The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated antidumping (AD) duty investigations of purified carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) from Finland, Mexico, Netherlands, and Sweden.
Customs Duty
A Customs Duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs Duty Rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight.
In the June 30, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 27), CBP issued notices (a) proposing to revoke a classification ruling on certain gas barbecue grills, and (b) granting Lever-Rule protection to Recot Inc./Frito-Lay, Inc. (Frito-Lay). CBP states that it is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in the proposed revocation notice.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a final rule, effective July 24, 2004, that amends the definition of "customs officer" for the purpose of eligibility for overtime compensation and premium pay.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that the Homeland Security Information Network-Critical Infrastructure (HSIN-CI) Pilot Program has been expanded to include critical infrastructure owners and operators and the private sector in Dallas, Seattle, Indianapolis and Atlanta. According to DHS, HSIN-CI is an unclassified network for two-way information sharing which provides DHS' Homeland Security Operations Center with continuous access to a broad spectrum of industries, agencies and critical infrastructure across both the public and private sectors. (DHS press releases, dated 06/23/04, available at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/archdisplay?theme=43,44,45,47&monthyear=062004)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has published a list of updated quantity-based trigger levels and applicable periods, effective June 22, 2004, for agricultural products which may be subject to additional import duties under the safeguard provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture.
On June 30, 2004, President Bush signed Proclamation 7800 which makes a number of changes to the country/Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) number combinations eligible for duty-free benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, etc.
On June 17, 2004, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act which would, among other things, repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Act (FSC/ETI) tax regime, extend the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) and other user fees, etc.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the changed circumstances antidumping (AD) duty review of canned pineapple fruit from Thailand, concluding that Tipco Foods (Thailand) Public Co., Ltd. (Tipco Foods) is the successor-in-interest to The Thai Pineapple Public Co., Ltd. (TIPCO).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and responses to its Web page regarding the January 1, 2005 full integration (elimination of quotas) for textiles and textile apparel (textiles) manufactured in countries that are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Effective May 21, 2004, the International Trade Administration (ITA) is revoking the antidumping (AD) duty order on extruded rubber thread from Indonesia, as no domestic interested party responded to the sunset review notice of initiation by the applicable deadline.