C-AIR TIMES ISSUE #589 - Friday, July 26, 2019 08:05

POLA and POLB Marine Terminal Gates Closed Thursday, August 1, 2019, from 5 p.m. - PierPass

PierPass Inc. has been notified that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will observe a special stop work meeting for union business on Thursday, August 1, 2019, starting at 5 p.m. As a result, no marine terminal gates at the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Long Beach will operate between the hours of 5:00 p.m. on August 1 through 3:00 a.m. on August 2. There will be no OffPeak shift Thursday night August 1.

Please check with individual terminals for substitute or alternative gates.

This labor shutdown falls under Rule 5 of the Marine Terminal Operator Schedule No. 1, which is available at: https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/PierPASS-Schedule-06-05-2019.pdf

Proposed Modifications to the U.S.-Korea FTA Rules of Origin Would Likely Have a Negligible Effect on U.S. Imports and Exports, Says USITC - U.S. International Trade Commission

However, USITC Notifies USTR That Two Domestic Producers Filed Objections

Proposed modifications to the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) rules of origin are likely to have a negligible effect on U.S. imports and U.S. exports, but they could impact the U.S. industry that produces some of the affected articles, reports the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) in its publication U.S.-Korea FTA: Advice on Modifications to Certain Textile and Apparel Rules of Origin.

The USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, produced the report at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

As requested, the report provides advice on the probable economic effect of the proposed modifications to the U.S.-Korea FTA rules of origin on U.S. trade under the agreement, on total U.S. trade, and on domestic production of the affected articles. The proposed modifications, detailed in the USTR's request letter, cover the following of headings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS):

Certain cotton yarns (under HTS heading 5206) with viscose rayon staple fibers (under HTS subheadings 5504.10 or 5507.00);
Certain woven fabrics (under HTS heading 5408) with cuprammonium rayon yarns (under HTS subheading 5403.39); and
Certain apparel (under HTS heading 6110), accessories, and apparel parts (under HTS heading 6117) of cashmere yarns (under HTS heading 5108).

Each of the proposed modifications to the rules of origin would liberalize the current rules of origin by allowing the use of more non-originating materials. However, because U.S. imports from Korea are a small portion of total U.S imports of the affected articles, and because Korea is not a major producer of the affected articles, the likely effect of the proposed modifications on imports under KORUS and on total U.S. imports of these products is negligible.

Similarly, because the United States exported little to none (both in terms of value and as a share of total U.S. exports of these products) of the affected articles to Korea in 2018, the likely effect of the proposed modification on exports under KORUS and on total U.S. exports would be negligible as well.

The Commission received two objections from domestic producers of two of the articles affected by the proposed modification. One domestic producer of cotton yarns with viscose rayon staple fibers objected to the first of the proposed modifications as they produce the end-use product covered by that modification. Another domestic producer of cashmere yarns objected to the third modification as they produce the input covered by that modification.

U.S.-Korea FTA: Advice on Modifications to Certain Textile and Apparel Rules of Origin (Inv. No. FTA-103-032, USITC publication 4917, June 2019) is available at https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub4917.pdf.

Federal Register Notices:

Today (7/23/19), the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of steel racks and parts thereof from China, finding that exporters from China have sold steel racks and parts at less than fair value in the United States at rates from 18.06 to 144.50 percent. In addition, Commerce determined that exporters from China received countervailable subsidies at rates from 1.50 to 102.23 percent.

In 2017, imports of steel racks from China were valued at an estimated $200 million.

The petitioner is the Coalition for Fair Rack Imports, whose members are Bulldog Rack Company (Weirton, WV), Hannibal Industries, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA), Husky Rack and Wire (Denver, NC), Ridg-U-Rak, Inc. (North East, PA), SpaceRak (Marysville, MI), Speedrack Products Group, Ltd. (Sparta, MI), Steel King Industries, Inc. (Stevens Point, WI), Tri-Boro Shelving & Partition Corp. (Farmville, VA), and UNARCO Material Handling, Inc. (Springfield, TN).

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 172 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 219 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 491 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is currently scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about September 3, 2019. If the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue AD and CVD orders. If the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated and no orders will be issued.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on today’s decisions.

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.

Dulles CBP Seizes 103 Pounds of Khat in Air Cargo from Nigeria - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

STERLING, Va., – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 103 pounds of khat Friday that arrived from Nigeria in air cargo at Washington Dulles International Airport.

CBP officers examined a shipment July 17 from Lagos, Nigeria, that was destined to an address in Dallas, Georgia. The package contained a green leafy substance, which officers suspected to be khat. Officers submitted a sample to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) botanist who verified the substance Friday as Catha Edulis, commonly known as khat.

Khat is typically grown in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and is chewed for its stimulant effect. The World Health Organization classified khat as a drug of abuse in 1980.

The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies cathinone as a schedule 1 drug – the most restrictive category used by the DEA. Please see more information on the DEA Khat Fact Sheet.

The khat will be destroyed.

“Customs and Border Protection is our nation’s first line of defense against transnational criminal organizations that thrive on the sale of illicit products such as khat to fund their other nefarious businesses,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore. “But khat possession and use remains illegal in the United States and CBP officers are committed to protecting our communities by seizing illicit and dangerous drugs when we encounter them.”

CBP routinely conducts inspection operations on arriving and departing international flights and intercepts narcotics, weapons, currency, prohibited agriculture products, counterfeit goods and other illicit items at our nation’s 328 international ports of entry.

On average, CBP officers seized 4,657 pounds of illicit narcotics every day during 2018. Learn what more CBP achieved during "A Typical Day" in 2018.

CBP's Border Security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations.

Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.

United States and Thailand Discuss Fair and Reciprocal Engagement on Trade, Importance of Resolving Priority Issues - Office of United States Trade Representative

Bangkok, Thailand – The United States and Thailand met today (7/22/19) under the U.S.-Thailand Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) to discuss the bilateral trade relationship, including the importance of Thailand taking action to reduce the U.S. trade in goods deficit and address the pressing trade concerns at the heart of the ongoing Generalized System of Preferences reviews of pork market access and worker rights in Thailand.

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of working together to strengthen the trade relationship and agreed to continue their dialogue on the full range of issues. The United States updated Thailand on the Trump Administration’s trade policy. Thailand updated the United States on its priorities as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) this year. The United States raised issues related to agriculture, customs, intellectual property protection and enforcement, and labor.

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and Pacific Affairs Karl Ehlers co-chaired the meeting for the United States. Other U.S. officials included representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Ministry of Commerce Director General Auramon Supthaweethum co-chaired the meeting for Thailand, which included representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Thai Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Digital Economy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Background

The United States and Thailand have strong trade ties, which extend back to the 1833 U.S.-Thailand Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations. Thailand is the United States’ 20th largest goods trading partner, and two-way goods trade between them totaled $44.5 billion in 2018. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Thailand was $19.3 billion in 2018.

USITC Institutes Section 337 Investigation of Certain Fish-Handling Pliers and Packaging Thereof - U.S. International Trade Commission

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to institute an investigation of certain fish-handling pliers and packaging thereof. The products at issue in the investigation are described in the Commission’s notice of investigation.

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by United Plastic Molders, Inc., of Jackson, MS, on June 21, 2019. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain fish-handling pliers and packaging thereof that infringe a patent and registered trademarks asserted by the complainant. The complainant requests that the USITC issue a general exclusion order, or in the alternative a limited exclusion order, and cease and desist orders.

The USITC has identified the following as respondents in this investigation:

Yixing Five Union Industry & Trade Co., Ltd., of Yixing City, Jiangsu Province, China;
NOEBY Fishing Tackle Co., Ltd. of Weihai, Shandong Province, China;
Weihai iLure Fishing Tackle Co., Ltd., of Weihai, Shandong Province, China;
SamsFX of Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China; and
Weihai Lotus Outdoor Co., Ltd., of Weihai City, Shandong Province, China.

By instituting this investigation (337-TA-1169), 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.