PNCT & Maher Terminals will be closed on Mon 2/17 for President's Day
Updated Port Truck Gate Schedule for Presidents’ Day 2020 - PierPass
Terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have updated their schedules for the Presidents’ Day holiday period of Friday, Feb. 14, 2020 through Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. The schedule can be downloaded by clicking here: https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Prezday_2020_3.pdf
Please continue to monitor the websites of individual terminals for updates.
USTR Updates List of Developing and Least-Developed Countries Under U.S. CVD Law - U.S. International Trade Administration
Washington, DC – The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is issuing a Notice in the Federal Register updating its list of countries designated as developing or least-developed under U.S. counter-vailing duty laws. Federal law specifies certain differential treatment for imports from developing or least-developed countries and obligates USTR to update the designations periodically. The Notice with the updated lists can be accessed at here, and the final rule can be accessed here.
Federal Register Notices:
- Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2017-2018
- Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-To-Length Plate From Taiwan: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With Final Determination of Antidumping Duty Investigation; and Amended Final Determination
- Notices: Designations of Developing and Least-Developed Countries Under the Countervailing Duty Law
- Rules: Removal of Rule Designating Developing and Least-Developed Country Designations Under the Countervailing Duty Law
- Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Utility Scale Wind Towers From Canada, Indonesia, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Countervailing Duty Investigations: Preliminary Determinations of Critical Circumstances
- Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review and Rescission of Review, in Part; 2017
- Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 From the Republic of India: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2017
- Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2018
- Certain Tool Chests and Cabinets From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018
- Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Corrosion Inhibitors From China; Institution of Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations and Scheduling of Preliminary Phase Investigations
- Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From Spain: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018
- Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Malaysia: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018
- Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Acetone From the Republic of South Africa: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
- Acetone From Belgium: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
- Acetone From the Republic of Korea: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
- Certain Footwear Products; Commission Determination To Review in Part a Remand Initial Determination and To Extend the Target Date; Request for Written Submissions on the Issues Under Review and on Remedy, Bonding, and the Public Interest
- Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Fabricated Structural Steel From Canada; Termination of Investigation
- Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan; Notice of Commission Determinations To Conduct Full Five-Year Reviews
US Fish & Wildlife: Importing/Exporting - Bulletins and Alerts - USFWS
Subject: Changes to CITES Species Listings - September 09, 2019
Subject: Amendments to CITES Appendix III - September 09, 2019
New York Residents No Longer Eligible to Apply for or Renew Trusted Traveler Programs - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
State Law Prevents CBP from Determining Program Eligibility
WASHINGTON — Effective immediately, residents of the State of New York will no longer be eligible to apply for or renew membership in U.S. Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler Programs due to state legislation that restricts CBP’s access to certain criminal history information maintained by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
In addition, the Vehicle Exports program will be affected. Vehicles titled in New York may be de-prioritized for export, as resource limitations require, when supporting documents cannot be authenticated through information sharing with New York DMV.
The decision comes as the State of New York implements the “Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act,” which prohibits CBP from accessing information maintained by the New York DMV. Without access to this information, CBP cannot properly complete security checks for Trusted Traveler Program applications and renewals submitted by New York residents, greatly increasing our security risk.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of the United States and our citizens, and the New York Green Light law makes us less safe and shields criminals,” said CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan. “We recognize that many New York residents and businesses will be negatively affected by this change, but we cannot compromise the safety and security of our homeland. When states take negative measures that hinder our ability to protect our great country, we must respond.”
New York residents will no longer be eligible to apply for or renew membership in CBP Trusted Traveler Programs and CBP will cancel all pending Trusted Traveler Program applications submitted by residents of New York. Refunds will be processed automatically.
New York residents who are currently enrolled in Trusted Travel Programs will retain their benefits until their memberships expire.
CBP’s Trusted Traveler Programs provide secure, expedited processing for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. The programs include Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST.
CBP Officers at Ysleta Port Stop Huge Liquid Meth Load - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
EL PASO, Texas -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations officers working at the Ysleta port of entry seized 1,543 pounds of liquid methamphetamine Wednesday.
“This is a huge seizure and more than triples the 425 pounds of methamphetamine seized by CBP officers working El Paso area ports for all of fiscal year 2019,”said Hector Mancha, CBP El Paso Director of Field Operations.
The seizure was made shortly after 7 p.m. when a tractor-trailer entered the Ysleta port of entry commercial cargo facility from Mexico. CBP officers selected the shipment for an inspection.
CBP officers off loaded the shipment of multi-use cleaner and determined that 32 bottles in the shipment contained liquid methamphetamine. The contraband was seized and the investigation continues.
While anti-terrorism is the primary mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the inspection process at the ports of entry associated with this mission results in impressive numbers of enforcement actions in all categories.
Court Stops Sprawling Scheme That Operated Hundreds of Websites That Deceived Consumers About Government Services - Federal Trade Commission
A court has granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to preliminarily halt a scheme in which the defendants operated hundreds of websites that promised a quick and easy government service, such as renewing a driver’s license, or eligibility determinations for public benefits. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court held that the FTC was likely to prevail in proving that “the websites were patently misleading.”
The FTC’s filings in the case allege that consumers provided their information because they believe the websites will actually provide these services. Instead, consumers received only a PDF containing publicly available, general information about the service they sought.
Documents filed by the FTC allege that the defendants’ sites employed similar branding, language, and functionality to induce consumers to relinquish their credit card information, personal data, or both.
State Licensing Sites
According to the complaint, the defendants operated sites like DMV.com, which offers links for driver’s services in all 50 states and presents itself as a clearinghouse for many types of DMV-related services, from licensing to driving records, under the heading “Online DMV Services.” Other sites operated by the defendants included floridadriverslicense.org, coloradodriverslicenses.org, californiadrivers.org, and texasdriverslicenses.org.
The defendants used search-engine advertising and search-engine optimization to target consumers who search for state motor-vehicle or licensing services online. The FTC’s complaint alleges that in the spring and summer of 2019, entering the phrases “renew Florida drivers license online” and “get fishing license” into online search engines brought up the defendants’ sites as either the first- or second-listed link.
According to the complaint, after consumers submitted payment, in some instances, the sites simply linked back to the landing page, and the consumer received nothing. In other instances, the consumer received an email containing a link to a downloadable PDF with general, publicly available information.
The FTC alleges that the defendants’ sites did not deliver the promised services.
Public Benefits Sites
Documents filed by the FTC further allege that the defendants also operated dozens of websites that promise to verify consumers’ eligibility for public benefits. These sites appeared high in search results or sponsored links when consumers searched for ways to obtain public benefits.
The defendants’ public benefits sites offered to help consumers seeking government programs, such as housing assistance, food stamps, Medicaid, or unemployment benefits. According to the complaint, the sites solicited certain core pieces of personal information from consumers, including, but not limited to, their full name, address, date of birth, gender, telephone number, and email address.
According to the complaint, the sites also asked consumers about various sensitive topics, including their employment status, income range, social security eligibility, health insurance, credit-card debt, and health conditions. The FTC alleges that consumers who provided all the requested information on the defendants’ public benefits websites did not receive the promised eligibility determination.
According to the complaint, after providing information on the defendants’ public benefits websites, consumers almost immediately began receiving marketing emails from the defendants and third parties. Consumers also started receiving text messages containing marketing offers from the defendants and third parties. The emails and texts contained various marketing offers, including job-search assistance, free gift cards, and homebuyer grants. The complaint alleges that the defendants received millions of dollars from selling the personal data they collected from consumers through deceptive marketing.
The FTC complaint names as defendants Burton Katz, Brent Levison, Robert Zangrillo, Arlene Mahon, and Elisha Rothman, along with more than fifty companies they own and control.
The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.