Associations Ask FTZB to Reopen AD/CV Portions of 2010 Proposed Revamp
Six business associations1 have asked the Foreign Trade Zone Board to partially re-open the record to allow members of the business community more time to comment on certain aspects of FTZB’s December 2010 proposed rule to comprehensively revise and update the Foreign Trade Zone regulations.
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More Time Needed to Address AD/CV Aspects of Proposal
The associations are concerned that because the FTZB’s proposed change in the treatment of goods subject to antidumping duty or countervailing duty orders was contained among a large number of other proposals that affect many other aspects of FTZ regulation, the broader business community did not have the opportunity to focus on this issue. They add that the nature and breadth of the proposed changes with respect to such orders was only recently brought to their members’ attention.
In particular, the associations are concerned with three issues:
Advance approval for activity involving AD/CV - proposed 15 CFR 400.14, under which the FTZB would require that advance approval be obtained for all production activity in zones or subzones that involves a foreign article that would be subject (if it were to enter the U.S. customs territory) to an AD or CVD order or which would be otherwise subject to suspension of liquidation under AD/CVD procedures, etc.
Elimination of current policy on AD/CV goods expected to be reexported -- elimination of the FTZB’s existing policy on the treatment of goods subject to AD/CVD order that are ultimately re-exported from the zone.
Effect of “public interest” language on future proceedings - whether language stating that the admission of foreign status goods subject to AD/CVD orders has “significant potential to raise [public interest] concerns in the future,” would alter the nature of future FTZB proceedings; whether future proceedings would be highly contentious, when they historically have been non-controversial; and whether it would require FTZB to develop an extensive factual record to support lengthy written decisions that are capable of withstanding judicial review.
1American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI), American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition (CITAC), Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT), National Association of Foreign Trade Zones (NAFTZ), United States Council for International Business (USCIB).
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/30/10, 01/03/11, 01/06/11, and 03/08/11 news, 10123022, 11010325, 11010630, 11030829, for BP summaries of FTZB’s proposed rule (including the AD/CV aspects of it) and extension of the comment due date to June 27, 2011.)