Domestic producer AK Steel filed requests on Sept. 30 for new antidumping duties on non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) from China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan, and new countervailing duties on NOES from China, South Korea, and Taiwan. According to AK Steel, underselling by exporters in those six countries are causing U.S. companies a loss of domestic market share and falling sales and revenue. NOES is a steel product used in the production of large and small motors, generators, lighting ballasts, and ignition coils, the petition said.

The U.S. Trade Representative's Oct. 8 decision to let the International Trade Commission's import ban stand was not surprising, despite a recent USTR veto of an Apple product import ban (see 13080515), said aid Benjamin Levi, a McKool Smith attorney who has argued patent cases before federal courts and the ITC. The patents at issue in the Samsung import ban were not standard-essential patents (SEPs) -- the main factor in the USTR's decision to veto the Apple import ban in August, he said. There remains "some uncertainty" over the full extent to which USTR's veto of the Apple import ban will become a precedent in other cases involving SEPs, Levi said. "But I would doubt that the USTR would routinely veto exclusion orders based" on SEPs, he said.

An import ban on certain older-model Samsung mobile devices went into effect Oct. 8, after U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman declined to veto a limited exclusion order issued by the International Trade Commission, according to press reports. The Samsung phones and tablets had been the subject of a Section 337 case brought by Apple, which won a reprieve from a similar import ban in August (see 13080515).

The International Trade Commission published notices in the Oct. 3 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will appear in another ITT article):

The Commerce Department published notices in the Oct. 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 International Trade Commission published notices in the Oct. 2 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will appear in another ITT article):

The International Trade Commission is asking for comments on Freedom Scientific’s Sept. 26 request for a ban on imports of handheld magnifiers from Chinese company Aumed that allegedly infringe its patents in violation of Section 337. The petition said Aumed and its U.S. sales agent are importing and selling handheld magnifiers that infringe Freedom Scientific’s patented technologies that allow for more portable and versatile magnifiers by including a camera that displays enlarged images on a screen for easy viewing (see 13100103). Freedom Scientific is requesting limited exclusion and cease and desist orders. Although the ITC notice says comments are due eight days after publication in the Federal Register, commission statements indicate that deadline is being postponed because of the federal government shutdown.

The Commerce Department published notices in the Oct. 2 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 issued the preliminary results of its combined antidumping duty administrative and new shipper reviews on freshwater crawfish tail meat from China (A-570-848). The agency preliminarily found zero AD rates for all four respondents: Deyan Aquatic, Nanjing Gemsen, Xiping Opeck, and Yancheng Hi-King. If continued in the final results, entries from these companies during the period of review will be liquidated without regard to AD duties, and their merchandise will not be subject to AD cash deposit requirements until further notice. These preliminary results are not in effect. Commerce may modify them in the final results of this review and change the estimated AD cash deposit rate for these companies.

The International Trade Commission published notices in the Oct. 1 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will appear in another ITT article):