improve price discovery and fair and competitive trading in fed cattle markets. The options presented in the ANPR focus on ways to ensure that the base prices in fed cattle purchasing agreements, commonly known as alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs), are representative of relevant market conditions and are not vulnerable to distortion or strategic behavior that could cause prices to shift for reasons other than changes in supply and demand.

These options are intended to mitigate the concern that AMAs have negative price effects on the spot market and otherwise distort the trading of fed cattle, which are complaints that AMS has received over the years. Cattle plays an important role in the economic health of many rural communities, and so fairness to cattle producers is vitally important.

View a preview of the ANPR.

For more information on USDA’s competition efforts visit the Fair and Competitive Markets webpage.
 

Federal Register Notices:

• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Order and Countervailing Duty Order
• Prestressed Concrete Wire Strand From the United Arab Emirates: Rescission of Antidumping Administrative Review; 2023-2024
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews Non-Malleable Cast Iron Pipe Fittings From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Expedited Fourth Sunset Review of Antidumping Duty Order
• Heavy Walled Rectangular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results and Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, in Part; 2022-2023
• Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Determinations, Investigations, etc. Aluminum Containers, Pans, Trays, and Lids from the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair Value Investigation 
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc. Certain Chocolate Milk Powder and Packaging Thereof; Notice of a Commission Determination To Review an Initial Determination Granting a Motion for Summary Determination of Violation of the General Exclusion Order; Request for Briefing on the Issues Under Review and on Remedy, Public Interest, and Bonding
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of Turkey: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2022
• Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate From the Federal Republic of Germany: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Certain Quartz Surface Products From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited First Sunset Review of the Countervailing Duty Order
• Mattresses From Serbia: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Narrow Woven Ribbons With Woven Selvedge From Taiwan: Preliminary Results and Rescission, in Part, of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Methionine From Spain: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Certain Lined Paper Products From India: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2022
• Certain Steel Racks and Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Sodium Hexametaphosphate From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Order
• Granular Polytetrafluoroethylene Resin From India: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2023
• Oil Country Tubular Goods From India: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Oil Country Tubular Goods From India: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2022
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc. Certain NAND Memory Devices and Electronic Devices Containing Same; Notice of the Commission's Determination Not To Review an Initial Determination Terminating the Investigation
• Certain Memory Devices and Electronic Devices Containing the Same; Notice of a Commission Determination Not To Review an Initial Determination Terminating an Investigation Based on a Settlement Agreement; Termination of Investigation
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Raw Flexible Magnets From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited Third Sunset Review of the Countervailing Duty Order
• Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2022
• Certain Lined Paper Products From India: Preliminary Results and Rescission, in Part, of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico; Preliminary Results of 2022-2023 Administrative Review
   

OTEXA:  Announcements - International Trade Administration

• [10/09/2024\ – August 2024 Textile and Apparel Import Report
• [09/30/2024] - Limitations on Duty and Quota-Free Imports of Apparel Articles Assembled in Beneficiary Sub-Saharan African Countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for the one-year period from October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025. The aggregate quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under these provisions is 1,757,888,503 square meters equivalent. Of this amount, 878,944,252 square meters equivalent is available to apparel articles imported under the special rule for lesser-developed countries.
   
• [09/23/2024] - Determination to Approve CAFTA-DR Commercial Availability Request for Certain Two-Way Stretch Woven Polyester, Rayon, Spandex Fabric. File Number: CA2024004.
   
• [09/18/2024] - For a century, the Advanced Textiles Expo has been the industrial fabrics industry’s flagship show. At the Expo, more than 4,500 industry stakeholders and leaders will connect, discover, and source in order to grow their businesses. OTEXA staff will attend the show on September 24-26 to meet with clients to discuss export services, business-to-business matchmaking, and the Made in USA Sourcing and Product Directory. Come find us at Booth #897. OTEXA staff will also be attending the Emerging Technologies Conference from September 23–26. Hope to see you there!
   

Norfolk CBP Officers Seize Over $450k in Baltimore-Bound Dental Supplies Lacking Country of Origin Markings - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

NORFOLK, Va. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Norfolk, Va., recently seized over $450,000 in dental supplies that shipped from China for violating laws governing country of origin marking. Both shipments were destined to the same address in Baltimore.

Country of origin marking on imported consumer goods are required by law (19 U.S.C. § 1304 and 19 C.F.R. part 134). The country of origin is the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Country of origin and related marking not only inform consumers of the origin of imported products but also help to enforce trade laws that are applied on a country-specific basis.

The purpose of the marking is to inform the ultimate purchasers in the United States of the country in which the imported goods are made, so that the consumers are able to differentiate between domestic and imported products and to make informed purchase decisions.  The law also requires that the marking be clearly and visibly located on the product.

CBP officers seized the most recent shipment on September 17. It consisted of nearly two million prophy angle cups, and over 1.6 million dental tray covers. That shipment was destined to an address in Baltimore. The shipment was assessed at $419,211.

CBP officers seized the first shipment on August 26. That shipment, which was also destined to the same Baltimore address, consisted of nearly 1.8 million dental bibs. This shipment was assessed at $35,980.

“Consumers have the right, under U.S. law, to know where the products they are purchasing are sourced, including materials used to make those products. Omitting country of origin markings deprives American consumers of that right to choose how they spend their hard-earned money and who profits from their spending,” said Mark Laria, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Norfolk-Newport News, Va. “Customs and Border Protection officers inspect imports every day and enforce a variety of laws that protect American consumers’ rights and safety and the vitality of our nation’s economy.”

Read more from CBP about country of origin markings on U.S. imports.

CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.
 

Commission Adequacy Determination: Steel Wire Garment Hangers from China - U.S. International Trade Commission

https://www.usitc.gov/trade_remedy/731_ad_701_cvd/adequacy-determinations
 

Biden-Harris Administration Proposes Rule to Simplify Shipping Processes for Truck Drivers, While Improving Supply Chains, and Reducing Energy Transportation Costs - Department of Transportation

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a new, proposed rule that would provide close to $100 million in annual cost savings for businesses and consumers. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would improve supply chains by modernizing and simplifying hazardous material transportation regulations that impact truck drivers hauling fuels. It will enhance safety standards across highway, rail, and vessel modes of transportation.

“Hazardous materials are a significant share of the essential goods routinely shipped in the United States, and the Biden-Harris Administration is working to make it more affordable and straightforward to safely move these materials through our supply chains,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “The proposal we’re announcing today streamlines requirements while maintaining safety measures, helping to reduce costs for businesses and consumers and make it easier for drivers to do their job.”

Specifically, the proposed rule updates and modernizes regulations to accommodate the latest technologies, business practices, and understandings of hazardous materials, including updates in packaging practices for hazmat transportation.

Highlights of the proposed rule include:

• Reducing burdens for U.S. truck drivers by simplifying hazard communication requirements for fuels including gasoline that are transported in tanker trucks.
• Encouraging innovation and safety improvements to hazardous materials rail cars by reducing review times for tank car design improvements and addressing National Transportation Safety Board recommendations regarding improved design standards for rail tank cars.
• Modernizing standards for essential agricultural equipment by codifying manufacturing standards for newly built fertilizer tanks and permitting the use of video and fiber optics technologies when inspecting and calibrating cargo tanks in both agricultural and non-agricultural operations.

“This proposal focuses on ways to reduce regulatory burdens for America’s truck drivers and increases the overall efficiency of America’s critical energy transportation supply chains that impact every job and industry throughout our economy," said PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown. “These proposed changes build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s successful work to ensure America’s supply chains are the safest and most efficient in the world, utilizing the latest data and transportation technologies.”

The proposed rule was submitted to the Federal Register in conjunction with additional actions announced on National Manufacturing Day (October 4th) by the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure the future is Made in America. The proposed rule aims to support supply chains vital to the transportation sector—ensuring manufacturers can safely and affordably get resources they need to make, package, and ship goods to markets across America and throughout the world. 

The proposed rule has been submitted to the Office of the Federal Register for publication and can be accessed in the related documents section of this page. PHMSA will accept comments on the proposed rule up to 90 days after it publishes in the Federal Register.