PORT ALERT - MARCH 17 2014
Monday, March 17 is an ILA holiday, Gleason's Birthday. Please be advised, APM Terminals, Maher Terminals and New York Container Terminal, along with the Sea Link Office will open. All other terminals in the port will be closed.
Commerce Preliminarily Finds Countervail able Subsidization of Imports of Monosodium Glutamate from the People’s Republic of China and No Countervail able Subsidization of Imports of Monosodium Glutamate from Indonesia (3/05/14)
International Trade Administration / http://www.trade.gov/press/press-releases/
Monosodium Glutamate MSG as CVD was established under a preliminary determination for China and Indonesia. Final rate will not be announced till May 1. Please see the following Fact Sheet issued by the International Trade Administration.
PRESS RELEASES: Issued by International Trade Administration
International Trade Administration / http://www.trade.gov/press/press-releases/
March 2014
03/06/2014 Commerce Finds Dumping of Imports of Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand
03/05/2014 Commerce Preliminarily Finds Dumping of Imports of Ferrosilicon from Venezuela and No Dumping of Imports of Ferrosilicon from the Russian Federation
03/05/2014 Commerce Preliminarily Finds Countervailable Subsidization of Imports of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel from the People’s Republic of China
U.S. Objectives, U.S. Benefits In the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: A Detailed View
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative / http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/press-releases/2014/March/US-Objectives-US-Benefits-In-the-TTIP-a-Detailed-View
In June 2013, President Obama, European Council President Van Rompuy and European Commission President Barroso announced that the United States and the European Union (EU) would launch negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) agreement. The T-TIP is intended to be an ambitious and comprehensive trade agreement that significantly expands trade and investment between the United States and the EU, increases economic growth, jobs, and international competitiveness, and addresses global issues of common concern. For the full text of the President’s T-TIP launch remarks, click here.
The launch followed a vigorous domestic consultation process with relevant stakeholders on the Obama Administration’s goals and objectives for a negotiation with the EU, which were publicly described in a March 20, 2013 letter to the U.S. Congress.
This factsheet describes in more detail the Administration’s specific goals and objectives, and outlines how this agreement, if successfully concluded, will benefit American workers, businesses of all sizes, and consumers. We have heard from the American public their request for an elaboration of the information we have provided about what we are working to achieve through trade negotiations, so we will continue to share information through the press, social media, and www.USTR.gov as we move forward in the negotiations.
We also invite members of the public to submit comments on the negotiations in an email to comment@ustr.eop.gov.
TRADE IN GOODS
- We seek to eliminate all tariffs and other duties and charges on trade in agricultural, industrial and consumer products between the United States and the EU, with substantial duty elimination on entry into force of the agreement, transition periods where necessary for sensitive products, and appropriate safeguard mechanisms to be applied if and where necessary.
The United States ships more than $730 million in goods to the EU every day. In today’s highly competitive global marketplace, even small increases in a product’s cost due to tariffs can mean the difference between winning and losing a contract.
The U.S. manufacturing base is growing, and we make some of the world’s most advanced industrial goods. We exported more than $253 billion worth of industrial products to the EU in 2012. With elimination of EU tariffs on industrial products, including innovative and high technology products such as industrial and electrical machinery, precision and scientific instruments, and chemicals and plastics, U.S. products will be put on equal footing with goods from the EU’s other free trade agreement partners – including Chile, Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa – which receive duty-free treatment when shipped to the EU, as well as with exports from one EU Member State to another.
The United States is the world’s largest agricultural export economy. U.S. farmers and ranchers increasingly rely on agricultural exports for their livelihoods, 20 percent of farm income comes from exports, and those exports support our rural communities. In fact, U.S. food and agricultural exports to the world reached an all-time high in 2013 of over $145 billion. In that year, we sent just over $10 billion of agricultural exports to the EU, a figure that can and should be much higher. Our goal in T-TIP is to help U.S. agricultural sales reach their full potential by eliminating tariffs and quotas that stand in the way of exports.
Eliminating tariffs would provide a level playing field for our agricultural producers, including for our apple growers who pay more than seven percent in duties when shipping to the EU, but whose EU competitors pay no duties on their shipments of apples to the United States. U.S. olive oil producers would also benefit from tariff elimination, since U.S. olive oil is subject to $1,680 in duties per ton on shipments to the EU, but their EU competitors pay only $34 per ton on shipments to the United States. Eliminating tariffs and quotas will help U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, workers, and their families, while giving Europeans access to safe, high-quality American food and agricultural goods.
For more information on industrial and manufacturing trade, visit www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/industry-manufacturing. For more information on agricultural trade, visit www.ustr.gov/trade-topics/agriculture.
Read Further
Border Patrol Agents Uncover Drug-Laced Candy, Meth, and Coke at I-5 Checkpoint
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/local/03062014_5.xml
San Clemente, Calif. — U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the I-5 checkpoint intercepted two vehicles yesterday with 23 pounds of drugs worth approximately $160,000 and a variety of drug products geared towards children.
At approximately 1 a.m., two men arrived at the checkpoint driving a 2012 Chrysler 200 sedan. Agents referred the driver to secondary inspection. Agents in secondary questioned the 28-year-old U.S. driver and his 18-year-old U.S. passenger. The passenger admitted he had medical marijuana inside a prescription bottle.
Agents received permission to search the vehicle and subsequently located three sealed boxes in the trunk of the vehicle containing lollipops, hard candy, and cookies laced with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Agents also located 15 marijuana e-cigarette cartridges, three marijuana cigars, and 12.68 pounds of bulk marijuana inside the vehicle. The two men were arrested.
Around 4 p.m., agents encountered a 24-year-old U.S. citizen driving a 1999 Volkswagen Golf who was referred for a secondary inspection. The man had difficulty answering questions and a canine sniff resulted in an alert. The vehicle was referred to nearby California National Guard members, who operate a non-intrusive, imaging-detection system. The system revealed anomalies within the rear seats of the vehicle. Agents inspected the car seats and discovered an electronically controlled, non-factory compartment containing eight wrapped bundles. Six bundles tested positive for methamphetamine and two bundles tested positive for cocaine. The driver was arrested.
The suspects and narcotics in both instances were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration and face drug-smuggling charges. The vehicles were seized by the U.S. Border Patrol.
To prevent the illicit smuggling of humans, drugs, and other contraband, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance on major corridors of egress away from our Nation’s borders. To report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact San Diego Sector at (619) 498-9900.
Philadelphia CBP Ends Busy Week of International Parcel Seizures
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2014-03-07-000000/philadelphia-cbp-ends-busy-week-international-parcel
PHILADELPHIA – One of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s lesser known enforcement priorities is examining incoming international parcels to hunt for a wide variety of prohibited and illicit products, such as weapons, narcotics, currency, insects and food. Hunting was good this past week.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the international express courier facility near Philadelphia International Airport recorded six khat seizures totaling about 150 pounds, 140 tablets that contained codeine, and 16 vials of steroids.
The parcels were destined to Everett, Mass., Riverwoods, Skokie and West Dundee in Illinois, Minneapolis and Rochester in Minnesota, and Cromwell, Conn.
“We know that U.S. consumers will attempt to purchase products they know to be illicit or illegal from overseas sources through the internet. Our best advice to them is caveat emptor, buyer beware,” said Tarance Drafts, acting CBP Port Director for the Port of Philadelphia. “Inspecting international parcels for dangerous and illicit products remains a Customs and Border Protection enforcement priority. There’s a great chance we’ll get our hands on your purchase before you do.”
The seizures started February 27 when CBP officers intercepted a parcel manifested as “Adidas junior bags” destined for Cromwell, Conn. Officers x-rayed the parcel and detected an anomaly that proved to be 24 pounds, 4 ounces of khat.
CBP officers then made two khat seizures Wednesday, one weighed 22 pounds, 3 ounces and was in a parcel manifested as “document procedures” destined for Skokie, Ill. The second parcel, manifested as “reports,” contained 15 pounds, 14 ounces of khat destined for West Dundee, Ill.
CBP officers also seized the codeine tablets Wednesday in a parcel manifested as “samples” destined for Rochester, Minn. The tablets were a product identified as Solpadeine, which is an over the counter product in Europe, but the codeine makes it a Schedule III drug in the U.S.
Thursday seemed like Groundhog Day, as CBP officers made two additional khat seizures. The first, 23 pounds, 9 ounces, was in a parcel manifested as “mobile phone accessories” and destined for Minneapolis. The second, 16 pounds, 12 ounces, was in a parcel manifested as “project development group report” and destined for Skokie, Ill.
The final parcel Thursday contained 10 vials of 10 ml each of Decatest 350 and six vials of 10 ml each of Megabol 275. The parcel was manifested as “Non Documents Amino Methyl Propanal” and destined for Everett, Mass.
In the largest seizure this week, CBP officers seized 46 pounds, 15 ounces of khat today that arrived in a parcel manifested as “Decorative Artistic Handicrafts” and destined for Riverwoods, Ill.
The 150 combined pounds of khat has a street value of about $45,000.
Khat is a green, leafy plant typically grown in the Arabian Peninsula and chewed for its stimulant effect.
The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies khat as a schedule 1 narcotic – the most restrictive category used by the DEA – when the leaves are freshly picked. Its principal components, cathine and cathinone, are considered controlled substances in the United States. Please see the DEA Khat Fact Sheet.
The World Health Organization classified khat as a drug of abuse in 1980. It is chewed for its stimulant effect and retains its potency for up to 48 hours after being harvested.
CBP routinely conducts random inspections operations on passengers and air cargo searching for narcotics, currency, weapons and other prohibited or illicit products as part of its border security mission.
FTC Announces Top National Consumer Complaints for 2013
Federal Trade Commission / http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/02/ftc-announces-top-national-consumer-complaints-2013
Identity theft continues to top the Federal Trade Commission’s national ranking of consumer complaints, and American consumers reported losing over $1.6 billion to fraud overall in 2013, according to the FTC’s annual report on consumer complaints released today.
“Americans of all ages are vulnerable to identity theft, and it remains the most common consumer complaint to the Commission,” said Jessica Rich, director, Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We urge consumers to visit FTC.gov/idtheft for tips to prevent and mitigate the damage from identity theft.”
The Commission received more than two million complaints overall, as reported in the agency’s Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2013, of which 290,056, or 14 percent, were identity theft related. Thirty percent of these incidents were tax- or wage-related, which continues to be the largest category within identity theft complaints.
The highest reported age group for identity theft is 20-29, with 20 percent of complaints. Rich says that educating consumers on this topic is a top priority for the agency. Some of the FTC resources include Signs of Identity Theft, Immediate Steps to Repair Identity Theft, and How to Keep Your Personal Information Secure.
Of the more than 1.1 million fraud complaints (classified separately from identity theft) the Commission received, 61 percent of consumers reported an amount of money they had paid, which collectively added up to more than $1.6 billion.
The top 10 complaint categories include:
Category Number of Complaints Percentages
Identity Theft 290,056 14%
Debt Collection 204,644 10%
Banks and Lenders 52,707 7%
Imposter Scams 121,720 6%
Telephone and Mobile Services 116,261 6%
Prizes, Sweepstakes, and Lotteries 89,944 4%
Auto Related Complaints 82,701 4%
Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales 66,024 3%
Television and Electronic Media 53,087 3%
Advance Payment for Credit Services 50,422 2%
The report details national data, as well as a state-by-state accounting of top complaint categories and a listing of the metropolitan areas that generated the most complaints. This includes the top 50 metropolitan areas for both fraud complaints and identity theft complaints. Florida is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft and fraud complaints, followed by Georgia and California for identity theft complaints, and Nevada and Georgia for fraud and other complaints.
The FTC enters complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database that is available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies across the country. Agencies use the data to research cases, identify victims and track possible targets.
The Federal Trade Commission advises anyone who spots a scam, is the victim of identity theft or other fraud-related issues to file a complaint online with the agency’s Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357).
Other federal and state law enforcement agencies and organizations contribute consumer complaints to the Consumer Sentinel Network. The FTC provides information to entities interested in becoming a member to have access to data.