Monday 5/26 - Memorial Day Terminal Schedule
Please be advised that all container terminals at the Port of NY & NJ, including the SeaLink Office will be closed on Monday, 5/26 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.
CPSC Workshop on Potential Ways to Reduce Third Party Testing Costs through Determinations Consistent with Assuring Compliance; Reopening of the Comment Period
Consumer Product Safety Commission / http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Regulations-Laws--Standards/Federal-Register-Notices/2014/CPSC-Workshop-on-Potential-Ways-to-Reduce-Third-Party-Testing-Costs-through-Determinations-Consistent-with-Assuring-Compliance-Reopening-of-the-Comment-Period/
Summary: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) published a notice in the Federal Register on February 27, 2014 (79 FR 11088), announcing an April 3, 2014 public workshop regarding potential ways to reduce third party testing costs through determinations consistent with assuring compliance. In the Federal Register notice the Commission invited the public to submit any written comments by April 17, 2014. In response to the notice in the Federal Register the Juvenile Products Manufacturer's Association (JPMA) submitted a comment requesting a 90-day extension of the comment period to allow JPMA time to collect additional data from material manufacturers and test laboratories. The Toy Industry Association (TIA) also submitted a comment requesting the Commission keep the docket open to continue to collect data. To allow interested parties to submit additional comments or information, the Commission is reopening the comment period until July 16, 2014.
Baltimore CBP Intercepts First in Nation Moth
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2014-05-16-000000/baltimore-cbp-intercepts-first-nation-moth
BALTIMORE – A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologist confirmed Thursday that U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) agriculture specialists at the Port of Baltimore seaport made a first in nation pest discovery when they intercepted an insect, Nemapogon gersimovi, a type of moth, while inspecting a shipment of bulk organic soybeans from China on May 2.
This moth could pose a significant agriculture threat because they are known to feed on seeds and grains reducing a farmer’s yield.
“Keeping this pest out of the nation saves the American agricultural industry from the expense of eradication, and the hardship of finding their crops damaged by a new danger,” said Andrii Melnyk, Acting CBP Port Director for the Port of Baltimore. “By stopping destructive species at the border, before they can enter the United States for the first time, CBP officers and agriculture specialists protect this vital American industry."
The moth was discovered in a 50,000 pound shipment of bulk organic soybeans from China destined for Pennsylvania and intended for animal feed. CBP forwarded the specimen to a USDA- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) - Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) entomologist for identification.
CBP issued an Emergency Action Notification to the importer requiring the shipment to be re-exported or destroyed. The importer chose to re-export the shipment.
CBP agriculture specialists work closely with USDA’s, APHIS, PPQ to protect our nation’s agriculture resources against the introduction of foreign plant pests and animal diseases.
For more on the plant protection, please visit USDA-APHIS PPQ program.
CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection. On a typical day nationally, they inspect almost 1 million people as well as air and sea cargoes imported to the United States and seize 4,379 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, including 440 insect pests.
Service Takes Next Steps in Commercial Elephant Ivory Trade Ban, Eases Restrictions on Musical Instruments and Other Uses
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service / http://www.fws.gov/news/ShowNews.cfm?ID=01146682-F770-6412-DADBA60BBDA5D4C5
As part of the Obama administration’s commitment to combat wildlife trafficking that is rapidly pushing populations of African elephants, rhinos and other iconic species towards the brink of extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced two administrative actions clarifying trade in elephant ivory. The changes will help ensure that domestic markets do not contribute to the decline of African elephants in the wild, while also allowing certain ivory uses to continue.
Service Director Dan Ashe signed a revised Director’s Order that allows musicians to transport internationally certain musical instruments containing African elephant ivory, and for the import of museum specimens and certain other items not intended for sale. Owners of these items will need to prove that they were legally acquired prior to February 26, 1976—the date that the African elephant was listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)—and have not been bought or sold since February 25, 2014—the date when the Service issued Director’s Order 210 instructing agency staff how to enforce existing restrictions on the commercial trade of elephant ivory.
“We have one goal: to shut down the illegal trade in ivory that is fueling the poaching crisis facing African elephants today. By implementing a near complete ban on trade in elephant ivory, we are effectively closing loopholes and eliminating the cover provided by legal commercial trade that traffickers have exploited for years,” said Ashe. “That said, we have listened to the very real concerns expressed by the regulated community and have made common-sense adjustments.”
The Service also announced a final rule to revise Part 23 of the U.S. CITES implementing regulations. The current regulations contain a provision known as “use after import,” which restricts domestic sales—both across state lines and within a state—of African elephant ivory by requiring sellers to show documentation of the date that their ivory was imported.
When the rule goes into effect within 30 days of publication in the Federal Register, sellers of African elephant ivory will be required to demonstrate that any item offered for sale—whether across state lines or within a state—was lawfully imported prior to the CITES Appendix-I listing of the African elephant in 1990 or that the ivory was legally imported under a CITES pre-Convention certificate. Appendix-I covers species around the world most at risk due to international trade, and therefore is the most restrictive of the CITES listings, effectively banning commercial international trade. This change is intended to reduce the regulatory impact on the public without reducing conservation benefits for African elephants.
For more information on the impacts the Director’s Order and U.S. CITES regulations will have on the trade and transport of elephant ivory and other protected wildlife and wildlife products, please see www.fws.gov/international/travel-and-trade/ivory-ban-questions-and-answers.html.
More information on the Service’s efforts to combat wildlife trafficking can be found at www.fws.gov/international/wildlife-trafficking.
USITC Institutes Section 337 Investigation of Certain Set-Top Boxes, Gateways, Bridges, and Adapters and Components Thereof
U.S. International Trade Commission / http://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2014/er0519mm1.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to institute an investigation of certain set-top boxes, gateways, bridges, and adapters and components thereof. The products at issue in this investigation are multimedia devices, such as set-top boxes, gateways, bridges, or adapters, and integrated circuit components contained in such devices.
The investigation is based on a complaint filed by ViXS Systems, Inc., of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and ViXS USA, Inc., of Austin, TX, on April 17, 2014. The complaint was amended on May 6, 2014. The amended complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain set-top boxes, gateways, bridges, and adapters and components thereof that infringe patents asserted by the complainants. The complainants request that the USITC issue an exclusion order and cease and desist orders.
The USITC has identified the following as respondents in this investigation:
Entropic Communications, Inc., of San Diego, CA;
DirecTV, LLC, of El Segundo, CA;
Wistron NeWeb Corporation of Hsinchu, Taiwan; and
CyberTAN Technology, Inc. of Hsinchu, Taiwan.
By instituting this investigation (337-TA-915), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC's Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC's administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.
The USITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the USITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. USITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.
PRESS RELEASE: International Trade Administration
http://www.trade.gov/press/press-releases/
05/20/2014 Commerce Preliminarily Finds Countervailable Subsidization of Imports of Calcium Hypochlorite from the People’s Republic of China
05/16/2014 Commerce Preliminarily Finds Dumping of Imports of Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from the People’s Republic of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan
05/14/2014 Commerce Initiates Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Imports of 53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers from the People’s Republic of China
U.S. Department of Justice: Electrolux Agrees to Pay $750,000 Civil Penalty for Delay in Reporting
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission / http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Newsroom/News-Releases/2014/Electrolux-Agrees-to-Pay-750000-Civil-Penalty-for-Delay-in-Reporting/
WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Justice Department’s Civil Division announced today that Electrolux Home Products Inc. (Electrolux), of Charlotte, North Carolina, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $750,000 to settle allegations that it knowingly failed to report immediately to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) a safety hazard associated with certain wall ovens sold to consumers. Electrolux has also agreed to establish and maintain a compliance program with internal recordkeeping and monitoring systems to keep track of information about product safety hazards.
“Manufacturers and distributors of consumer products are required to report product defects and hazards to the Consumer Product Safety Commission immediately and there are penalties for those who fail to do so,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to work with our partners at the CPSC to ensure that they can act promptly to protect consumers from injuries.”
In a complaint filed on behalf of the CPSC in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, the United States alleged that Electrolux became aware of incidents in which gas could build up in the oven during broiling and escape and ignite, causing burn and fire hazards to consumers. Electrolux imported and distributed approximately 7,800 of the Kenmore ovens that were sold by Sears and other stores throughout the United States.
“CPSC will vigorously enforce the immediate reporting requirement found in the Consumer Product Safety Act,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Bob Adler. “The federal reporting rules are aimed at protecting the safety of the American public. Delay in reporting of product defects and hazards by manufacturers, distributors or retailers can result in civil penalties and other measures designed to ensure consumer safety.”
Under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), manufacturers, distributors, and retailers are required to report product hazards to the CPSC. A knowing violation of the CPSA subjects a firm to civil penalties. The United States alleged that between February 2006 and November 2007, Electrolux knew of 22 consumer reports of flames shooting out of the oven when the broiler was on. The incidents resulted in consumer injuries ranging from singed hair to facial burns. The United States alleged that Electrolux failed to immediately report hazards with the oven, despite the fact that Frigidaire Canada, Electrolux’s sister company, identified the defective and hazardous nature of the ovens in January 2005 and implemented a design change to fix the defect in March 2006.
“Public safety is a paramount concern,” said United States Attorney, Southern District of Georgia Edward J. Tarver. “The United States Attorney’s Office must and will continue to work together with the CPSC to protect consumers.”
During the relevant time period, Electrolux’s principal place of business was in Augusta, Georgia. A recall of the ovens was announced in 2008. In agreeing to settle this matter, Electrolux has not admitted that it knowingly violated the CPSA.
The matter is being handled by the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, on behalf of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.