C-AIR TIMES ISSUE #677 - Friday, April 09, 2021 08:28

Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Organic Soybean Meal from India - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP

I. Type of Action: Antidumping Duty (“AD”): India ; Countervailing Duty (“CVD”): India

II. Proposed Scope of the Investigation: The merchandise subject to the petition is certain certified organic soybean meal. Certified organic soybean meal can consist of ground soybean cake, ground soybean chips, and/or ground soybean flakes, with or without oil residues. Soybean cake is the product after the extraction of part of the oil from soybeans. Soybean chips and soybean flakes are produced by cracking, heating, and flaking soybeans and reducing the oil content of the conditioned product. “Certified organic soybean meal” is certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) or equivalently certified to NOP standards.

III. HTS classifications: The products covered by this petition are currently classified under the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 1208.10.0010 and 2304.00.0000. Certified organic soybean meal may also enter under HTSUS: 2309.90.1005, 2309.90.1015, 2309.90.1010, 2309.90.1030, 2309.90.1032, 2309.90.1035, 2309.90.1045, 2309.90.1050, 2308.00.9890.

IV. Date of Filing: March 31, 2021

V. Petitioners: Organic Soybean Processors of America (“Coalition” or “OSPA”), and eight domestic processors, American Natural Processors, LLC, Lester Feed & Grain Co., Organic Production Services, LLC, Professional Proteins, Ltd., Sheppard Grain Enterprises LLC, Simmons Grain Company, Super Soy, LLC, and Tri-State Crush LLC.

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 (No CVD Margins Listed): India: 154.12%

IX. Comments:

A. Projected date of ITC Preliminary Conference: April 21, 2021.

B. The earliest theoretical date for retroactive suspension of liquidation for the AD is June 9, 2021; CVD is April 20, 2021. Please contact our office for a complete projected schedule for the AD/CVD investigations.

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

D. List of Alleged Subsidy Programs: Please contact our office for a list of alleged subsidy programs.

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.

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Federal Register Notices:

Philadelphia CBP Seizes Nearly 600 Cases of Infant Formula Unapproved for Import to the United States - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 588 cases of infant formula, valued at about $30,000, in Philadelphia recently for violating U.S. Food and Drug Administration import safety regulations.

During February, CBP officers inspected 17 separate shipments of a variety of HiPP and Holle brand infant formulas that arrived from Germany and The Netherlands, respectively. The infant formula was destined to a Philadelphia freight forwarder for eventual delivery to an address in Nevada. Officers detained the shipments and consulted with the FDA who issued import safety alerts concerning noncompliant infant formula.

In March, the FDA determined that the infant formula lacked appropriate nutritional labeling and violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) as misbranded and adulterated consumer products. The FD&C Act prohibits the introduction, or delivery for the introduction, into interstate commerce of any food, drug, device, tobacco product, or cosmetic that is adulterated or misbranded. Additionally, the manufacturers failed to comply with FDA regulatory requirements to sell their infant formula in the United States.

Consumer protection remains a CBP hallmark trade enforcement priority, and the agency cautions consumers who may be considering buying online from overseas vendors.

“Consumers should be very careful when contemplating the purchase of items over the internet from an international source, because they may not get what they expect. People expect that the products they purchase comply with existing U.S. health and safety laws and regulations and they’ll be safe for them or their family. That’s not always the case.” said Keith Fleming, CBP’s Acting Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “CBP remains steadfast in our continuing commitment to working with the Food and Drug Administration and our other consumer safety partners in our collective efforts to help keep our citizens safe.”

CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations conduct the agency’s border security mission at our nation’s Ports of Entry. CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo and search for dangerous drugs, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.

On a typical CBP day last year, CBP processed 90,000 entries of imported goods with a value of $6.64 billion at our air, sea and land ports of entry. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.

OTEXA: Announcements - Office of Textile & Apparel

03/30/2021 – The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) requests written comments regarding potential trade actions in connection with the Section 301 investigation of Digital Services Taxes (DSTs) for Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Potential actions include additional import tariffs of up to 25 percent on various products, which include selected textiles, apparel, footwear, and travel goods. USTR also announced the termination of the Section 301 DST investigations for Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union, and Indonesia. See USTR’s DST webpage for further information and links to relevant Federal Register Notices.

In 3 Months $1.6M in Counterfeit Currency Seized by Chicago CBP - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

CHICAGO – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Chicago’s International Mail Facility (IMF) have been counting a lot of money, counterfeit money, in different denominations that have been seized from parcels coming into the U.S. In the past three months, officers have seized more than 100 shipments of counterfeit currency totaling more than $1.64 million.

Daily officers at the IMF inspect packages arriving from various locations, and while some of these are stateside addresses, 20% of all international mail is funneled through the IMF at O’Hare. From Jan 1 to March 31, officers seized 80 shipments of counterfeit currency, 24 shipments containing fake silver dollars and five shipments containing counterfeit foreign currency.

The currency is broken down in different denominations of $20, $50, and $100 bills. Criminals often use concealment methods to avoid detection, but CBP officers use knowledge, experience, and technology to detect these items, and seize them before they reach their destination. In the past two weeks CBP officers have made 31 counterfeit currency seizures totaling over $423,000 The counterfeit currency is seized under Counterfeit U.S. Currency, Coins or Government Securities.

CBP officers aren’t only seeing counterfeit dollar bills. At the end of February, CBP officers seized 24 shipments containing fake silver dollars, a collectible item among many enthusiasts. Additionally, during these three months CBP seized over $95,000 Euros, equal to over $112,000. Except for a few of the shipment, all these items were arriving from China destined for places all over the U.S., to include some cities within Illinois

“Today, criminals have relatively easy access to the technology, equipment and know-how required for counterfeiting. It is a lucrative business which is often used to finance illegal activities such as trafficking in human beings and drugs, and even terrorism.” said Shane Campbell, Area Port Director-Chicago. “Criminal groups continuously target our citizens, businesses and the security of the United States financial structure hoping to make a quick buck and damage our economic system. Our officers are there to stop that threat to our nation.”

According to the Secret Service, special agents and investigative analysts from around the country continue to work closely with state and local law enforcement partners to minimize risks by informing the public and apprehending those responsible for passing counterfeit currency. Counterfeiting Federal Reserve notes is a federal crime. Visit the United States Secret Service’s website for detailed information. Both consumers and retailers can protect themselves from inadvertently receiving counterfeit currency by quickly glancing at the note.

CBP conducts operations at ports of entry throughout the United States, and regularly screens arriving international passengers and cargo for narcotics, weapons, and other restricted or prohibited products. CBP strives to serve as the premier law enforcement agency enhancing the Nation’s safety, security, and prosperity through collaboration, innovation, and integration.

FTC - Coronavirus Advice for Consumers

AVOID CORONAVIRUS SCAMS

Commerce Adds Seven Chinese Supercomputing Entities to Entity List for their Support to China’s Military Modernization, and Other Destabilizing Efforts - U.S. Department of Commerce

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has added seven Chinese supercomputing entities to the Entity List for conducting activities that are contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.

Today’s final rule adds the following entities to the Entity List: Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, the National Supercomputing Center Jinan, the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, the National Supercomputing Center Wuxi, and the National Supercomputing Center Zhengzhou. These entities are involved with building supercomputers used by China’s military actors, its destabilizing military modernization efforts, and/or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo released the following statement:

“Supercomputing capabilities are vital for the development of many – perhaps almost all – modern weapons and national security systems, such as nuclear weapons and hypersonic weapons. The Department of Commerce will use the full extent of its authorities to prevent China from leveraging U.S. technologies to support these destabilizing military modernization efforts.”

These entities meet the criteria for inclusion on the Entity List listed under Section 744.11 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

The full list of entities impacted by this change is included in the rule on public display in the Federal Register.

The Entity List is a tool utilized by BIS to restrict the export, re-export, and in-country transfer of items subject to the EAR to persons (individuals, organizations, companies) reasonably believed to be involved, have been involved, or pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. Additional license requirements apply to exports, re-exports, and in-country transfers of items subject to the EAR to listed entities, and the availability of most license exceptions is limited.