U.S. Department of Agriculture

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Wood Packaging Material Used in Domestic Commerce

On August 27, 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on wood packaging material used in domestic commerce.  74 Fed. Reg. 43643 (2009).  The purpose of the rulemaking is to solicit public opinion on regulatory options to combat plant pests in wood pallets and boxes.  One goal of the rulemaking is to develop uniform measures to treat wood packaging materials. 

Among the options being considered by Agriculture are (a) following an international protocol for treating wood (the International Plant Protection Convention or “IPPC”), (b) pooling pallets made of higher grade wood and/or plastics and (c) decreasing or changing the use of methyl bromide fumigation to lessen the impact on the environment (primarily the ozone issue).

If your goods are shipped in wood pallets or wood crates, then the proposed changes will likely be of great significance to you.  Comments on the various regulatory options are
due on or before October 26, 2009.

The rulemaking will also trigger an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) and there will be an opportunity to comment on that aspect of the rulemaking as well. 

Lacey Act Enforcement Postponed

On September 2, 2009, USDA proposed a one year delay in enforcement of the import declaration requirements for so-called “composite products”.   74. Fed. Reg. 45415.  These are largely products made from combination of wood chips and saw dust, such as the particle board used in many less expensive furniture applications. The delay for this category was included in the Consensus Statement prepared by stakeholders and released earlier this summer.  The idea behind the delay for composite products is that often neither the manufacturer nor the distributor knows the type of wood used in the product. However, it does appear that USDA will require import declarations for these types of products by September 1, 2010.

USDA also announced the addition of several products for the April 1, 2010 enforcement date including walking sticks, pianos and sculptures. 

Significantly, USDA solicits comments on the addition of a number of products for September 1, 2010 and beyond, including pencils under HTA Chapter 96.  WIMA may well want to file comments on this issue.  Comments are due on or before November 2, 2009.

Office of U.S. Trade Representative

Office of USTR Meets with Asia-Pacific Countries on Illegal Logging

On September 2, 2009, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Environmental and Natural Resources, Mark Linscott, met with representatives of Indonesia, Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Solomon Island and Vietnam to discuss combating illegal logging in the Asia-Pacific region.  The name of the conference was the Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue to Promote Trade in Legally Harvested Forest Products and stems from a prior discussion between the U.S. and Indonesia in 2006.

It appears that between the amendments to the Lacey Act, discussed in previous Trade Updates, and this new dialogue, the U.S. Government is getting much more serious about banning entries of products with illegally harvested woods.  You should be certain that you are getting a certificate of some sort from anyone selling wood products to you on a going forward basis.

U.S. Department of Commerce

Antidumping Duties Revised on Certain Cased Pencils from China

On September 1, 2009, the International Trade Administration (“ITA”) of the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the final results of the administrative review of the antidumping duties on certain cased pencils for the period December 1, 2006 through November 30, 2007.  The new rates for the following exporters are set forth below:

China First Pencil Company, Ltd.                10.41%
Shanghai Three Star Stationery Industry Corp.        59.62%
Shandong Rongxin Import & Export Co., Ltd.        11.48%
Orient International Holding Shanghai Foreign        32.21%
    Trade Co., Ltd.
PRC-Wide Entities                             114.90%

We had reported on the initial phase of this proceeding in our August Trade Update. 

ITA’s full decision in this matter is found at 74 Fed. Reg. 45177 (2009).  Also for questions about the decision, the ITA contact persons are David Layton at (202) 482-0371, or Alexander Montero at (202) 482-0238.