PNCT: Thursday, 11/22 PNCT will be CLOSED for Thanksgiving Day. Friday operations will standard gate hours.
PierPass: Port Truck Gate Schedule for Thanksgiving Day Long Weekend 2018
Terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have announced their gate schedules for the Thanksgiving Day long weekend period of Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, through Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. The schedule is posted below, and a PDF of the schedule can be downloaded by clicking here: https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Thanksgiving-Weekend-2018_1.pdf.
Please continue to monitor the websites of individual terminals for updates.
U.S. Department of Commerce Initiates Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Imports of Magnesium from Israel - U.S. Department of Commerce
Today (11/15/18), the U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing the initiation of new antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations to determine whether magnesium from Israel is being sold in the United States at less than fair value and to determine if producers in Israel are receiving unfair subsidies.
These investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by US Magnesium LLC on October 24, 2018.
In the antidumping duty investigation, Commerce will determine whether imports of magnesium from Israel are being dumped in the U.S. market at less than fair value.
The alleged dumping margins range from 92.06 to 130.61 percent.
In the countervailing duty investigation, Commerce will determine whether Israeli producers of magnesium are receiving unfair government subsidies.
There are 12 subsidy programs alleged, including seven tax programs and five grant programs.
If Commerce makes an affirmative finding in these investigations, and if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that dumped and/or unfairly subsidized U.S. imports of magnesium from Israel are causing injury to U.S. industry, Commerce will impose duties on those imports in the amount of dumping and/or unfair subsidization found to exist.
In 2017, imports of magnesium from Israel were valued at an estimated $43.5 million.
Click HERE for a fact sheet on these initiations.
Next Steps:
During Commerce’s investigations into whether magnesium from Israel is being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, the ITC will conduct its own investigations into whether the U.S. industry and its workforce are being harmed by such imports. The ITC will make its preliminary determinations on or before December 10, 2018. If the ITC preliminarily determines that there is injury or threat of injury, then Commerce’s investigations will continue, with the preliminary CVD determination scheduled for January 17, 2019, and preliminary AD determination scheduled for April 2, 2019, unless these deadlines are extended.
If Commerce preliminarily determines that dumping and/or unfair subsidization is occurring, then it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to start collecting cash deposits from all U.S. companies importing magnesium from Israel.
Final determinations by Commerce in these cases are scheduled for April 2, 2019, for the CVD investigation, and June 17, 2019, for the AD investigation, but those dates may be extended. If Commerce finds that products are not being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, or the ITC finds in its final determinations there is no harm to U.S. industry, then the investigations will be terminated and no duties will be applied.
The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 137 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 242 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.
Antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 461 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.
Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to antidumping duties. Companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks, or production inputs, are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies.
CBP Announces Measures to Facilitate Upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday Traffic at the Laredo Port of Entry - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
LAREDO, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Laredo Port of Entry encourages travelers to plan ahead, utilize Ready Lanes and asks for the public’s patience as CBP prepares to facilitate Thanksgiving holiday traffic without a full complement of officers due to recent deployments in support of border security operations in response to the arriving migrant caravans in California. CBP at the Laredo Port of Entry makes necessary arrangements to implement facilitation measures to assist the traveling public with their experience while crossing one of the busiest land border ports in the country.
“Traffic volumes increase by approximately 20 percent during our holiday periods at the Laredo Port of Entry and this year we are impacted by the temporary deployment of CBP officers to California in response to the migrant caravans,” said Port Director Albert Flores, Laredo Port of Entry. “We thank the traveling public for being proactive, patient and availing themselves of facilitation measures such as Ready Lanes and mobile tourist permit processing stations implemented during the previous holiday traffic periods as CBP reported reduced wait times compared to previous years.”
The Laredo Port of Entry strongly encourages travelers to apply for their tourist permits online via http://i94.cbp.dhs.gov Travelers receive a provisional I-94 after submitting their application and payment online. To finalize the I-94 process, travelers must present themselves at a port of entry within seven days of their application to be interviewed by a CBP officer, submit biometric fingerscans and a photo is taken. The Laredo Port of Entry will extend front of the line privileges to travelers who submit their I-94 applications electronically and present their provisional I-94 permit receipt.
CBP in collaboration with the Outlet Shoppes at Laredo has implemented a Mobile Enrollment Center for issuance of I-94 tourist permits. The Mobile Enrollment Center will be available during Thanksgiving weekend from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Mobile Enrollment Center is located in the second floor of the food court area of the Outlet Shoppes at Laredo.
In close coordination with the Government of Mexico and the City of Laredo, the designated lane, which is designed for local cross border traffic that does not require tourist permits or other benefits, will be available from Nov. 21-25. The designated lane, which runs the full length of the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge and fans out to three primary inspection booths, has cement barriers to indicate their location to local commuters and to ensure that daily local traffic is being processed in a timely manner. CBP encourages daily border crossers to utilize these assigned lanes which are located on the three Westernmost lanes of the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge.
CBP advised of an additional facilitation measure; Gateway to the Americas Bridge will be processing SENTRI-only vehicular traffic on Friday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 24 from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m.
CBP also encourages travelers to obtain and utilize radio-frequency identification technology (RFID)-equipped travel documents such as U.S. passport cards and the newer versions (i.e. since 2011) of the border crossing card and resident alien card so that they can utilize Ready Lanes. Processing in Ready Lanes is 20 percent faster than normal lanes and provide a time savings of up to 20 seconds per vehicle. CBP encourages travelers to obtain RFID entry documents to use Ready Lanes and enroll in trusted traveler programs.
Members of the traveling public can monitor Border Wait Times via this link or also obtain the BWT app on their smartphone via Apple App Store and Google Play (CBP BWT) so that they can observe the wait times and make an informed decision on which bridge to use. These wait times are updated on an hourly basis. CBP reminds the public that they may utilize the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge as an alternate route to avoid heavy traffic.
Also to avoid any potential delays or fines due to travelers bringing prohibited/restricted agricultural items, CBP encourages travelers to declare all agricultural items to a CBP officer upon arrival and before making their journey to consult the Know Before You Go guide at the following link.
H.I.S. Recalls Girl’s Clothing Sets Due to Violation of Federal Lead Content Ban - Consumer Product Safety Commission
Recalled girl’s clothing set with necklace
Name of product: Girl’s clothing sets with pendant necklace
Hazard: The metal pendant on the necklace contains levels of lead that exceed the federal lead content ban. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health issues.
Remedy: Refund
Recall date: November 8, 2018
Units: About 5,300
Recall Details Description: This recall involves Self-Esteem brand girl’s clothing sets with a gold leaf pendant necklace. The recalled clothing sets consists of three items: a short-sleeve teal top with cut-out shoulders, a navy blue legging pant with a teal floral print and a pendant necklace with an orange and teal center. The recalled clothing sets have style number PO#71160/LOT9 and a date of production of 10/2017 printed on a white label on the inside of the garment. The recalled clothing sets were sold in girl’s sizes 4x-12x.
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the necklace from the recalled clothing sets, take it away from children and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported
Sold At: Burlington, Shopko, Meijer’s, and AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange Services) stores nationwide from February 2018 through November 2018 for about $14.
Manufacturer(s): Ningbo Younker Fashion Accessory Industrial Corporation, of China
Importer(s): H.I.S. International Group LLC, of New York
Distributor(s): H.I.S. International Group LLC, of New York
Manufactured In: China
Recall number: 19-034
Report an Incident Involving this Product
Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on a New Qualified Health Claim for Consuming Oils with High Levels of Oleic Acid to Reduce Coronary Heart Disease Risk - US Food & Drug Administration
As Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, I remain committed to finding new ways to reduce the burden of chronic disease through improved nutrition. Using the FDA’s labeling tools to foster innovation toward healthier foods that consumers want is one of the primary goals of the FDA’s Nutrition Innovation Strategy that I first announced in March.
One tool the FDA has to help bring us closer to this important goal is the use of “health claims” on food package labels. These claims serve as efficient signals that consumers can look for on a product’s packaging to determine what benefits a food or beverage might have. By allowing such claims on food product labels, we at the FDA also hope to encourage the food industry to reformulate products.
Recognizing the importance of science-based food decisions, there are two kinds of health claims on food product packages – authorized health claims and qualified health claims.
An authorized health claim meets the more rigorous standard of “significant scientific agreement,” meaning that the claim is supported by the totality of publicly available scientific evidence for a substance/disease relationship. A qualified health claim means it is supported by more limited scientific evidence that doesn’t meet the rigorous standard. To ensure qualified claims aren’t misleading, they must be accompanied by a disclaimer to communicate to consumers the level of scientific evidence supporting the claim.
Today, the FDA responded to a petition for a new qualified health claim for edible oils containing high levels of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that’s been shown to have cardiovascular benefits when it replaces heart-damaging saturated fat.
Manufacturers of these oils can choose to include a qualified health claim on their label stating that “supportive but not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that daily consumption of about 1½ tablespoons (20 grams) of oils containing high levels of oleic acid, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.” The claim will also need to make it clear that to achieve this benefit, these oils “should replace fats and oils higher in saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.”
Edible oils must contain at least 70 percent oleic acid to meet the criteria for this qualified health claim. Specific edible oils include: high oleic sunflower oil, high oleic safflower oil, high oleic canola oil, olive oil and high oleic algal oil. Some high oleic oils were developed as alternatives to partially hydrogenated oils, which are no longer added to most foods, and will not degrade when heated to high temperatures, which makes them ideal to use for baking or frying.
The science behind the new qualified health claim for oleic acid, while not conclusive, is promising. The FDA evaluated results from seven small clinical studies that evaluated the relationship between consumption of oils containing high levels of oleic acid (at least 70 percent per serving) and improved cholesterol levels, which indicates a reduced risk for coronary heart disease. Six of the studies found that those who were randomly assigned to consume diets containing oils with high levels of oleic acid as a replacement to fats and oils higher in saturated fat experienced a modest lowering in their total cholesterol and heart-damaging low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels compared to those who ate a more Western-style diet that was higher in saturated fat. One study showed no significant effect. Importantly, and as noted in the health claim, none of the studies found that eating oleic acid-containing oils had beneficial heart effects unless they replaced other types of fats and oils higher in saturated fats in the diet.
Consumers should have access to clear, transparent food labels that enable them to make smart choices that benefit themselves and their families. Our Nutrition Innovation Strategy employs a broad approach to support industry initiatives to introduce products that meet consumer demands for healthier foods.
Key aspects of our new strategy include modernizing and prioritizing new claims on food labels, as well as updating ingredient labels and food standards in an effort to make labels more understandable to consumers. Establishing a framework that encourages industry to invest in and convey to consumers the nutritional attributes of their products can support healthier choices for Americans. Today’s action gets us one step closer to our ultimate goal of improving nutrition and reducing the burden of chronic disease.
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.