This bulletin has been prepared especially for clients of A. N. Deringer, Inc. by:

 

SERKO SIMON GLUCK & KANE LLP – Customs & International Trade Law

 

March 23, 2007

 

CUSTOMS and BORDER PROTECTION (CBP)

 

·        CBP May Require Additional Information Prior to Vessel Loading:  CBP is considering a proposal to require advance security filings to encompass 10 additional data elements from the importer and 2 data elements from the carrier.  Compliance with the proposal, which is currently being developed and known as “10+2”, will be the obligation of the importer/owner and may require the following data elements: manufacturer, seller,       consolidator, buyer and ship to identification, stuffing location, importer and consignee number, country of origin, and the harmonized tariff number.  The 2 additional data elements are the vessel stowage plan and the container status messages.

·        Security Criteria for Customs Brokers Extended:  CBP extended to May 2, 2007 (from March 31, 2007) the deadline for customs brokers who are members of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program to comply with the newly mandated security criteria. 

 

TRADE TALK

 

·        U.S.-Vietnam:  The U.S. and Vietnam are negotiating a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).  The agreement will be used as a platform to further strengthen trade and investment ties between the two countries.

·        President Implements Additional Benefits for Haiti and AGOA:  President Bush recently issued a Presidential Proclamation granting Haiti additional trade benefits under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE)    for certain wiring sets (from January 4, 2007) and apparel (from March 20, 2007).  Additional benefits were granted to certain lesser developed beneficiary countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), with details available at:   http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-1442.pdf .

·         U.S. Recalculates AD Rates Due to Zeroing:  Following the ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that the “Zeroing” method used in antidumping (AD) duty calculations is inconsistent with its rules, the U.S. has recalculated the AD rates for various stainless steel bars, sheet, plates in coils, wire in coils, wire rods, and pasta from several EU countries.  In most cases the individual rates have gone down while the “all other” rates have increased.  Additional information is available at:  http://ia.ita.doc.gov/download/zeroing/20070222-Zeroing-Prelim-Decision-Memo.pdf .

                               

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

 

  • Duty Free Access for All Least Developed Countries:  Due to a technical malfunction, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is seeking the resubmission of comments on an agreement to provide duty free and quota free access to all products from least developed countries by 2008 or upon implementation of the Doha Round of WTO talks.  The USTR is seeking comments by April 15, 2007 while the U.S. International Trade Commission is accepting comments on their own investigation by April 3, 2007.  According to the USTR, least developed countries already enjoy duty free access on 83% of all goods imported into the U.S.  The USTR’s notice seeking comments is available at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-5032.pdf

 

TRANSPORTATION TIDBITS

 

  • Air Freight Price Fixing Case Filed:  Seven international air freight carriers are being accused of taking part in a price fixing cartel in the Australian market.  The carriers are also being accused of implementing fuel, security, and war-risk surcharges having no relation to actual costs and imposed through agreement to artificially raise prices.  A similar price fixing case against air carriers in the U.S. recently resulted in significant fines.  In addition, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board recently required rail companies to link their surcharges to actual costs applicable to each shipment. 

 

BUSINESS BRIEFS

 

  • China Ready for Tax Reform:  In sweeping changes to its tax laws, China decided to eliminate the blanket tax breaks for foreign companies in place since the 1970’s.  Up to now, Chinese firms paid 33% of profit in taxes, while foreign companies were exempt from taxes the first two years, then got a 50% break for the next three years, and were sometimes able to keep their tax rate as low as 10%.  With domestic companies complaining of unfair treatment, China decided to harmonize its tax rates at 25% for domestic and foreign companies alike, but will still allow a lower tax rate for certain high-technology companies. 

      Chinese authorities also voted to offer the same protection to private property and    investments as those granted to public property.

  • Intellectual Property Rights Developments:

      PTO Revokes Patent at Center of Supreme Court Ruling – The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) revoked the Cabilly II patent which was recently at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.  The Supreme Court recently upheld the rights of a company to challenge a patent even though it was paying royalties on that patent at the same time.  A company does not have to be in breach of a patent in order to challenge that patent, the Supreme Court ruled (see SSGK LLP Alert Vol. VI-No.145).  After a             request for review, the USPTO has now revoked the Cabilly II patent finding that other similar patents (Cabilly I) preceded it, and filing this second patent was only an attempt to extend the protection period for essentially the same product.

India Proposal on Patent Law – A Technical Expert Group on Patent Law recently submitted its report on India’s patent regime to the Indian government in order to bring it in line with the Agreement of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).  The report calls on India not to limit the granting of patents in the pharmaceutical area only to new chemical entities, nor to limit patents involving micro-organisms.  The report calls for better examinations to prevent frivolous patents, upgrading the status of the patent offices, and removing patent granting powers from states and vesting it in the central government.  The Technical Report can be accessed at:             http://ipindia.nic.in/ipr/patent/mashelkarcommitteereport.doc

      IPR Registration with CBP – CBP is seeking comments by May 14, 2007 with regard to recording copyrights, trademarks, and trade names with CBP for protection from illegal imports.  Comments are sought on ways to enhance information collection and to minimize the burden by increasing electronic filing.  Additional details are available at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-4764.pdf .

         

 

Serko Simon Gluck & Kane LLP
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New York, New York 10019
Phone (212) 775-005 Fax (212) 839-9103
Outside of New York State: 1-800-46-TRADE
E-mail address: serko-simon@customs-law.com

On the internet at: www.customs-law.com

 

 

Note:  This information is current as of the date of this document, and is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice, which can only be provided by Serko Simon Gluck &Kane LLP on a case-by-case basis. ©2007