Section 232 Tariff Relief Announced on Imports of Steel and Aluminum from the EU - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP
On October 31, 2021, the U.S. and the EU announced steps to, among other things, reestablish historical transatlantic trade flows in steel and aluminum and address shared challenges in the steel and aluminum sector.
Among the concrete steps to be taken are the following:
1. Replacement of Section 232 tariffs with tariff-rate quotas (TRQ). The United States will replace the existing tariffs on EU steel and aluminum products under Section 232 with a TRQ. Under the TRQ arrangement, historically-based volumes of EU steel and aluminum products would enter the U.S. market without the application of Section 232 tariffs to meet the demands of downstream users. The TRQ levels and effective date have not been announced. Currently, covered steel and aluminum articles are subject to Section 232 tariffs of 25% and 10%, respectively.
2. Agreement to cooperate in trade remedies and customs matters and development of additional actions. The parties agreed to expand coordination involving both trade remedies and customs matters, and to meet regularly to consult and develop additional actions.
3. Negotiation of global steel and aluminum arrangements that restore market-oriented conditions and address carbon intensity. The parties agreed to negotiate future arrangements for trade in the steel and aluminum sectors that take account of both global non-market excess capacity as well as the carbon intensity of these industries (with like-minded economies to be invited to participate).
4. Lifting of the EU’s retaliatory tariffs and suspension of disputes before panels of the World Trade Organization. The EU will suspend its retaliatory duties imposed on U.S. goods in response to the 232 action. Such tariffs cover a range of products from Harley Davidson motorcycles to Kentucky bourbon (which were reportedly set to rise to 50% on some products on December 1, 2021).
Should you have any questions regarding developments with respect to Section 232 tariffs or other trade remedies in effect, please contact Arthur Bodek or any other GDLSK attorney.
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Three Countries to be Dropped from the AGOA Program in the Absence of Urgent Policy Changes - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP
On November 2, 2021, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that Guinea, Mali and Ethiopia will be terminated from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) program, effective January 1, 2022, in the absence of urgent internal policy changes.
The administration expressed concern over unconstitutional government changes in Guinea and Mali, and gross violations of internationally recognized human rights being perpetrated by the Government of Ethiopia and other parties amid the widening conflict in northern Ethiopia.
In its announcement, the U.S. has urged these governments to take necessary actions to meet the AGOA statutory criteria. The U.S. announced that it would provide each country with clear benchmarks for a pathway toward reinstatement and work with them to achieve that objective.
The AGOA program provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for goods from most sub-Saharan African countries that meet specified country and product criteria.
Being terminated from the program will result in full duties being assessed on goods from the indicated countries even if the product-specific rules are satisfied.
Should you have any questions regarding this action or other issues involving duty-preference programs, please contact Arthur Bodek or any of our other attorneys.
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Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Certain Superabsorbent Polymer from Korea - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP
I. Type of Action: Antidumping Duty (“AD”): South Korea
II. Product: SAP is a fine white substance that is typically produced in granular, powder form. It is the product of a polymerization of acrylic monomer molecules with crosslinkers to form crosslinked polymer networks, with a high capacity to absorb and retain water and aqueous liquids. SAP is insoluble in water but can absorb and retain from 100 to 1000 times its own weight in water or from 20 to 60 times its own weight in body fluids (such as urine). Upon contact with aqueous liquid, the sodium ions in the material become dissociated, generating an osmotic pressure which drives more liquid into the SAP and binding it tightly within. The liquid is not only absorbed but also retained inside the particles, even under external pressure. The absorption process causes a phase change of the polymer from a dry powder to a soft gel that is still capable of absorbing further liquid.
SAP is mainly used for hygiene applications, such as baby diapers, adult diapers, and feminine hygiene products. SAP can also be used in food-related areas, such as refrigerant or freshness-keeping agents, and in household products, such as disposable heating packs or environment fragrance. Finally, SAP can be used for water retention in agriculture or civil engineering projects.
III. HTS Classifications: SAP is imported duty-free into the United States under HTSUS 3906.90.5000. Additional, non-SAP products are also imported into the United States under this HTSUS subheading.
IV. Date of Filing: November 2, 2021
V. Petitioners: Ad Hoc Coalition of American SAP Producers
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: 28.6-49.4%
IX. Comments:
A. Projected date of ITC Preliminary Conference: November 23, 2021.
B. The earliest theoretical date for retroactive suspension of liquidation for the AD is January 11, 2022. Please contact our office for a complete projected schedule for the AD investigation.
C. Volume and Value of Imports: Please contact our office for a summary of the data filed with the petition.
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It’s About Time to Change Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Batteries; Daylight Saving Time Reminder - Consumer Product Safety Commission
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 7, 2021, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends marking the time change by replacing the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. With people spending more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing furnaces, fireplaces, and other fuel-burning appliances to put in extra work, working smoke and CO alarms have never been more important.
CPSC estimates an annual average of 362,000 unintentional residential fires, resulting in approximately 2,400 deaths, 10,400 injuries and $7 billion in property losses from 2016 through 2018.
Carbon monoxide is called the invisible killer, because you cannot see or smell it. Carbon monoxide poisoning can come from portable generators, home heating systems and other CO-producing appliances. The majority of CO deaths occur in the colder months of the year between November and February.
More than 400 people die every year of CO poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
After replacing the batteries this year, check alarms every month to make sure they are working. Better yet, install alarms with 10-year sealed batteries that don’t need replacing for a decade. Create a fire escape plan, including two ways out of every room, and practice it. Check your home for other hidden hazards, using CPSC’s COVID-19 safety checklist.
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Federal Register Notices:
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Initiation of Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Advance Notification of Sunset Review
• Certain Activated Carbon From the People's Republic of China: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With the Results of Antidumping Administrative Review; Notice of Amended Final Results
• Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative Review
• Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations: Oil Country Tubular Goods From Argentina, Mexico, and the Russian Federation: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Activated Carbon From the People's Republic of China: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With the Results of Antidumping Administrative Review; Notice of Amended Final Results
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain Electronic Devices Having Wireless Communication Capabilities and Components Thereof; Institution of Investigation
• Certain Composite Baseball and Softball Bats and Components Thereof Institution of Investigation
• Certain Botulinum Toxin Products, Processes for Manufacturing or Relating to Same and Certain Products Containing Same; Notice of Commission Decision To Vacate Its Final Determination on Remand
• 2022 Annual Report: Recent Trends in U.S. Services Trade, 2022 Annual Report
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Stainless Steel Flanges From India: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Preliminary Successor-in-Interest Determination, and Partial Rescission; 2019-2020
• Stainless Steel Flanges From India: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2019
• Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review and Rescission in Part; 2019
• Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Mexico: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Partial Recission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2019-2020
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain Reclosable Plastic Bags and Tubing; Notice of Commission Decision To Institute a Rescission Proceeding and To Rescind the General Exclusion Order; Termination of the Rescission Proceeding
• Certain Barcode Scanners, Mobile Computers With Barcode Scanning Capabilities, Scan Engines, and Components Thereof; Institution of Investigation
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The Holidays Come Early to the Port of New York and New Jersey - Port of NY/NJ - Breaking Waves
While global supply chain challenges are leaving some ports with massive backlogs, threatening a shortage of goods for the holiday season, at the Port of New York and New Jersey, a steady flow of holiday and winter goods has been arriving since May.
At the Port of New York and New Jersey, container ships and their cargo moved swiftly and efficiently throughout the pandemic to keep the region supplied with food, medicine, personal protective equipment, and stock for store shelves along the Northeast. For the past 13 months, despite record-setting cargo activity, container ships waiting for a spot to dock at the Port of New York and New Jersey have numbered a handful at the most, with the wait time for each ship averaging less than two days.
Read further
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Pharr CBP Officers, Agriculture Specialists Intercept Tomato Shipment in Alleged Attempt to Circumvent Withhold Release Order - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
PHARR, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) Officers, Agriculture Specialists, at Pharr International Bridge detained a shipment of tomatoes from a company cited in a recent Withhold Release Order (WRO) for forced labor which used import information from a company outside the scope of the Order.
“Our CBP agriculture specialists paid close attention to detail while conducting their examination of a tomato shipment and noticed something that didn’t add up,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo, Pharr, Anzalduas Port of Entry. “Their discovery of an alleged attempt to circumvent the WRO underscores the commitment of CBP to ensure that merchandise, including agricultural products, produced by forced labor does not enter U.S. commerce nor can companies engaged in these practices benefit from that labor.”
The interception occurred on Sunday, October 24 at the Pharr International Bridge when a CBP Agriculture Specialist examining a shipment of fresh tomatoes discovered the submitted importation information indicated the shipment came from a company not affected by a recently enacted WRO for forced labor. A closer review of the paperwork and comparison to the packaging indicated the tomatoes were from grower Horticola Tom, S.A. de C.V., one of the companies impacted by the WRO.
A complete description of the recently enacted WRO may be found at this link.
CBP detained the shipment, and it was subsequently returned to Mexico.
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FTC Sues Utah-based Company for Falsely Claiming Its Nasal Sprays Can Prevent and Treat COVID-19 - Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission sued Xlear, Inc., a Utah-based company, for violating the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, alleging that it falsely pitched its saline nasal sprays as an effective way to prevent and treat COVID-19.
In its lawsuit against Xlear, Inc. and its owner, the FTC is asking a federal court to impose monetary penalties on the defendants and bar them from continuing to make such false and unsupported claims. The complaint was filed by the Department of Justice on the FTC’s behalf.
“Companies can’t make unsupported health claims, no matter what form a product takes or what it supposedly prevents or treats,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “That’s the lesson of this case and many others like it, and it’s why people should continue to rely on medical professionals over ads.”
Xlear, Inc. sells products including nasal sprays, dental care products, and sweeteners. The company’s nasal sprays marketed under the Xlear Sinus Care brand contain, among other things, xylitol and grapefruit seed extract. Xlear sells these sprays on Amazon.com and through retailers like Rite-Aid, CVS, Walgreens, and Target.
According to the complaint, since at least March 2020, Xlear and its founder and president, Nathan Jones, have promoted Xlear nasal sprays by falsely claiming they provide four hours of protection against infection from the coronavirus and therefore are “a simple, safe, and cheap option that could be an effective solution to the pandemic.” The defendants have made these and similar allegedly false and unsubstantiated claims on websites, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and through appearances on podcasts and sponsored spots on local television news.
In reality, the company has conducted no clinical trials to support its COVID-related claims and its advertising grossly misrepresented the purported findings and relevance of several scientific studies, according to the FTC. The agency’s staff sent Xlear and Jones a warning letter in July 2020. The defendants promised to remove the claims from their website and other platforms, but then continued making them, according to the complaint.
The Commission vote to refer the civil penalty complaint to the DOJ for filing was 4-0-1, with Chair Lina M. Khan not participating. The DOJ filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for District of Utah.
NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, stop deceptive and unfair business practices and scams, and educate consumers. Report fraud, scams, or bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Get consumer advice at consumer.ftc.gov. Also, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases, and read the FTC’s blogs.