A bipartisan amendment that would ban mink farming for fur production in the U.S. passed the House of Representatives 262-168, as the House was working its way through hundreds of amendments to the America Competes Act. The amendment, co-sponsored by Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., amends the Lacey Act. It was changed from the original language, which spoke specifically of ending import and export of Neovison vison, the species known as American minks. The new version bans the sale, possession, acquisition, purchase or transport of the species, if it was raised in captivity for fur production. If this section of the bill survives the conference committee process with the Senate, it would take effect Dec. 31.
The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a Feb. 3 final rule to reorganize, make corrections and clarify the scope of its foreign direct product rules. The changes, mentioned in the agency’s fall 2021 regulatory agenda (see 2112210044), help to clarify where and how the FDP rules apply and make some corrections to language in the Export Administration Regulations.
Terminal operators at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports will again adjust their traffic mitigation fee this month to help incentivize the movement of containers during off-peak hours. The fee -- originally announced in November by the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (see 2111120022) -- had returned to normal levels Feb. 1 (see 2201180043), but the Biden administration asked the WCMTOA on Jan. 21 to continue the fee program, the terminals announced Feb. 1. The fee, which is scheduled to take effect again Feb. 14, will change to $78.23 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and will be charged only on weekdays during the daytime shift. The Biden administration’s Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force hopes the fee adjustment incentivizes “more truck trips to the off-peak shifts.”
The General Department of Vietnam Customs directed its local branches to strictly inspect and supervise import entries of rice that are then exported or reexported to other markets, to prevent origin fraud, the state-run CustomsNews said Jan. 29. The customs agency issued such instructions over fears that the rice imports are being illegally labeled and transshipped for rice products with HS codes 1006.20, 1006.30 and 1006.40.90. The GDVC will require local customs units to identify the origin for the rice products with these HS codes using measures that include customs officers conducting a physical inspection of the rice shipments, the report said. Other measures to be used for these efforts include the strengthening of the information collection, which entails a review of the rice export and import activities in the area and analysis of the information used to identify risks of origin fraud or illicit transshipment, the report said.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced Jan. 28. The ports originally planned to begin imposing the fee Nov. 15, but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until Feb. 4.
The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is extending the comment period for a study on investment, supply chain and marketplace trends in eight emerging technology areas, the agency said in a notice. NIST is specifically seeking feedback to help guide the development of artificial intelligence, the internet of things in manufacturing, quantum computing, blockchain technology, new and advanced materials, unmanned delivery services, IOT and 3D printing. The comments, originally due Jan. 31 but now due Feb. 15, will help inform a NIST report to Congress on those emerging technologies. The Bureau of Industry and Security is studying each of these areas for potential export controls as part of its emerging and foundational technology effort under the Export Control Reform Act (see 2110280040).
An arbitrator at the World Trade Organization in a Jan. 26 report found that China can implement countermeasures on goods from the U.S. up to $645.12 million annually due to U.S. violations of WTO obligations in a variety of countervailing duty proceedings. The arbitrator looked at 10 CVD matters and determined that the total level of "nullification and impairment" China suffered as a result of the U.S.'s "WTO-inconsistent methodologies" in these proceedings exceeded $645 million per year. The CVD matters concern pressure pipe, line pipe, kitchen shelving, oil country tubular goods (OCTG), wire strand, seamless pipe, print graphics, aluminum extrusions, steel cylinders and solar panels. The only nonredacted level of N/I for the CVD proceedings included $365.37 million for OCTG and $20.65 million for solar panels. China can now ask the Dispute Settlement Body for authorization "to suspend concessions or other obligations at a level not exceeding" $645.121 million per year.
The European Commission, in a Jan. 25 regulation, extended the antidumping duties on imports of certain tube and pipe fittings, of iron or steel, from China following an expiry review. The duties apply to "tube and pipe fittings (other than cast fittings, flanges and threaded fittings), of iron or steel (not including stainless steel), with a greatest external diameter not exceeding 609,6 mm, of a kind used for butt-welding or other purposes" from China. All companies will be subject to a 58.6% dumping rate. The duties were extended to cover tube and pipe fitting imports from Taiwan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, whether declared as originating in any of these countries or not. In a second notice, the commission initiated a partial interim review of the ADD measures on monosodium glutamate from China.
A global look at foreign trade agreements discussed how many major economies are moving toward more liberalization while the U.S. stands still on previously launched FTA negotiations. Baker McKenzie lawyers shared their insights on the opportunities and compliance concerns under FTAs in a webinar Jan. 25. Adriana Ibarra-Fernandez, a Mexico City, Mexico attorney, talked about Latin American FTAs, and noted that even though negotiations concluded after 20 years between Mercosur, which represents Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and the European Union, the trade deal has not been approved in the various capitals, three years after the negotiations ended.
The Biden administration this week previewed its plan to impose a “massive” set of export controls and sanctions on the Russian economy if the country further invades Ukraine, including measures to cut off Russian companies from both U.S. and foreign-produced technology inputs. The export restrictions could include an expansion of the Commerce Department’s foreign direct product rule, officials said, and would specifically target several of Russia’s “key” technology sectors, including its defense, aerospace, quantum computing and artificial intelligence industries.