Petitions Filed Requesting the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports of Aluminum Extrusions from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, the People’s Republic of China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP
On October 4, 2023, U.S. Aluminum Extruders Coalition and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of Aluminum Extrusions from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, the People’s Republic of China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The petition alleges dumping margins of 256.58% (China), 179.53% (Colombia), 66.46% (Ecuador), 43.41% (India), 112.21% (Indonesia), 37.52% (Italy), 37.52% (Malaysia), 111.38% (Mexico), 71.03% (South Korea), 116.19% (Taiwan), 72.20% (Thailand), 33.79% (Turkey), 39.80% (United Arab Emirates), 53.75% (Vietnam). The petition identifies certain foreign producers/exporters and U.S. importers of the investigated product.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is aluminum extrusions, regardless of form, finishing, or fabrication, whether assembled with other parts or unassembled, whether coated, painted, anodized, or thermally improved. The petition provides additional detailed scope description and specific product exclusions.
The proposed scope is significantly more extensive than the scope of the previous Aluminum Extrusions from China Orders (A-570-967/C-570-968). The proposed scope includes all non-finished articles (e.g., motor vehicle subassemblies, but not finished motor vehicles) produced and exported from any country (including those not subject to investigation) containing a subject aluminum extrusion produced in a country subject to investigation. It also includes aluminum extrusions from China and other named countries which Commerce and the Courts have excluded from the scope of the China case. Companies importing products from any country which contain aluminum extrusions should contact counsel as to the potential scope of this new investigation. Companies impacted by the investigation have the opportunity to submit comments on various issues, including the scope of the investigation.
The projected date of International Trade Commission’s Preliminary Conference is October 25, 2023. The earliest theoretical date for retroactive suspension of liquidation for AD is December 13, 2023; and for CVD is October 24, 2023.
Please feel free to contact one of our attorneys for further information, including a complete scope description, complete projected schedule for the AD/CVD investigation; the volume and value of imports; list of alleged subsidy programs; and list of identified foreign exporters and U.S. importers.
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Federal Register Notices:
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Aluminum Foil From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Advance Notification of Sunset Review
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof From Mexico; Supplemental Schedule for the Final Phase of Antidumping Duty Investigation
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Sodium Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative Products From China; Institution of Five-Year Reviews
• Xanthan Gum From China; Institution of a Five-Year Review
• Folding Gift Boxes From China; Scheduling of an Expedited Five-Year Review
• Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From India: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2021
• Honey From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Order
• Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Determinations, Investigations, etc.: Certain Paper Shopping Bags From Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, the Republic of Turkey, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022
• Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2021-2022
• Stainless Steel Bar From India: Initiation of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review
• Certain Magnesia Carbon Bricks From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022
• Certain Corrosion Inhibitors From the People's Republic of China: Final Results and Partial Recission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Certain Lined Paper Products From India: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2021-2022
• Heavy Walled Rectangular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From Mexico: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022
• Mattresses From Indonesia: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation
• Certain Folding Gift Boxes From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited Sunset Review of the Antidumping Duty Order
• Certain Tin Mill Products From Japan: Final Results of the Expedited Fourth Sunset Review of the Antidumping Duty Order
• Paper File Folders From India: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
• Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, Partial Rescission, and Preliminary Intent To Rescind, in Part; 2021
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Brass Rod From Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea; Scheduling of the Final Phase of Countervailing Duty and Antidumping Duty Investigations
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Steel Racks and Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2021-2022
• Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; and Rescission, in Part; 2022
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Tulsa CBP Seizes Potentially Harmful Agricultural Products from Asia - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
Agriculture specialists prevent potential disease or pest infestation outbreak from peanuts, birds nests
TULSA, Okla. - Agriculture Specialists from U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently seized several products that could have potentially caused an animal disease or pest infestation outbreak of had they been allowed into the United States.
The first of two products involved a shipment was labeled and manifested as jewelry but contained a box of edible birds’ nests that weighed 1.2 kilograms. Edible birds’ nests are prohibited due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and Newcastle Disease (ND) – common for the Asia region. A U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinary service permit and/or certificate from a veterinarian is required to negate the possible introduction of these diseases into the United States. This prohibited product was destroyed by steam sterilization following its discovery by CBP.
The second seizure involved peanuts labeled and manifested as cotton t-shirts. After a CBP inspection, raw unshelled peanuts weighing 9.2 kilograms were discovered. Raw and unroasted peanuts without a permit and/or a phytosanitary certificate are prohibited for the potential introduction of foreign pests, noxious weeds, and plant diseases. No paperwork accompanied the shipment. The prohibited item in the shipment was destroyed by steam sterilization following discovery by CBP.
CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection. On a typical day nationally last year, they inspected almost 1 million people as well as air and sea cargo imported to the United States, intercepting 240 different pests and 2,677 quarantine material interceptions such as plant, meat, animal byproduct, and soil at U.S. ports of entry.
“CBP agriculture specialists protect our nation’s ag industry and the economy and way of life of the American people,” said CBP Tulsa Port Director Al Coates. “These efforts are critical in preventing the outbreak of deadly diseases in the United States, which could result in health and economic calamity.”
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Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 - FDA
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CBP’s Operation Artemis at JFK Seize Pill Press Die Sets from China - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
14 Sets from Five Separate Inbound Shipments
JAMAICA, N.Y. — U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) seized 14 pill press die sets from five separate shipments that arrived from China under “Operation Artemis.” These sets are used by drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) to make pills, many of which contain fentanyl and other dangerous drugs.
On September 26, 2023, CBP’s National Targeting Center coordinated with CBP officers at JFK to identify and inspect five suspicious inbound shipments from China. Upon further inspection of the shipments, officers discovered pill press sets.
“The volume and frequency of these pill press die set seizures are alarming and clearly indicate that these DTOs are flooding our communities with these devices to produce deadly fentanyl pills; however, our CBP officers will not waver in their efforts to address the fentanyl crisis and dismantle the networks that are threatening the United States,” said Francis J. Russo, Director of CBP’s New York Field Office.
The opioid epidemic in the United States is a growing crisis. Those who are dependent on prescription opioids may turn to illegal means to obtain the drugs. DTOs, motivated by large profit potential, make counterfeit medications, often containing fentanyl or fentanyl analogs, to meet the high demand for prescription drugs within the illegal drug market.
According to the DEA, in the U.S. market, counterfeit pills containing fentanyl sell at prices between $10 and $20 per pill. Using these numbers, a drug trafficker could generate between $10 to $20 million in sales from one kilogram of fentanyl.
Pill presses are common industrial tools for pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. Sometimes called a tableting machine, these mechanical devices compress powder into tablets by running the powder through a die mold that determines the shape and markings on the tablets. Pill presses vary in size and capacity, with desktop machines able to make approximately 1,800 pills per hour to industrial machines that can produce over a million pills in an hour.
CBP officers seized the 14 pill press die sets and turned them over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further investigations.
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FMC Discusses OSRA Implementation, Consumer Assistance Accomplishments - Federal Maritime Commission
Commissioners were briefed at the September 21, 2023, meeting of the Federal Maritime Commission that substantive progress is being made in completing three of the rulemakings mandated by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), and that public requests for Commission services and assistance remain strong even in the post-pandemic era.
The Final Rule on Detention and Demurrage Billing Practices is close to being completed and presented it to the Commission for a vote. Staff is simultaneously working on drafting a proposed Final Rule on Unreasonable Refusal to Deal with Respect to Vessel Space Accommodations. OSRA also required the Commission to issue a rule addressing Unfair or Unjustly Discriminatory Methods. The June 2023 Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in the Unreasonable Refusal to Deal With Respect to Vessel Space Accommodations addressed in part issues related to the Unfair or Unjustly Discriminatory Methods rulemaking requirement. Commission staff has begun drafting a proposed rulemaking on all remaining topics related to the Unfair or Unjustly Discriminatory Methods rulemaking requirement.
Three other developments related to OSRA implementation were shared with the Commission:
• The study on Best Practices for Chassis Pools being conducted by the Transportation Research Board is scheduled to be completed by April 2024.
• A proposed information collection that will allow the Commission to gather and publish information on total import and export tonnage and total loaded and empty twenty-foot equivalent units per vessel is now being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
• Work is progressing on establishing a webpage on the Commission’s website where the public can easily submit comments, complaints, concerns, reports of non-compliance, requests for investigations, and requests for alternative dispute resolution services.
One provision of OSRA created a new process for parties to challenge charges levied by common carriers and the public is making active use of their ability to file charge complaints at the Federal Maritime Commission. Commissioners were advised that approximately $1.7 million in fees or surcharges have been voluntarily waived or refunded by common carriers since July 2022 through the filing of charge complaints. Commission staff anticipates initiating a rulemaking in 2024 that will establish a permanent charge complaint process.
The Commission’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services (CADRS) has handled more than 300 matters to date this fiscal year. Approximately three-quarters of these cases related to commercial cargo import shipment issues. The Commission was briefed that almost one-half of the total export related cases concern agricultural shipments. CADRS identified a key goal for the coming fiscal year is increasing its public outreach and education efforts.
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FDA Authorizes Updated Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Formulated to Better Protect Against Currently Circulating Variants - Food & Drug Administration
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted for use in individuals 12 years of age and older to include the 2023-2024 formula. Individuals 12 years of age and older previously vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine (and who have not already been vaccinated with a recently updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccine) are eligible to receive one dose and unvaccinated individuals receive two doses.
The updated vaccine addresses currently circulating variants to provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. Consistent with the totality of the evidence and input from the FDA’s expert advisors, the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted, a monovalent vaccine, has been updated to include the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant lineage XBB.1.5 (2023-2024 formula).
This authorization follows the FDA’s recent approvals and authorizations of updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for 2023-2024 manufactured by ModernaTX Inc. and Pfizer Inc.
“The COVID-19 vaccines have saved countless lives and have prevented serious outcomes of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Today’s authorization provides an additional COVID-19 vaccine option that meets the FDA’s standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization. As we head into the fall season and transition into 2024, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants.”
The FDA evaluated manufacturing data to support the change to the 2023-2024 formula of the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted. Additionally, the FDA evaluated non-clinical immune response data suggesting that the vaccine provides protection against the currently circulating COVID-19 variants. The agency also relied on its evaluation of safety and effectiveness data from clinical trials of Novavax COVID-19, Vaccine, Adjuvanted (Original monovalent) and investigational monovalent and bivalent Novavax COVID-19 adjuvanted vaccines, as well as postmarketing data. The data accrued with these Novavax COVID-19 vaccines are relevant to Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted (2023-2024 Formula) as the vaccines are manufactured using a similar process.
The FDA has determined that the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted (2023-2024 Formula) has met the statutory criteria for issuance of an EUA, and that the known and potential benefits of the vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 12 years of age and older.
As part of today’s action, the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted (Original monovalent) is no longer authorized for use in the United States.
The FDA granted the emergency use authorization of the Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted (2023-2024 Formula) to Novavax Inc. of Gaithersburg, Maryland.
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BJ’s Wholesale Club Agrees to Pay $9 Million Civil Penalty for Failure to Immediately Report Portable Air Conditioners Posing Burn and Fire Hazards; One Person Died in Fire Involving the Air Conditioners - Consumer Product Safety Commission
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing that BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. of Marlborough, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay a $9 million civil penalty. The settlement resolves CPSC’s charges that BJ’s knowingly failed to immediately report to CPSC, as required by law, that portable air conditioners manufactured by Royal Sovereign International, Inc. and sold by BJ’s contained a defect that could create a substantial product hazard and created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to consumers.
Despite possessing information that reasonably supported the conclusion that the portable air conditioners contained a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, BJ’s did not immediately report to the Commission.
BJ’s sold 1,778 of the portable air conditioners between 2011 and 2012; 509 of those units were returned to BJ’s. In August 2016, one of the Royal Sovereign portable air conditioners sold by BJ’s was involved in a house fire in Smithtown, New York. A mother and her two children were rescued from the fire; the mother died of her injuries in December 2016. BJ’s learned of the fire no later than March 2017.
In March 2021, BJ’s issued a notice to consumers who had purchased the air conditioners that the product “does not meet our safety standards” and that “out of an abundance of caution [they should] stop using this product immediately.”
Royal Sovereign and the Commission jointly announced a recall of the portable air conditioners on December 22, 2021.
In addition to the $9 million civil penalty, the settlement agreement requires BJ’s to maintain internal controls and procedures designed to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), including enhancements to its compliance program. BJ’s has also agreed to submit, for a period of three years, annual reports regarding its compliance program, internal controls, and internal audits of the effectiveness of compliance policies, procedures, systems, and training.
By a 4 to 0 vote, the Commission provisionally accepted the settlement agreement, subject to public comment. Mark Raffman, a Senior Trial Attorney in the Division of Enforcement and Litigation, represented the Commission in this enforcement action.