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PNCT & Maher Terminals will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, 11/28







PierPass: Port Truck Gate Schedule for Thanksgiving Holiday 2019

Terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have announced schedules for the Thanksgiving holiday period of Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019, through Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019. The schedule is posted below, and a PDF of the schedule can be downloaded by clicking here: https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Thanksgiving-Weekend-2019_3.pdf.

Please continue to monitor the websites of individual terminals for updates.

 





OTEXA: Announcements - Office of Textile and Apparel

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced procedures to request exclusions for products in List 4-A from additional duties pursuant to the Section 301 Tariff Action: China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. Exclusion requests can be submitted until January 31, 2020 via the USTR Exclusions Portal. Interested parties can post comments in opposition or support up to 14 days from date of the request posting. For more details, see Federal Register Notice 84 FR 57144

 





U.S. Department of Commerce Finds Circumvention of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders on Hardwood Plywood Products from China - U.S. Department of Commerce

Today (11/25/19), the U.S. Department of Commerce announced affirmative final antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) circumvention rulings involving exports of hardwood plywood products from China, finding that hardwood and decorative plywood with veneers made of certain types of softwood (radiata and/or agathis pine) circumvent existing orders.

Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to continue to collect AD and CVD cash deposits on certain imports of hardwood plywood products produced with face and back veneers of radiata and/or agathis pine. These duties will be imposed on future imports, and on any unliquidated entries since September 18, 2018, the date on which Commerce initiated this circumvention inquiry.

The applicable cash deposits range from 171.55 to 183.36 percent for the AD orders, and 22.98 to 194.90 percent for the CVD orders.

U.S. law provides that Commerce may find circumvention of AD/CVD orders when it is alleged that later-developed merchandise may be covered by an existing order.

In 2018, the value of imports of hardwood plywood from China were valued at an estimated $96 million.

This circumvention inquiry was conducted pursuant to a request from the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood, which includes Columbia Forest Products (Greensboro, NC), Commonwealth Plywood, Inc. (Whitehall, NY), States Industries, Inc. (Eugene, OR), and Timber Products Company (Springfield, OR).
The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. To date, the Trump Administration has issued 31 preliminary or final affirmative determinations in anti-circumvention inquiries – a 182 percent increase from the number of such determinations made during the comparable period in the previous administration.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international rules and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.

 





Federal Register Notices:





 

U.S. Department of Commerce Finds Dumping and Countervailable Subsidization of Imports of Magnesium from Israel - U.S. Department of Commerce

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of magnesium from Israel, finding that exporters from this country have sold magnesium at less than fair value in the United States at a rate of 218.98 percent. In addition, Commerce determined that exporters from Israel received countervailable subsidies at a rate of 13.77 percent.

In 2018, imports of magnesium from Israel were valued at an estimated $38.9 million.

The petitioner is US Magnesium LLC (Salt Lake City, UT).

The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 187 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 188 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.

Antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 498 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is currently scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about January 6, 2020. If the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue AD and CVD orders. If the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated and no orders will be issued.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on today’s decisions.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international rules and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.

Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to antidumping duties. Companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks, or production inputs, are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies.

 



 

EPA Bans All Retail Distribution of Methylene Chloride to Consumers for Paint and Coating Removal - Environmental Protection Agency

WASHINGTON (Nov. 22, 2019) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulations to prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution of methylene chloride in all paint removers for consumer use will go into effect after November 22, 2019. Starting tomorrow, it will be unlawful for any person or retailer to sell or distribute paint removal products containing methylene chloride for consumer use, including e-commerce sales.

“EPA’s action keeps paint and coating removers that contain the chemical methylene chloride out of consumers’ hands,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “It is against the law to sell or distribute methylene chloride for paint and coating removal in the retail marketplace—a step that will provide important public health protections for consumers.”

EPA is encouraging all consumers to stop using methylene chloride products that they may have already purchased for paint and coating removal. EPA is also reminding all retailers that sales of these products to consumers is prohibited by EPA regulations under the authority of section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). To learn more about how to comply with the regulations, including recordkeeping requirements, please visit:
www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/small-entity-compliance-guidance-regulation-methylene

The final regulation on methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal use was published on March 27, 2019, and the prohibition related to manufacturing, processing and distribution of methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal use is in now effect. A variety of effective, less harmful substitutes are readily available for paint removal.

EPA is continuing to work through the process outlined in TSCA to review the risks associated with other uses of methylene chloride. This process is designed to thoroughly evaluate available science before taking action to manage the risk associated with the other uses of the chemical.

Learn more about methylene chloride: www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-management-methylene-chloride.

 





CBP Louisville Seizes More than 5,000 Fake IDs - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

LOUISVILLE, Ky.–Officers for U.S. Customs and Border Protections at an Express Consignment Operations hub in Louisville recently seized six shipments containing 2,909 counterfeit driver’s licenses and 3,123 blank card stocks to make counterfeit driver’s licenses.

All of these shipments originated from China and were being shipped to various people in the New York area. The driver’s license were for various states to include: Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio and other coastal states. CBP Louisville also notified CBP Memphis as they also had shipments in their area which resulted in an additional 527 counterfeit drivers licenses.

One of these shipments seized was identified as being consigned to a convicted child rapist in the New York area. It’s suspected that this consignee entices minors with alcohol and counterfeit IDs before engaging in illicit activity. Border Enforcement Security Task (BEST) Force in Louisville and Chicago’s Tactical Analytical Unit also identified similarities between multiple shipments destined to multiple consignees. BEST Louisville presented the findings to the Homeland Security Investigation New York Office who validated they were all interconnected. HSI is continuing to investigate.

While CBP sees these dark web transactions frequently, according to Thomas Mahn, Louisville Port Director, the reasoning for buying fake IDs has evolved from teenagers trying to get into bars to more nefarious activity. “Some of the major concerns as it relates to fraudulent identity documents is identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking, and these documents can be used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize scrutiny from travel screening measures.”

CBP Officers coordinate findings with CBP’s Fraudulent Document Analysis Unit, Homeland Security Investigations and other federal partners in an effort to combat this illicit activity. 

CBP routinely conducts inspection operations on arriving and departing international flights and intercepts narcotics, weapons, currency, prohibited agriculture products, counterfeit goods, and other illicit items at our nation’s 328 international ports of entry.

 





CBP Officers Seize Counterfeit Smart Watches at International Falls Port of Entry - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

CB INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations officers at the International Falls Port of Entry targeted a rail container destined to arrive in Ranier, Minnesota.  CBP officers inspected the rail container and discovered smart watches in violation of intellectual property rights (IPR) regulations. CBP seized 19,752 counterfeit smart watches Wednesday with an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $592,560, if the goods had been genuine. 

“The enforcement of trade laws at U.S. ports of entry remains a high priority for us,” said Anthony Jackson, International Falls Port Director. “CBP works diligently to protect companies from unauthorized use of their trademarks as well as consumers from counterfeit products.”

Stopping the flow of illicit goods is a priority trade issue for CBP. The importation of counterfeit merchandise can damage the U.S. economy and threaten the health and safety of the American people. For more information on CBP’s IPR priority trade issue visit: CBP Trade and IPR.

With the growth of foreign trade, unscrupulous companies have profited billions of dollars from the sale of counterfeit and pirated goods. To combat the illicit trade of merchandise violating laws relating to IPR, trademark and copyright holders may register with CBP through an online system. Such registration assists CBP officers and import specialists in identifying merchandise that violates U.S. law.

CBP’s IPR enforcement strategy is multi-layered and includes seizing illegal merchandise at our borders, pushing the border “outward” through audits of suspect importers, cooperating with our international trading partners, and collaborating with industry and governmental agencies to enhance these efforts.

CBP has established an educational initiative at U.S. international airports and online to raise consumer awareness about the consequences and dangers that can be associated with the purchase of counterfeit and pirated goods. These include the loss of American jobs, support of criminal activity, significant risks to consumer health and safety, and the impacts of unknowingly purchasing counterfeits online.  For more information, see www.cbp.gov/fakegoodsrealdangers.

If you have any information regarding suspected fraud or illegal trade activity, please contact CBP through the e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System or by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT.  IPR violations can also be reported to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center at https://www.iprcenter.gov/referral/ or by telephone at 1-866-IPR-2060.

 



 

Safety Regulator Warns Vape Shops and Other Retailers: Selling Liquid Nicotine without Proper Packaging is Against Federal Law - Consumer Products Safety Commission

Washington, D.C. ---- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is the independent federal agency responsible for enforcing a key provision of the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015 (CNPPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1472a.  That law requires any nicotine provided in a liquid nicotine container sold, offered for sale, manufactured for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported into the United States to be in “special packaging,” as defined by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA).  This packaging, in layman’s terms, must be designed to prevent children from accidentally accessing and ingesting liquid nicotine, and must restrict the flow of liquid nicotine under specific conditions.

Delivered in high doses, nicotine can be lethal.  Exposure to liquid nicotine found in e-cigarettes has resulted in thousands of calls to poison control centers in recent years.  Liquid nicotine poisoning can occur in three ways: by ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through the skin or eyes.  For small children, coming into contact with even a small amount of a highly-concentrated liquid nicotine product can be fatal.

As a retailer of liquid nicotine containers, you are also responsible for ensuring that any liquid nicotine product you sell complies with the law.[1]

The CPSC is actively enforcing the requirements of the CNPPA.  The agency wants to ensure that retailers understand the requirements and are selling only containers that comply with the law.  You should check your stock to ensure that the liquid nicotine products you carry are safely packaged for your customers.  If you sell any noncompliant product, you may be subject to legal action for doing so including civil penalties of up to $110,000 for each violation, and $16,025,000 for any related series of violations.  We are particularly concerned about reports that some stores are selling noncompliant products at a large discount, thereby implicitly acknowledging that they know that they are engaged in selling illegal products.  If you have stocks of noncompliant products, you should remove them from inventory, quarantine them, and seek reimbursement from the manufacturer.  If you have concerns or questions about these requirements, call the Consumer Product Safety Commission toll-free hotline (800) 638-2772.

You should help inform consumers about the dangers of liquid nicotine poisoning by reminding customers:

  1. Do not let children handle liquid nicotine containers or e-cigarettes.
  2. Keep liquid nicotine in its original (child-resistant, flow-restricted) packaging, and make sure it is locked up and out of a child’s sight and reach.
If a child comes into contact with liquid nicotine through the skin, eyes, or ingestion: immediately call
a Poison Control Center at: 1-800-222-1222.
 
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