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April 2, 2012 CBP Proposes Rule to Refuse Admission to Imports Not Compliant with Energy or Labeling Standards In a Federal Register notice published March 26, 2012 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a proposed rule that would allow CBP to refuse admission of certain imports that do not comply with energy conservation or labeling standards, if instructed to do so by the Department of Energy (DOE) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and providing for the conditional release of the goods so that they may be brought into compliance. According to the notice, "Specifically, CBP will refuse admission into the customs territory of the United States to consumer products and industrial equipment deemed noncompliant with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) and its implementing regulations, and for which CBP has received written notice from the DOE or the FTC that identifies merchandise as noncompliant with applicable EPCA requirements. In lieu of immediate refusal of admission, and upon written or electronic notice by DOE or FTC, CBP may conditionally release under bond to the importer such noncompliant products or equipment for purposes of reconditioning, re-labeling, or other action so as to bring the subject product or equipment into compliance with applicable energy conservation and labeling admissibility standards." The notice further states that imports that are conditionally released must be brought into compliance within 30 days, unless an extension is granted, and failure to do so will result in a refusal of admission and demand for redelivery. Comments must be received by May 25, 2012. The full text of the Federal Register notice can be accessed online at:
As previously reported, the Department of Commerce recently announced an affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing (CV) duty investigation of imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules (solar cells), from the People’s Republic of China. On March 26, 2012 this Preliminary determination was published in the Federal Register. As the Department of Commerce previously determined that critical circumstances exist for such imports, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has suspended liquidation on all affected imports entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after December 27, 2011, which is 90 days prior to publication of this notice. Countervailing duties on imports of solar cells from China range from 2.90 to 4.73 percent, dependent on the exporter and/or manufacturer. Commerce is scheduled to make its final determination in June 2012. The International Trade Commission is scheduled to make its final injury determination in July 2012. The full text of the Federal Register notice can be accessed online at: The Customs ADD/CVD message is available at:
On March 23, 2012 the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA) issued a memorandum detailing the preliminarily recalculated antidumping duty (ADD) rates for certain companies located in the European Union (EU) and Japan. The recalculations were performed after previous World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body decisions found that the use of "zeroing" in antidumping calculations was inconsistent with the United States' WTO obligations. Antidumping calculations typically involve a comparison between the weighted average normal value of a good in the United States and the actual export price of individual transactions. Previously, in cases where the U.S. value was higher than the export price, "zeroing" was used to cancel out this negative value such that "When aggregating the results of these comparisons to determine the weighted-average dumping margin for each company, the Department did not offset the results of the comparisons for which export price or constructed export price was less than normal value by the results of comparisons for which export price or constructed export price exceeded normal value." In February 2012 the ITA issued a Final Rule eliminating the practice of zeroing in dumping calculations. That same month the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) requested that the Department of Commerce recalculate the cash deposit rates currently in effect for certain companies in the EU and Japan using the revised calculation methodology. The affected products and origins are: The revised cash deposit rates noted in the memorandum are ITA recommendations only and have not yet been implemented. Interested parties have been invited to submit case briefs and/or written comments no later than April 9, 2012.
The Final Rule amending antidumping duty calculation methodology is available at:
In a press release published March 30, 2012, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the formal adoption of an agreement to revise the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) negotiated between 15 Parties within the World Trade Organization (WTO). The GPA establishes a framework of the rights and obligations required by the Parties to the agreement with respect to their national laws, regulations, procedures and practices in the area of government procurement. According to the press release, "The revised Agreement expands the procurement covered under the GPA to provide U.S. goods, services, and suppliers with new opportunities to participate in central and sub-central procurement in the other GPA Parties. The revised Agreement also includes a significant improvement of the text of the Agreement by modernizing the text to reflect current procurement practices and clarifying its obligations." The revised GPA will enter into force once two-thirds of the 15 GPA Parties have approved. The parties include Canada, members of the European Union, Hong Kong and the United States. The full text of the USTR press release is available at: More information regarding the GPA is available at:
Tons News, for current and past issues of Tons News by E-mail request from tonsnews@tonslogistics.com or call (310) 338-0337. ________________________________________ Tons News is compiled from a number of public sources that, to the best of Tons knowledge, are true and correct. It is our intent to present only accurate information. However, in the event any information contained herein is erroneous, Tons accepts no liability or responsibility.
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