U.S. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT REACHES SUSPENSION AGREEMENTS WITH ARGENTINA ON WHITE GRAPE JUICE CONCENTRATE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2023
Contact: Office of Public Affairs
publicaffairs@trade.gov

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the successful negotiation of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) suspension agreements on White Grape Juice Concentrate (WGJC) from Argentina. This outcome is a critical win for the domestic industry, as it will provide certainty and relief to U.S. domestic producers facing unfair trade practices, including unfair foreign pricing and subsidization.

The agreements impose an export limit and minimum selling prices for imports from Argentina and will suspend Commerce’s AD/CVD investigations that were initiated after a domestic producer filed a complaint in 2022 alleging unfair trade practices and requesting the imposition of U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties.

“Our investigators work hard to protect U.S. industries and workers against the harm imposed by unfair foreign trade practices by rigorously enforcing U.S. trade law,” said Lisa Wang, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Enforcement and Compliance. “These agreements will provide an effective remedy for grape farmers and processors of white grape juice concentrate alike, while establishing certainty for fair competition in the years ahead.”

The Enforcement and Compliance division of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) will track import volumes and prices of Argentine WGJC in the United States and monitor compliance of these agreements through well-established mechanisms that include quarterly signatory reporting requirements and on-site examinations of signatory producers’ and exporters’ pricing and distribution practices.

ITA’s Enforcement and Compliance (E&C) division works to ensure a level playing field for U.S. industries by defending against unfair trade and ensuring compliance with existing trade agreements. Currently, E&C administers 665 AD/CVD orders and now eight suspension agreements.

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https://www.trade.gov/press-release/us-commerce-department-reaches-suspension-agreements-argentina-white-grape-juice

UCBP UFLPA Region Alert FAQs

Document Posting Date

Thu, 03/23/2023 - 12:00

On March 18, 2023, CBP deployed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Region Alert enhancement to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). This enhancement provides an early notification to importers and their representative of goods that may have been produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang or XUAR) and may be excluded from importation into the United States. This enhancement includes electronic data interchange (EDI) impacts.

Here are some frequently asked questions about the Region Alert and its impact on Chinese postal code requirements.

Tags: 

Forced Labor

https://www.cbp.gov/document/faqs/uflpa-region-alert-faqs

USITC MAKES DETERMINATION IN FIVE-YEAR (SUNSET) REVIEW CONCERNING URANIUM FROM RUSSIA

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that termination of the suspended investigation on uranium from Russia would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determination, the suspension agreement on imports of this product from Russia will remain in effect. 

Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel voted in the affirmative. 

Today’s action comes under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. See the attached page for background on this five-year (sunset) review.

The Commission’s public report Uranium from Russia (Inv. No. 731-TA-539-C (Fifth Review), USITC Publication 5416, March 2023) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the review. 

The report will be available by April 28, 2023; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: https://www.usitc.gov/commission_publications_library.

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time. Read More→

https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0323_63706.htm

USITC MAKES DETERMINATIONS IN FIVE-YEAR (SUNSET) REVIEWS CONCERNING STAINLESS STEEL BUTT-WELD PIPE FITTINGS FROM ITALY, MALAYSIA, AND THE PHILIPPINES

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that revocation of the existing antidumping duty orders on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, the existing orders on imports of this product from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines will remain in place. 

Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel voted in the affirmative. 

Today’s action comes under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. See the attached page for background on these five-year (sunset) reviews.

The Commission’s public report Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines (Inv. Nos. 731-TA-865-867 (Fourth Review), USITC Publication 5415, March 2023) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the reviews. 

The report will be available by April 28, 2023; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: https://www.usitc.gov/commission_publications_library.

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time. Read More→

https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0322_63700.htm

CERTAIN EFFECTS OF SECTION 232 AND 301 TARIFFS REDUCED IMPORTS AND INCREASED PRICES AND PRODUCTION IN MANY U.S. INDUSTRIES

Additional U.S. tariffs imposed under section 232 on imports of steel and aluminum products and under section 301 on certain imports from China reduced U.S. imports of these products and increased U.S. production and prices of these products, affecting the many industries that produce or sell these products or use them as inputs, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in a report released today.

The report, Economic Impact of Section 232 and 301 Tariffs on U.S. Industries, was prepared in response to a direction by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations in an explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, enacted on March 15, 2022. 

As directed by the explanatory statement, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, conducted a retrospective analysis of any tariffs imposed under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that were active as of March 15, 2022. These actions included section 232 tariffs imposed on certain steel and aluminum products beginning in March 2018 and section 301 tariffs imposed on thousands of products imported from China beginning in July 2018. The explanatory statement directed that the report focus on the effects on trade, production, and prices in the industries directly and most affected. Read More→

https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0315_63679.htm

User Fees for Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Services

AGENCY:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

We are amending our regulations governing the user fees charged for certain Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) services. We are reducing the fees charged to remove surcharges that were intended to fund a reserve. This action is necessary in order to ensure the regulations reflect an operational reduction of AQI fees that was announced through a November 1, 2022, Stakeholder Registry announcement, issued to comply with a September 15, 2022, judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and which took effect on December 1, 2022.

DATES:

Effective March 17, 2023. Read More→

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/03/17/2023-05280/user-fees-for-agricultural-quarantine-and-inspection-services

USITC MAKES DETERMINATION IN FIVE-YEAR (SUNSET) REVIEW CONCERNING CASED PENCILS FROM CHINA

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that revocation of the existing antidumping duty order on cased pencils from China would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determination, the existing order on imports of this product from China will remain in place. 

Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel voted in the affirmative. 

Today’s action comes under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. See the attached page for background on this five-year (sunset) review.

The Commission’s public report Cased Pencils from China (Inv. No. 731-TA-669 (Fifth Review), USITC Publication 5411, March 2023) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the review. 

The report will be available by March 31, 2023; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: https://www.usitc.gov/commission_publications_library.

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

The Commission’s institution notice in five-year reviews requests that interested parties file responses with the Commission concerning the likely effects of revoking the order under review as well as other information. Generally within 95 days from institution, the Commission will determine whether the responses it has received reflect an adequate or inadequate level of interest in a full review. If responses to the USITC’s notice of institution are adequate, or if other circumstances warrant a full review, the Commission conducts a full review, which includes a public hearing and issuance of questionnaires. Read More→

https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0223_63578.htm

USITC INSTITUTES SECTION 337 INVESTIGATION OF CERTAIN PICK-UP TRUCK FOLDING BED COVER SYSTEMS AND COMPONENTS THEREOF (III)

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to institute an investigation of certain pick-up truck folding bed cover systems and components thereof. The products at issue in the investigation are described in the Commission’s notice of investigation.

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Extang Corporation of Ann Arbor, MI; Laurmark Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a BAK Industries of Ann Arbor, MI; and UnderCover, Inc., of Rogersville, Missouri, on January 19, 2023, and supplemented on January 23, 2023, and February 9, 2023. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain pick-up truck folding bed cover systems and components thereof that infringe patents asserted by the complainant. The complainants request that the USITC issue a general exclusion order, or in the alternative, a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders. 

The USITC has identified the following respondents in this investigation:

  • 4 Wheel Parts of Compton, CA; 

  • American Trucks of Lenexa, KS; 

  • Auto Dynasty a/k/a Shun Fung International Inc. of City of Industry, CA; 

  • AUTOSTARLAND Technology (US), Inc., of Riverside, CA; 

  • DNA Motoring of City of Industry, CA; 

  • Fanciest Pickup Accessories of Riverside, CA; 

  • Future Trucks a/k/a Future Trading Company, LLC, of Houston, TX; 

  • Ikon Motorsports, Inc. of City of Industry, CA; 

  • Jiaxing Kscar Auto Accessories Co., Ltd. a/k/a KSC Auto of Pinghu City, Zhejiang, China; 

  • Kiko Kikito of Ruian City Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China; 

  • Lyon Cover Auto a/k/a Truck Tonneau Covers, of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China; 

  • Mamoru Cover a/k/a Ningbo Surpass Auto Parts Co., Ltd. Cixi, Ningbo City, Zhejiang, China; 

  • MOSTPLUS Auto of Chai Wan, Hong Kong, China; 

  • Newpowa America, Inc. of Ontario, CA; 

  • New Home Materials, Inc. of Riverside, CA; 

  • OEDRO of Kent, WA;

  • Pickup Zone a/k/a Dai Qun Feng of Riverside, CA; 

  • RDJ Trucks, LLC of Talmo, GA; 

  • Smittybilt, Inc. of Compton, CA; 

  • Trek Power, Inc. of Placentia, CA; 

  • Wenzhou Tianmao Automobile Parts Co., Ltd. Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. Read More→

https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0221_63570.htm

SODIUM NITRITE FROM INDIA INJURES U.S. INDUSTRY, SAYS USITC

he United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of sodium nitrite from India that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the government of India.

Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel voted in the affirmative. 

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, Commerce will issue antidumping and countervailing duty orders on imports of this product from India. 

The Commission’s public report Sodium Nitrite from India (Inv. Nos. 731-1585 and 701-679 (Final), USITC Publication 5408, February 2023) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations.

The report will be available by March 20, 2023; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at:  http://pubapps.usitc.gov/applications/publogs/qry_publication_loglist.asp.

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20436

FACTUAL HIGHLIGHTS

Sodium Nitrite from India
Investigation Nos: 731-1585 and 701-679 (Final)

Product Description: Sodium nitrite (NaNO2, CAS registry number 7632-00-0) is an industrial chemical sold in solid or liquid form. Sodium nitrite is used in a wide range of industrial applications, including corrosion inhibition, detinning scrap tinplate, phosphating metals, and organic syntheses, notably the production of organic amines. Additional applications include the production of dyes and synthetic rubber, preservation of cured meat, and control of odor and inhibition of bacterial growth in wastewater treatment. It also serves in heat treating salts to harden metals, as an antidote to cyanide poisoning, and in military applications, including ammunition and explosives. These investigations cover sodium nitrite in any form, at any purity level. Read More→ https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0208_63510.htm

APHIS Authorizes Imports of Fresh Mango Fruit from Grenada into the United States

WASHINGTON, February 15, 2023 – United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is authorizing importation of fresh mango fruit from Grenada into the United States. The decision is effective immediately. APHIS conducted a pest risk analysis, which was made available for public review and comment. The analysis determined that applying one or more phytosanitary measures will be enough to mitigate the risks of introducing or spreading plant pests or noxious weeds.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/federal-register-posts/sa_by_date/sa-2023/grenada-mango-fruit

USDA Partners with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the Pork Industry to Further Protect the U.S. from African Swine Fever

As part of its continued efforts to prevent the introduction of African Swine Fever (ASF) into the United States, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing a new partnership with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), National Pork Board, and National Pork Producers Council.  Through enhanced coordination and information sharing, the four entities will work to improve ASF prevention and preparedness efforts.

“A detection of ASF in U.S. pigs could devastate the pork industry,” said USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “Prevention is the best way we can protect the United States from ASF.  USDA has many efforts geared at preventing the introduction of ASF, and this new partnership with NASDA and industry is one more tool we can use in the fight.”

ASF is a deadly, highly contagious viral disease that affects both domestic and wild pigs. It does not impact human health but quickly spreads between swine populations. People can also unknowingly spread the disease on their clothing, farming equipment, or by transporting uncooked pork products. African swine fever has never been detected in the United States but was discovered in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in 2021, the closest detections to the United States in decades.

This collaborative effort will help ensure response plans are consistent and have been tested, and that producers receive the information and tools they need to protect their herds. 

“This new effort builds on the expansive work that USDA has continued to do to keep ASF out of the U.S.,” said Moffitt.  “We strongly value our longstanding working relationship with states and the pork industry, and this formal partnership will help ensure a swift and coordinated response in the event ASF is detected here.”

More information about USDA’s efforts to prevent ASF, including downloadable materials and interactive training guides, is available at the Protect Our Pigs website.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/news/sa_by_date/sa-2023/usda-partners-to-fight-asf

SODIUM NITRITE FROM INDIA INJURES U.S. INDUSTRY, SAYS USITC

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of sodium nitrite from India that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value and subsidized by the government of India.

Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel voted in the affirmative. 

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, Commerce will issue antidumping and countervailing duty orders on imports of this product from India. 

The Commission’s public report Sodium Nitrite from India (Inv. Nos. 731-1585 and 701-679 (Final), USITC Publication 5408, February 2023) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the investigations.

The report will be available by March 20, 2023; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at:  http://pubapps.usitc.gov/applications/publogs/qry_publication_loglist.asp.

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20436

FACTUAL HIGHLIGHTS

Sodium Nitrite from India
Investigation Nos: 731-1585 and 701-679 (Final)

Product Description: Sodium nitrite (NaNO2, CAS registry number 7632-00-0) is an industrial chemical sold in solid or liquid form. Sodium nitrite is used in a wide range of industrial applications, including corrosion inhibition, detinning scrap tinplate, phosphating metals, and organic syntheses, notably the production of organic amines. Additional applications include the production of dyes and synthetic rubber, preservation of cured meat, and control of odor and inhibition of bacterial growth in wastewater treatment. It also serves in heat treating salts to harden metals, as an antidote to cyanide poisoning, and in military applications, including ammunition and explosives. These investigations cover sodium nitrite in any form, at any purity level. Read More→

https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0208_63510.htm

USITC MAKES DETERMINATION IN FIVE-YEAR (SUNSET) REVIEW CONCERNING FURFURYL ALCOHOL FROM CHINA

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that revocation of the existing antidumping duty order on furfuryl alcohol from China would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determination, the existing order on imports of this product from China will remain in place. 

Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Jason E. Kearns, Randolph J. Stayin, and Amy A. Karpel voted in the affirmative. 

Today’s action comes under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. See the attached page for background on this five-year (sunset) review.

The Commission’s public report Furfuryl Alcohol from China (Inv. No. 731-TA-703 (Fifth Review), USITC Publication 5407, February 2023) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the review. 

The report will be available by March 15, 2023; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: https://www.usitc.gov/commission_publications_library.

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time. Read More→

https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0207_63506.htm

USITC TO REPORT ON COVID-19 DIAGNOSTICS AND THERAPEUTICS AND FLEXIBILITIES UNDER THE TRIPS AGREEMENT

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is undertaking a new factfinding investigation to inform consideration of whether to extend flexibilities under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) to COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. The USTR requested that the Commission conduct an investigation and prepare a report that identifies the universe of existing COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. The USTR also emphasized the importance of public input to the report, particularly regarding the topics mentioned below.

The investigation, COVID-19 Diagnostics and Therapeutics: Supply, Demand, and TRIPS Agreement Flexibilities (Inv. No. 332-596), was requested by the USTR in a letter received on December 16, 2022.

As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, will prepare a public report for the USTR. The report will identify the universe of existing COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics and provide to the extent practicable with respect to relevant COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics:

  • An overview of production and distribution, including a description of the supply chain;

  • An overview of demand including market segmentation of global demand and consumption;

  • Information on availability and pricing; and

  • Global trade data.

Additionally, the report is to catalog barriers to more diverse geographical distribution of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics manufacturing, the relationship between patent protection and innovation and access to medicines, use of and alternatives to compulsory licenses, and the effect of the Medicines Patent Pool on access to COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.

Consistent with its typical practice, the Commission will solicit public input during the investigation, including holding a public hearing. The USTR also indicated that input from foreign governments, non-governmental health advocates, and diagnostic and therapeutic manufacturers on the following would be particularly salient:

  • How the TRIPS Agreement promotes innovation in and/or limits access to COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics;

  • Successes and challenges in using existing TRIPS flexibilities;

  • The extent to which products not yet on the market, or new uses for existing products, could be affected by an extension of the Ministerial Decision to diagnostics and therapeutics;

  • Whether and how existing TRIPS rules and flexibilities can be deployed to improve access to medicines;

  • To what extent further clarifications of existing TRIPS flexibilities would be useful in improving access to medicines;

  • The relationship between intellectual property protection and corporate research and development expenditures, taking into account other expenditures, such as share buybacks, dividends, and marketing;

  • The relevance, if any, of the fact that diagnostic and therapeutic products used with respect to COVID-19 may also have application to other diseases; and

  • The location of jobs associated with the manufacturing of diagnostics and therapeutics, including in the United States. Read More→

https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2023/er0201_63483.htm

USTR Releases 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy

January 31, 2023

WASHINGTON - The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released the findings of its 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (the Notorious Markets List).  The Notorious Markets List highlights online and physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy.
 
“The widespread trade in counterfeit and pirated goods harms the economic security of American workers and undermines our work to craft equitable and inclusive trade policy,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai.  “The Notorious Markets List is an important tool that urges the private sector and our trading partners to take action against these harmful practices.”
 
Reflecting the Biden-Harris Administration’s worker-centered trade policy, the 2022 Notorious Markets List’s issue focus section examines the impact of online piracy on U.S. workers.  The section describes how online piracy can impact the wages, residuals, pensions, and health care benefits that workers in the creative industries depend on and how combatting online piracy requires coordination between relevant actors in order to effectively address the rapidly shifting delivery methods of infringing content.
 
The 2022 Notorious Markets List also identifies 39 online markets and 33 physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy.  This includes continuing to identify the WeChat e-commerce ecosystem as one of the largest platforms for counterfeit goods in China.  Other listed markets in China include online markets Aliexpress, Baidu Wangpan, DHGate, Pinduoduo, and Taobao, as well as seven physical markets located within China that increasingly use brick-and-mortar storefronts to support online sales of counterfeits. 
 
Background
 
USTR first identified notorious markets in the Special 301 Report in 2006.  Since February 2011, USTR has published annually the Notorious Markets List separately from the Special 301 Report, to increase public awareness and help market operators and governments prioritize intellectual property enforcement efforts that protect American businesses and their workers. Read More→


https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2023/january/ustr-releases-2022-review-notorious-markets-counterfeiting-and-piracy

CBP proposes efforts to strengthen aviation security

WASHINGTON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) today announced a proposal that will strengthen international air travel security by expanding existing advance data requirements for travelers on commercial flights to and from the United States. CBP published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will require commercial air carriers to participate in the Document Validation (DocVal) Program. Under DocVal, the CBP system automatically checks carrier-submitted passenger manifest data to ensure the data is accurate and the traveler’s document is valid for travel before responding directly to the carrier for boarding pass processing. 

DocVal is currently in place on a voluntary basis and has provided the airline industry with additional efficiencies by validating traveler documents during the check-in process. Travelers providing complete and correct information are cleared in real time. The process occurs seamlessly behind the scenes. If the document information provided is invalid, DocVal will alert the carrier of the error so travel document issues can be corrected at the first possible point in the traveler’s journey. 

It is also common for travelers to provide telephone and e-mail information to the government as part of an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) or passport application, and travelers also commonly provide telephone and e-mail information to their airline when they secure reservations. Airlines began providing telephone and e-mail information to CBP through the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) on a voluntary basis in December 2020, and there are now 80 airlines that participate in the program and over 200,000 travelers a day are participating. Since there has been strong support for this program by industry and the traveling public, who are most impacted by the requirements, CBP included regulatory supported requirements for airlines to transmit telephone and e-mail as part of this NPRM.   

Today’s announcement will allow CBP to meet our mission of protecting our borders more effectively. This proposal will allow CBP to identify threats earlier in the process, further inhibiting travelers with invalid documents from being issued a boarding pass. This will enhance security for the traveling public and streamline international travel. 

The DocVal NPRM published in the Federal Register is open to public comments for 60 days. Persons wishing to comment on the proposed rule may access the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for submitting comments.  Submissions must include the agency name and docket number: “CBP 2023-0002.” For more information, please visit www.cbp.gov.

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-proposes-efforts-strengthen-aviation-security

CBP Modifies Finding on Sime Darby Plantation Berhad in Malaysia

Release Date

Fri, 02/03/2023 - 12:00

With forced labor concerns addressed, CBP allows Sime Darby Plantation Berhad palm oil and derivative products into the U.S.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection today modified its formal Finding in the Customs Bulletin and in the Federal Register pursuant to 19 C.F.R. §12.42(g) based on satisfactory evidence that Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, its subsidiaries, and joint ventures no longer produce palm oil and its derivative products using forced labor. 

Effective immediately, the U.S. will allow shipments containing Sime Darby-produced palm oil and derivatives to enter the U.S. commerce, provided the imports are otherwise in compliance with U.S. law.

“We see every modification as a tremendous success,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller. “Our mandate as an agency is to prohibit forced labor from entering the U.S. commerce. In the best-case scenario, our enforcement affects the remediation of forced labor to help improve living and working conditions for workers around the world, just as it did in this case. Actions like this ensure that the goods that make their way into the United States are ethically sourced while protecting American businesses from unfair economic trade practices.”

On January 28, 2022, CBP published a Finding in the Federal Register against palm oil and its derivative products produced by Sime Darby, its subsidiaries, and joint ventures. CBP instructed its personnel to begin seizing such shipments of palm oil and its derivative products due to information indicating that Sime Darby used forced labor to produce them.

The Finding expanded upon a Withhold Release Order (WRO) that CBP issued on December 30, 2020. The WRO was based on reasonable, but not conclusive information, that forced labor was being used in Sime Darby’s production process and that such products were being, or likely to be, imported into the U.S.

19 U.S.C. § 1307 prohibits the importation of “[a]ll goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor … includ[ing] forced or indentured child labor.” When CBP has information reasonably indicating that imported goods are made by forced labor, the agency will order personnel at U.S. ports of entry to detain shipments of those goods. Such detained shipments will be excluded and subject to seizure and forfeiture if the importer fails to demonstrate proof of admissibility, in accordance with 19 C.F.R §12.43, or export the shipment. Read More→

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-modifies-finding-sime-darby-plantation-berhad-malaysia