Commission Advisory Regarding Red Sea Surcharges - Federal Maritime Commission
The Commission recognizes that the threat to commercial shipping imposes costs on the maritime transportation industry. The FMC has announced a hearing to explore Red Sea shipping issues.
Under statutory authority, the Commission and its staff are closely monitoring rates, charges, and rules that common carriers have implemented as a result of the threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions.
Commission regulations at 46 CFR 520.8(a)(1&2) require common carriers to provide at least 30 days between the publication and effective date of a change to a tariff that results in an increased cost to shippers. 46 CFR 520.14(c) outlines a process through which a common carrier may submit a Special Permission (SP) request showing good cause to reduce this 30-day waiting period. If the SP request is accepted, the SP approval will show the effective date permitted for the charge. Per 46 CFR 520.7(c), a tariff rate, charge, or rule must be in effect at the time the carrier or its agent receives cargo.
The Commission maintains a list of all common carrier tariff locations for Vessel-Operating Common Carrier and Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier.
Shippers are encouraged to access and review their common carrier’s tariff.
Ocean common carriers are responsible for ensuring that service contracts and their amendments are filed in a timely and accurate manner, and for compliance with the Shipping Act’s statutory prohibitions against unjustly discriminatory practices, unreasonable prejudices, and unreasonable refusals to deal. Parties should be familiar with the terms of their service contract. If a service contract incorporates all or a portion of a carrier’s published tariff, then the associated rates, charges, or rules must be applied based on their effective date at the time of cargo receipt. Shippers are reminded that under the Shipping Act, filing suit in a court of law is the exclusive remedy for any alleged breach of a service contract, unless parties agree to an alternative dispute resolution forum. (46 U.S.C. § 40502(f)).
Alleging breach of a contract (i.e., a failure to comply with agreed-upon terms) is different than alleging that a common carrier might have violated the Shipping Act’s guidelines. The Commission may on complaint, or its own motion, investigate potential Shipping Act violations. If Shipping Act violations are found, they may result in fines or damages being assessed against the common carrier violating the Act.
Shippers should contact the Bureau of Trade Analysis or request Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services if they are concerned that a carrier is rating shipments in a manner that does not comport with 46 CFR Part 520. A complaint may also be filed with the Commission.
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FMC Announces Hearing on Shipping Conditions in the Red Sea - Federal Maritime Commission
The Federal Maritime Commission will hold an informal public hearing on February 7, 2024, to examine how conditions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions are impacting commercial shipping and global supply chains.
The hearing will allow stakeholders in the supply chain to communicate with the Commission how operations have been disrupted by attacks on commercial shipping emanating from Yemen, steps taken in response to these events, and the resulting effects. In addition, the hearing will allow the Commission to gather information and identify any new issues related to these disruptions subject to Commission statutes, such as implementing contingency fees and surcharges.
Interested parties can request to be considered as a participant or share information and comments by a written submission to the Commission at Secretary@FMC.gov until January 31, 2024. Panels and participants will be announced at a later date and are intended to include representatives of vessel-operating common carriers and shippers. Participants must present in person; there will be no virtual option for presenters.
The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, February 7, 2024, and will be held in the Surface Transportation Board Hearing Room located at 395 E Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20423. It will be livestreamed for those unable to attend in person. Hearing logistics will be provided in a future announcement.
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Federal Register Notices:
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Softwood Lumber From Canada: Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain Self-Balancing Electric Skateboards and Components Thereof; Notice of Institution of Investigation
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Large Diameter Welded Pipe From Canada: Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022
• Certain Pasta From Italy: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2021
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Paper Shopping Bags From Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey, and Vietnam; Scheduling of the Final Phase of Countervailing Duty and Antidumping Duty Investigations
• Sodium Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative Products From China; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Reviews
• Xanthan Gum From China; Scheduling of an Expedited Five-Year Review
• Certain Electronic Computing Devices, and Components and Modules Thereof, Notice of Institution of Investigation
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Apparel: Export Competitiveness of Certain Foreign Suppliers to the United States
• Tin Mill Products From the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom Termination of Investigations
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Test Concerning Entry of Section 321 Low-Value Shipments Through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) (Also Known as Entry Type 86); Republication with Modifications - USCBP/Federal Register
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security.
ACTION: General notice.
SUMMARY: This document republishes with modifications and supersedes a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) notice published in the Federal Register on August 13, 2019, announcing a test to allow certain low-value shipments, including those shipments subject to Partner Government Agency (PGA) data requirements, to be entered by filing a new type of informal entry electronically in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The test is known as the ACE Entry Type 86 Test. This document modifies the ACE Entry Type 86 Test to clarify the waiver of certain regulations and consequences of misconduct by test participants. In addition, this document makes minor technical changes to the original notice.
DATES: The ACE Entry Type 86 Test commenced September 28, 2019, and will continue until concluded by an announcement published in the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted throughout the duration of the test. The changes set forth in this modification will go into effect on February 15, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice and any aspect of this test may be submitted at any time during the test via email to ecommerce @cbp.dhs.gov. In the subject line of your email, please indicate, “Comment on the ACE Entry Type 86 Test.”
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Mabelitini, Director, Intellectual Property Rights & E-Commerce Division, Trade Policy & Programs, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 202–325–6915, ecommerce@cbp.dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
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Drug Producing Devices Intercepted by Chicago CBP - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
CHICAGO – Several shipments containing instruments drug traffickers use to manufacture illicit drugs were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Chicago on January 7.
A few shipments contained pill press die sets, while another package concealed an entire pill press machine. In the wrong hands, individuals can use these pill presses to manufacture their drugs in tablet form. Drug traffickers can use these to create several narcotics, most commonly fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, or other synthetic opioids. The five shipments, which all arrived from China, were heading to individual residences in: Thompsonville, Illinois; Spencerville, Ohio; Kannapolis, North Carolina; Hartsville, South Carolina; and Traverse City, Michigan. All the shipments were seized for unlawful importation of drug paraphernalia.
“Our ability to collect intelligence and the experience and knowledge of our officers were key in stopping these shipments,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations, Chicago Field Office. “CBP officers throughout the nation remain committed to stopping these dangerous shipments, interrupting supply chains, and helping protect our communities from these potentially deadly narcotics.”
The CBP Strategy to Combat Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Drugs drives a whole-of-CBP approach feeding into the work taking place all across DHS as CBP leads interagency efforts against illicit synthetic narcotics. This strategy aligns resources, enhances partnerships, and builds on CBP’s successful enforcement intelligence and data-driven operations, while leveraging CBP’s vast expertise and data holdings to disrupt the transnational criminal organizations responsible for the illicit production, distribution, and trafficking of illicit fentanyl, its analogues, and other synthetic drugs in the United States.
CBP continues to conduct operations targeting the smuggling of illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs. These operations leverage intelligence and investigative information to target drug traffickers’ supply chains and interdict items required in the production of illicit fentanyl, including precursor chemicals, pill presses and parts, movement of finished product, and illicit proceeds.
An example of one operation is CBP officers at the Los Angeles International Airport stopped a shipment from the People’s Republic of China, which contained a tablet press used to manufacture pills of dangerous drugs that include fentanyl. In fiscal year 2023, CBP seized more than 27,000 pounds of fentanyl, compared with over 14,600 pounds in fiscal year 2022. CBP’s fentanyl seizures in fiscal year 2023 increased more than 860% compared to fiscal year 2019.
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USITC Examines Apparel Export Competitiveness of Five U.S. Import Sources - U.S. International Trade Commission
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is undertaking a new factfinding investigation that will examine the export competitiveness of the apparel industries in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
This investigation, Apparel: Export Competitiveness of Certain Foreign Suppliers to the United States (Investigation No. 332-602), was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative in a letter received on December 20, 2023.
As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan federal agency, will prepare a public report. The report will provide, to the extent practicable:
• A comparison of the relative U.S. market shares held by Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan currently (up to and including calendar year 2023, if available) and five (2018) and ten (2013) years ago; and an analysis of changing patterns in market shares and trade including against other top suppliers, noting any significant shifts;
• Country-specific profiles of the apparel industries in the above-listed countries, including information on investment, vertical integration, duty-free access to the U.S. market, wages and labor productivity, and sourcing of inputs, as well as an assessment of the export competitiveness of each country in the U.S. market considering major factors of competitiveness such as trade, industry structure, price and costs, product differentiation, and reliability, using available statistical and qualitative information;
• A review of general literature on the key determinants driving export competitiveness in the global apparel industry, to the extent that it is relevant to conditions in the selected countries; and
• A data appendix, to the degree that additional data relevant to competitiveness are identified by the review of the literature and are available.
The USITC expects to submit its report to the Trade Representative by August 30, 2024.
The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with the investigation at 9:30 a.m. on March 7, 2024. A link to the hearing will be posted on the Commission’s website at https://www.usitc.gov/calendarpad/calendar.html.
Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on February 21, 2024, with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. See below for important information regarding filing a request to appear at a USITC hearing.
The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission and should be submitted no later than 5:15 p.m. on March 22, 2024. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection. See below for important information regarding the filing of written submissions for USITC investigations.
IMPORTANT: All filings to appear at the hearing and written submissions must be made through the Commission’s Electronic Document Information System (EDIS, https://edis.usitc.gov). No in-person paper-based filings or paper copies of any electronic filings will be accepted until further notice. Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the Office of the Secretary, Docket Services Division (EDIS3Help@USITC.gov), or consult the Commission’s Handbook on Filing Procedures.
Further information on the scope of the investigation is available in the USITC’s notice of investigation, dated January 16, 2024, which can be downloaded from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Secretary at commissionhearings@usitc.gov.
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Texas Company Pleads Guilty to Distributing Misbranded Dietary Supplements and Agrees to $4.5 Million Forfeiture - Department of Justice
Defyned Brands, an Austin, Texas, company also known as 5 Star Nutrition LLC, pleaded guilty today to a three-count information charging it with distributing misbranded dietary supplements.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, the company admitted that from September 2018 to July 2020, it delivered into interstate commerce misbranded dietary supplements, which are considered a type of food under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The company specifically admitted that shipments of products known as Epivar, Alpha Shredded and Laxobolic were misbranded. According to the plea agreement, the products contained ingredients mislabeled as dietary ingredients or not listed on the product label.
The products at issue were marketed as workout supplements and sold at 5 Star Nutrition retail locations. As part of the plea, the company agreed to forfeit $4.5 million and comply with the terms of a compliance program and certain compliance reporting requirements. Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas presided over the plea.
“Consumers deserve to know what is in the dietary supplements they take,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to investigate dietary supplement manufacturers and distributors who sell products that do not comply with the law, including through criminal enforcement where appropriate.”
“For almost two years, the defendant in this case misinformed consumers with inaccurate labeling on dietary supplements,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “By requiring this company to forfeit its profits from this practice, we hope to reaffirm the public’s confidence in the safety of the products they purchase.”
“U.S. consumers rely on FDA oversight of foods to ensure that they are safe and wholesome. Companies that produce, sell or distribute misbranded dietary supplements put the public health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Grinstead of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to investigate violators of our laws and work to bring them to justice.”
FDA-OCI investigated the case.
Senior Litigation Counsel David Sullivan and Trial Attorney Manu J. Sebastian of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Harding for the Western District of Texas prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch
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Update: Quaker Issues Revised Recall Notice with Additional Products Due to Possible Health Risk - USDA
Company Announcement Date: January 11, 2024
FDA Publish Date: January 11, 2024
Product Type: Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement: Potential for Salmonella contamination
Company Name: The Quaker Oats Company
Brand Name: Multiple brand names
Product Description: Cereal, bars, and snacks
Company Announcement
A previous press release was issued on 12/15/2023. This new press release is to communicate additional products due to possible health risk.
CHICAGO, Illinois – January 11, 2024 – The Quaker Oats Company today announced an expansion of the December 15, 2023, recall to include additional cereals, bars and snacks listed below because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
The products listed below are sold throughout the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, Guam and Saipan. Consumers should check their pantries for any of the products listed below and dispose of them. Additionally, consumers with any product noted below can contact Quaker Consumer Relations (9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST, Mon.-Fri.) at 1-800-492-9322 or visit www.QuakerRecallUSA.comExternal Link Disclaimer for additional information or product reimbursement.
Consumers can scan the SmartLabel QR code on the product package to determine if it has been recalled. Click here for information on how to use SmartLabel.External Link Disclaimer
Quaker has informed the FDA of our actions.
This recall applies to the specific products listed below, in addition to the products announced on December 15, 2023. A combined list of recalled products is available on www.QuakerRecallUSA.comExternal Link Disclaimer.
RECALLED PRODUCTS: See Chart