**USITC Makes Determinations in Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews Concerning Polyvinyl Alcohol from China and Japan - USITC
USITC Makes Determinations in Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews Concerning Polyvinyl Alcohol from China and Japan
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that revoking the existing antidumping orders on imports of polyvinyl alcohol from China and Japan would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.
As a result of the USITC’s affirmative determinations, the existing orders on imports of this product from China and Japan will remain in place.
Chairman Brett W. Doyle and Commissioners Jason E. Kearns, Peter-Anthony Pappas, Bart Thanhauser, and David Foley Jr. voted in the affirmative.
Today’s action comes under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. See the attached page for background on these five-year (sunset) reviews.
The USITC’s public report, Polyvinyl Alcohol from China and Japan (Inv. Nos. 731-TA-1014 and 1016 (Fourth Review), USITC Publication 5787, September 2026), will contain the views of the USITC and information developed during the reviews.
The report will be available on the USITC website by October 6, 2026
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**EXECUTIVE ORDER: Declaring a National Emergency to Secure the United States Bulk-Power System - The White House
DECLARING A NATIONAL EMERGENCY TO SECURE THE UNITED STATES BULK-POWER SYSTEM________________________________________________________________________________
**Federal Register Notices:
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain Liquid Crystal Display Devices, Components Thereof, and Products Containing the Same; Notice of a Commission Determination Not To Review an Initial Determination Terminating the Investigation Based on Withdrawal of the Complaint; Termination of the Investigation
• Steel Grating From China; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Reviews
• Application for Duty Free Entry of Scientific Instruments: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology et al.; Application(s) for Duty-Free Entry of Scientific Instruments
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Linear Hydraulic Cylinders From Canada, China, India, Mexico, and South Korea; Revised Schedule for the Subject Investigations
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain Melanoma Predictive and Prognostic Tests and Components Thereof; Notice of Institution of Investigation
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From Japan: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With the Results of Antidumping Administrative Review; Notice of Amended Final Results
• Certain Hardwood Plywood Products From the People's Republic of China: Final Determinations of No Shipments in the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews; 2024, 2020-2021
• Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod From the Republic of Korea: Notice of Reopening of, and Intent To Reconsider the Final Results of, Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2023-2024
• Certain Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From the People's Republic of China: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With Final Covered Merchandise Determination and Notice of Amended Covered Merchandise Determination Pursuant to Court Decision
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**In the News:
• Canada has 1 important edge in the North American trade war [Politico]
• US Eyes China Overcapacity Tariffs of 7.5% Before Xi-Trump Talks [Bloomburg/Yahoo Finance]
• Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada [The Guardian]
• Switzerland secures near-total duty-free access to China for exports [dpa International/Yahoo Finance]
• Canada's tariffs target certain U.S. states. See which regions are most vulnerable [CBS News]
• The art of inflicting pain: How to select targets for Canada's counter-tariffs [CBC Ca]
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**Customs Bulletin Weekly Vol 60, August 19, 2026, No. 24 - USCBP
• CUSTOMS USER FEES TO BE ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION IN FISCAL YEAR 2027
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**Wyden Questions Customs and Border Protection Over Favorable Treatment of Dominican Corporation’s Sugar Imports Despite Clear Evidence of Ongoing Forced Labor - US Senate Committee on Finance
Wyden Letter Follows New Report Alleging Forced Labor and Abuse of Workers Continues at Central Romana Sugar Plantations Owned by Close Trump Ally and Donor
Washington, D.C. – Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, questioned why the Trump Administration allowed Central Romana, a Dominican sugar producer that was notorious for abusive conditions and violating workers rights, to resume sugar imports into the United States last year, in a letter to the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Wyden’s questions follow a new report by the Corporate Accountability Lab, a nonprofit that interviewed scores of workers at Central Romana in the Dominican Republic. Central Romana’s owner, José Francisco “Pepe” Fanjul, has donated more than $1 million to Trump and the Republican party, and he hosted a fundraiser that raised more than $50 million for Trump.
The United States blocked Central Romana’s sugar imports in 2022 based on forced labor conditions at Central Romana’s operations in the Dominican Republic, including abusive working and living conditions and withholding of wages. Shortly after Trump took office in 2025, that decision was reversed, and Central Romana was allowed to resume exporting sugar to the United States.
“Circumventing standard trade enforcement processes for politically connected, billionaire-owned corporations undermines the integrity of U.S. trade policy. It places law-abiding American agricultural businesses and workers at a distinct competitive disadvantage while facilitating ongoing, egregious human rights abuses against stateless and vulnerable workers abroad,” Wyden wrote to CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. “And this failure to fully enforce Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (Section 307) only serves to highlight the hypocrisy in the Administration’s recent imposition of tariffs on over eighty countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, purportedly due to those countries’ failure to enforce an equivalent import ban on forced labor goods.”
Wyden is seeking complete CBP records related to the irregular modification of CBP’s 2022 Withhold Release Order on Central Romana, as well as all contemporaneous communications regarding Central Romana between CBP and the White House and the State Department, among other information.
The full letter and list of questions are available here..
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**Smorgasbord of Counterfeit Jewelry Valued at Over $3 million Intercepted by Indianapolis CBP - USC
INDIANAPOLIS — On August 18, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Indianapolis’ express consignment facility seized a shipment containing 875 pieces of jewelry. Had these items been genuine, the shipment would have had a combined manufacturer’s suggested retail price of over $3.7 million.
The shipment from Hong Kong was headed to a residence in Georgia when officers pulled the parcel for inspection. The examination revealed 875 pieces of jewelry (earrings, necklaces, and bracelets) and five designer handbags. All items bore suspected Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Versace, Gucci, Tiffany & Company, Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels trademarks. The items were deemed to be inauthentic by CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise, the agency’s trade experts, and were seized for bearing counterfeit versions of registered and recorded trademarks.
“CBP has an exceptional team of officers and import specialists who are experts in identifying counterfeit goods and work closely with private industry to thwart intellectual property infringement,” said Indianapolis Port Director Brett Mueller. “CBP remains committed to stopping counterfeit smuggling, taking profits from organized crime, and protecting communities from potentially hazardous knockoffs.”
CBP data indicates that handbags, wallets, apparel, footwear, watches, jewelry, and consumer electronics are at higher risk of being counterfeited. Counterfeit versions of popular brands are regularly sold in online marketplaces and flea markets. Not only are counterfeit goods produced in unregulated and potentially exploitative environments in foreign countries, but the profits from their sales provide a funding stream to organized crime.
Illegitimate sales are some of the most profitable transnational crimes. Counterfeiters sell inauthentic versions of popular products in response to trends, often through online sources, which adversely impacts legitimate U.S. businesses. These items, including fake medications; perfumes and cosmetics; children’s toys and costumes; fashion, jewelry, and luxury products; and unsafe electronics and automative parts, can pose serious health and safety risks to American consumers as they are often made with substandard or harmful materials.
CBP helps disrupt these illegal practices. In fiscal year 2025, CBP seized nearly 79 million counterfeit items with a combined MSRP value of over $7.3 billion, had these items been genuine. Counterfeit clothing, consumer electronics, toys, and medications were among the top seized items.
CBP protects the intellectual property rights of American businesses through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights enforcement program, safeguarding them from unfair competition and use for malicious intent while upholding American innovation and ingenuity.
CBP has established an educational initiative to raise consumer awareness about the consequences and dangers that can be associated with the purchase of counterfeit and pirated goods. Information about the Truth Behind Counterfeits campaign can be found at www.cbp.gov/fakegoodsrealdangers.
Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stop illegal activity and facilitate lawful commerce into and out of the United States.
If you have any information regarding suspected fraud or illegal trade activity, please contact CBP through the e-Allegations Online through the Trade Violations Reporting website 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.
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**FDA Authorizes First Wearable Device That Continuously Monitors Both Ketone Levels and Blood Sugar - FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today authorized the Libre Duo 10 Day Continuous Dual Glucose Ketone Monitoring System for people aged 2 years and older living with diabetes. The Libre Duo 10 Day is the first wearable device in the U.S. that continuously monitors ketone levels, and the first in the world to continuously monitor both ketones and blood sugar (glucose) together in a single device.
“Today’s authorization is a breakthrough for the safety of children and adults living with diabetes,” said Michelle Tarver, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Knowing that ketone levels are rising, and having that information in real time, around the clock, can be the difference between early intervention and a life-threatening emergency."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 40.1 million Americans are living with diabetes, a condition that requires careful monitoring of blood sugar levels. For the estimated 2.1 million Americans with type 1 diabetes, blood sugar is only part of the picture. When the body produces too much ketone, which is made by the body when it is using fat instead of glucose for energy, it can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA — a serious complication that can develop quickly and become life-threatening if left untreated.
Early detection of rising ketone levels is critical. Until now, people who needed to monitor ketones had to do so separately, using tests that could only provide a single measurement at one point in time which could not tell users if ketones were rising or falling. The Libre Duo 10 Day addresses that gap by continuously measuring both ketone and glucose levels in the fluid just beneath the skin, every minute, day and night. Readings are sent wirelessly to a compatible smartphone, where users can see their current ketone and glucose levels and whether they are trending up or down. The device can send automatic alerts if ketone levels reach a concerning threshold, which may help patients and caregivers recognize rising ketones before DKA becomes a medical emergency. Ketone information should always be interpreted in the context of glucose readings and symptoms.
The FDA’s authorization is based on a comprehensive review of clinical and performance data submitted by the device sponsor. The clinical program included data from six clinical studies that together enrolled more than 600 participants aged 2 years and older to evaluate the accuracy of the device’s ketone and glucose monitoring functionality across a range of ketone and glucose levels. The results demonstrated that the device accurately tracked clinically meaningful differences in ketone levels across its 10-day wear period, including identifying elevated ketone levels before the onset of diabetic ketoacidosis.
This authorization is also aligned with the FDA’s Home as a Health Care Hub Initiative, which focuses on advancing the development of innovative, patient-centered devices that fit more seamlessly into people’s daily lives at home.
Prior to authorization, the FDA granted Breakthrough Device designation for the Libre Duo 10 Day Continuous Dual Glucose Ketone Monitoring System. A breakthrough designation is meant to expedite the development and review of devices that provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions.
The FDA granted marketing authorization to Abbott Diabetes Care for the Libre Duo 10 Day through the De Novo premarket review pathway, a regulatory pathway for low- to moderate-risk devices of a new type. Along with this De Novo authorization, the FDA is establishing special controls that define requirements including those related to labeling and performance testing. When met, the special controls, in combination with general controls, provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness.
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**FTC Announces 2027 Telemarketer Fees to Access the National Do Not Call Registry - FTC
The Federal Trade Commission today announced new fees for telemarketers to access phone numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry for Fiscal Year 2027 which begins on October 1, 2026.
All telemarketers calling consumers in the United States are required to download the numbers on the National DNC Registry to ensure they do not call consumers who have registered their phone numbers. The first five area codes are free to download, and organizations that are exempt, such as some charities and political callers, may obtain the entire list for free. Telemarketers must subscribe each year for access to the Registry numbers.
The cost of accessing a single area code in the registry will be $85 in FY 2027, which is an increase of $3 from FY 2026. The maximum charge to any single entity for accessing all area codes nationwide will be $23,425 (up from $22,626 in FY 2026). The fee for accessing an additional area code for a half year will increase to $43 in FY 2027 from $41 in FY 2026.
The Commission vote authorizing publication of the Federal Register notice announcing the new fees was 2-0.
Note: The new fees will go into effect on October 1, 2026.