CBP issued its Dec. 18 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 50), which contains the following two ruling actions:

The Commerce Department is reversing a finding that Hilltop International is the successor to Yelin Enterprise Co. Hong Kong for the purposes of the antidumping duty order on frozen warmwater shrimp from China (A-570-893). Commerce had originally found Hilltop to be eligible for Yelin’s lower AD rate, but subsequently discovered Hilltop misrepresented facts to Commerce during another proceeding. Commerce has previously said those misrepresentations have made Hilltop’s responses “unreliable for any purposes,” including for the changed circumstances review that made Hilltop eligible for Yelin’s rate.

Best Key’s challenge to CBP’s reclassification of its metallic yarn ended on a technicality, as the Court of International Trade on Dec. 13 dismissed the case because if found the Chinese yarn company has no basis to challenge CBP’s ruling. Best Key claimed the ruling would harm its business interests because reclassification as polyester instead of metallic yarn would allow CBP to collect higher duties on garments made from the yarn. But Best Key is a yarn manufacturer, and CIT found that legally Best Key is only able to challenge a ruling based on a product it would import -- the yarn itself, and not the garments made from it. The court found Best Key had no basis to challenge the reclassification, because it actually resulted in a lower duty rate for the yarn.

The Commerce Department is reinstating the antidumping duty orders on ball bearings from Japan and the United Kingdom, according to a Federal Register notice dated Dec. 9 that has yet to be submitted for publication. The reinstatement comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in May reversed a series of remands that had resulted in revocation of the order in 2011 (see 13051716). The reinstatement was effective Nov. 29, 2013. AD cash deposit requirements will be set at the rates in effect at the time of revocation in July 2011.

Ministers from World Trade Organization member countries reached agreement on measures to simplify customs procedures, as part of a package of deals announced at the Bali Ministerial Conference on Dec. 7 (see 13120903). The Agreement on Trade Facilitation aims to reduce costs and improve the speed and efficiency of customs procedures. The agreement will be legally binding, but will be a “multilateral” deal that only applies to WTO members that sign on to the deal. The WTO’s announcement of the deal lauded it as “one of the biggest reforms of the WTO since its establishment in 1995” (here).

The Federal Maritime Commission scheduled a meeting at 10 a.m. Dec. 11 at its First Floor Hearing Room in Washington, D.C. Agenda items include: (1) Briefing on U.S. - China Bilateral Maritime Agreement Annual Consultation; (2) Update on Economic and Liner Trade Conditions; and (3) Staff Recommendation on Show Cause Order Concerning an Ocean Transportation License Revocation.

The Commerce Department published notices in the Dec. 3 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):

The Commerce Department is giving advance notice that it and the International Trade Commission will consider revoking the antidumping duty order on small diameter graphite electrodes from China (A-570-929), in their automatic five-year sunset reviews scheduled to begin in January. Advance notice is given because sunset reviews have short deadlines. An order will be revoked unless Commerce finds that revocation would lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping and the ITC finds that revocation would result in continuation or recurrence of material injury to a U.S. industry. As a result, a negative determination by either Commerce or the ITC would result in the revocation of these orders.

The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission began the five-year Sunset Reviews of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on circular welded carbon quality steel line pipe from China (A-570-935/C-570-936); and the AD duty order on diamond sawblades from China (A-570-900).

Ocean Transportation Intermediary License Revocations and Terminations