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Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duty on 4th Tier Cigarettes from the Republic of Korea - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP 

I.  Type of Action: Antidumping Duty (“AD”): Korea

II.  Product:  he merchandise covered by this investigation is certain tobacco cigarettes, commonly referred to as “4th tier cigarettes.” The subject cigarettes are composed of tobacco rolled in paper, have a nominal minimum total length of 7.0 cm but do not exceed 12.0 cm in total nominal length, and have a nominal diameter of less than 1.3 cm. These sizes of cigarettes are frequently referred to as “Kings” and “100’s,” but subject merchandise that meets the physical description of the scope is included regardless of the marketing description of the size of the cigarettes. Subject merchandise typically has a tobacco blend that consists of 10% to 40% tobacco stems.

Subject merchandise is typically sold in packs of 20 cigarettes per pack which generally includes the marking “20 Class A Cigarettes” but are included regardless of packaging. 4th Tier cigarette packages typically sold in boxes without a rounded internal comer and without embossed aluminum foil inside the pack.

Both menthol and non-menthol cigarettes and cigarettes with or without a filter attached are covered by the scope of this investigation.

Excluded from the scope of this investigation are cigarettes that legally bear the valid and enforceable brand and/or trademark of a company who is a participating member of the Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”) of November 1998.

III.  HTS classifications:  Merchandise covered by this investigation is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) under subheading 2402.20.8000. This HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the scope of the investigation is dispositive.

IV.  Petitioners: Coalition Against Korean Cigarettes

V.  Date of Filing: December 18, 2019

VI.  Foreign Producers/Exporters:  Please contact our office for a list filed with the petition.

VII.  US Importers named. Please contact our office for a list filed with the petition.

VIII.  Alleged Dumping Margins: Korea: 91.72% to 113.06% with an average margin of 103.02% for KT&G

IX.  Comments:

A.  Projected date of ITC Preliminary Conference: January 8, 2020.  Please contact our office for a complete projected schedule for the AD investigation.

B.  The earliest theoretical date for retroactive suspension of liquidation for the AD is February 26, 2020.

C.  Volume and Value of Imports: Please contact our office for a summary of the data filed with the petition.

If you have questions regarding how this investigation may impact future imports of scope merchandise or whether a particular product is within the scope of the investigation, please contact one of our attorneys.

 





OTEXA:  Announcements

12/19/2019The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced on December 13th that the United States and China reached a phase-one trade deal related to the Section 301 Tariff Action: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. USTR reported that “The United States will be maintaining 25 percent tariffs on approximately $250 billion of Chinese imports, along with 7.5 percent tariffs on approximately $120 billion of Chinese imports.” See links below for additional information on the Section 301-China Tariff Action: 




Philadelphia CBP Seizes $130,000 in Counterfeit Designer Handbags from Hong Kong -  U.S.Customs & Border Protection 

PHILADELPHIA – Looks like there will be a few less ladies designer brand handbags under the Christmas tree this year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized a shipment of 37 counterfeit Louis Vuitton handbags Thursday that arrived in Philadelphia from Hong Kong. If authentic, the handbags would have had a manufacturer suggested retail price of $130,610. They were destined to an address in Logan Township, N.J.

The shipment of three boxes initially arrived November 25 manifested as “Lady Bag Sample.” CBP officers suspected the shipment to be counterfeit and detained it.

CBP officers worked with CBP’s Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Centers for Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts and verified through the trademark holder that the products were counterfeit.

“Customs and Border Protection officers encounter a wide variety of counterfeit consumer goods, like these trademark-infringing handbags, and we continue to work with our trade and consumer safety partners to identify and seize counterfeit products when we encounter them,” said Casey Durst, Director of Field Operations for CBP’s Baltimore Field Office. “CBP urges consumers to protect themselves and their families by purchasing authentic consumer goods from reputable vendors.”

CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement program. Importation of counterfeit merchandise can cause significant revenue loss, damage the U.S. economy, and threaten the health and safety of the American people.

On a typical day in 2018, CBP officers seized $3.7 million worth of products with IPR violations. Learn more about what CBP did during "A Typical Day" in 2018.

In fiscal year (FY) 2018, the number of IPR seizures decreased by 333 seizures to 33,810 from 34,143 in FY 2017. The total estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods, had they been genuine, increased to nearly $1.4 billion from over $1.2 billion in FY 2017. Read more 2018 IPR Enforcement Statistics.

As a result of CBP enforcement efforts, ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested 381 individuals, obtained 296 indictments, and received 260 convictions related to intellectual property crimes 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.




U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Affirmative Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations of Imports of Wind Towers from Canada, Indonesia, and Vietnam -  U.S. Department of Commerce 

Today (12/9/19), the U.S. Department of Commerce announced affirmative preliminary determinations in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of utility scale wind towers from Canada, Indonesia, and Vietnam, finding that exporters from these countries received countervailable subsidies at rates of 1.09 percent, 20.29 percent, and 2.43 percent, respectively.

As a result of today’s decisions, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of utility scale wind towers from Canada, Indonesia, and Vietnam based on these preliminary rates.

In 2018, imports of utility scale wind towers from Canada, Indonesia, and Vietnam were valued at an estimated $60.2 million, $37.4 million, and $21.4 million, respectively.

The petitioner is the Wind Tower Trade Coalition, which includes Arcosa Wind Towers Inc. (Dallas, TX) and Broadwind Towers, Inc. (Manitowoc, WI).

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 187 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 188 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 503 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final CVD determinations on or about April 21, 2020.

If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about June 4, 2020. If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations in these investigations, and the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue CVD orders. If Commerce makes negative final determinations, or 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 rules 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. 




Federal Register Notices:



 

U.S. Department of Commerce Announces Five Affirmative Final Circumvention Determinations on Steel Products from Vietnam - U.S. Department of Commerce

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced five affirmative final antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) circumvention determinations involving steel products that are produced in Korea and Taiwan, shipped to Vietnam for minor processing, and then exported to the United States as corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) and cold-rolled steel (CRS) – in circumvention of existing orders.

As a result of today’s determinations, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to continue to collect AD and CVD cash deposits on imports of CORE and CRS produced in Vietnam using Korean- or Taiwanese-origin substrate. These duties apply to any unliquidated entries since August 2, 2018, the date on which Commerce initiated these circumvention inquiries.

The applicable cash deposit rates will be as high as 456.20 percent, depending on the origin of the substrate and the type of steel product exported to the United States.

U.S. law provides that Commerce may find circumvention of AD/CVD orders when merchandise subject to an existing order is completed or assembled in a third country prior to importation into the United States.

Shipments of CORE from Vietnam to the United States increased from $23 million (from April 2012 until preliminary duties were imposed on South Korean and Taiwanese products in December 2015) to $1.1 trillion (from imposition of preliminary duties in January 2016 until September 2019), which is an increase of 4,353 percent. Additionally, shipments of CRS from Vietnam to the United States increased from $49 million (in January 2013 until preliminary duties were imposed on South Korean and Taiwanese products in February 2016) to $498 million (from imposition of preliminary duties in March 2016 until April 2019), which is an increase of 922 percent.

These inquiries were conducted pursuant to requests from U.S. domestic producers of CORE and CRS, including Steel Dynamics, Inc. (IN), California Steel Industries (CA), AK Steel Corporation (OH), ArcelorMittal USA LLC (IN), Nucor Corporation (NC), and United States Steel Corporation (PA).

The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. To date, the Administration has issued 35 preliminary or final affirmative determinations in anti-circumvention inquiries – a 192 percent increase from the number of such determinations made during the comparable period in the previous administration.

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 rules and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.

CBP Agriculture Protects the Holidays - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

CHAMPLAIN, N.Y. - During a three week period, Agriculture Specialists with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) searched over 200 trucks containing Christmas tree and greenery shipments that resulted in the interception of more than 350 invasive pests.    
 
A couple weeks prior to the thanksgiving holiday and proceeding through the first week of December has traditionally been considered the peak shipping period for Christmas trees and greenery. With these shipments comes an increased concern for insects that can cause massive damage to United States forestry. The interception of these pests is an important role that CBP Agriculture Specialists have in order to help prevent millions of dollars in damage and the loss of large numbers of trees. Several of these shipments were destined to southern states where they do not yet have these devastating insects, so their detection was crucial to prevent them from making that journey. 

During this time period, CBP encountered more than 170,000 plant units and intercepted over 350 insects. Several of which were deemed reportable and could have caused massive forest damage in some of these southern states.    
 
“Our CBP Agriculture Specialists are our first line of defense when trying to stop insects from entering our country and potentially causing massive damage to U.S. forestry”, said Area Port Director Steve Bronson. “We have an incredible group of dedicated employees that work tirelessly to keep these insects from devastating our agriculture and natural resources.”

 



 

Cargo Volumes Dip in November In Long Beach - Port of Long Beach

Tariffs continue to affect trade at nation's second-busiest port

Cargo volume dropped 3.5% last month at the Port of Long Beach as restrictive tariffs continued to drag on the national supply chain.
 
Dockworkers moved 599,985 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in November, 3.5% less than the same month last year. Imports slid 8.3% to 293,287 TEUs, while exports were up 6.9% to 123,705 TEUs. Empty containers headed overseas decreased 1.7% to 182,992 TEUs.
 
Dockworkers moved 6,966,771 TEUs during the first 11 months of 2019, putting the Port on track for its second-busiest year and 5.2% down from last year’s record-setting pace.
 
“The effects of these tariffs are being felt by everyone, from American manufacturers and farmers to the consumers who purchase goods moving through our Port complex,” said Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach. “As we wait for a resolution to this protracted trade war, the Port will remain competitive by delivering exceptional customer service and moving ahead with capital improvement projects that will allow us to grow well into the future.”

Read entire article

 


 
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