Farm Bill is Lame Duck Priority

U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson (Dem., Minn.), who likely will retake the chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee, said Wednesday his top priority right now is to get a farm bill done in the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress. Read more HERE.

Initiation of AD/CVD Investigations on Yarn from China and India

On November 7, 2018, the Department of Commerce initiated its less-than-fair-value and countervailing duty investigations on Polyester Textured Yarn from India and the People's Republic of China. These investigations have been assigned the following case numbers: A-533-885 and C-533-886 (India) A-570-097 and C-570-098 (China).

The merchandise covered by these investigations, polyester textured yarn. Polyester textured yarn is produced through a texturing process, which imparts special properties to the filaments of the yarn, including stretch, bulk, strength, moisture absorption, insulation, and the appearance of a natural fiber. This scope includes all forms of polyester textured yarn, regardless of surface texture or appearance, yarn density and thickness (as measured in denier), number of filaments, number of plies, finish (luster), cross section, color, dye method, texturing method, or packing method (such as spindles, tubes, or beams).

The merchandise subject to these investigations is properly classified under subheadings 5402.33.3000 and 5402.33.6000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is dispositive.

Commerce requests that comments be filed by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on November 27, 2018.

Notice of the corresponding investigations (Inv. No. 701-TA-612-613 and 731-TA-1429-1430) at the U.S. International Trade Commission was published in the Federal Register (83 FR 53899) on October 25, 2018.

These investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by Unifi Manufacturing, Inc. and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. America on October 18, 2018.

In the antidumping duty investigation, Commerce will determine whether imports of polyester textured yarn from China and India are being dumped in the U.S. market at less than fair value.

The alleged dumping margins for China and India range from 74.98 to 77.15 percent and 35.14 to 202.93 percent, respectively.

In the countervailing duty investigation, Commerce will determine whether Chinese and Indian producers of polyester textured yarn are receiving unfair government subsidies.

There are 20 subsidy programs alleged in the China countervailing duty investigation, including the provision of low-priced inputs, preferential loans, grants, as well as income tax incentives, while there are 43 subsidy programs alleged in the India countervailing duty investigation, including tax incentives, the provision of low-priced inputs, grants, and loan subsidies.

If Commerce makes affirmative findings in these investigations, and if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that dumped and/or unfairly subsidized U.S. imports of polyester textured yarn from China and/or India are causing injury to U.S. industry, Commerce will impose duties on those imports in the amount of dumping and/or unfair subsidization found to exist.

In 2017, imports of polyester textured yarn from China and India were valued at an estimated $35 million and $19.6 million, respectively.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on these initiations.

Next Steps:

During Commerce’s investigations into whether polyester textured yarn from China and India are being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, the ITC will conduct its own investigations into whether U.S. industry and its workforce are being harmed by such imports. The ITC will make its preliminary determinations on or before December 3, 2018. If the ITC preliminarily determines that there is injury or threat of injury, then Commerce’s investigations will continue, with the preliminary CVD determinations scheduled for January 11, 2019, and preliminary AD determinations scheduled for March 27, 2019, unless these deadlines are extended.

If Commerce preliminarily determines that dumping and/or unfair subsidization is occurring, then it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to start collecting cash deposits from all U.S. companies importing polyester textured yarn from China and India.

Final determinations by Commerce in these cases are scheduled for March 27, 2019, for the CVD investigations, and June 10, 2019, for the AD investigations, but those dates may be extended. If Commerce finds that these products are not being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, or the ITC finds in its final determinations there is no harm to U.S. industry, then the investigations will be terminated and no duties will be applied.

The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 135 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 255 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.

Antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 460 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.

Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to antidumping duties. Companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks, or production inputs, are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies.

H.I.S. Recalls Girl’s Clothing Sets Due to Violation of Federal Lead Content Ban

Description: This recall involves Self-Esteem brand girl's clothing sets with a gold leaf pendant necklace. The recalled clothing sets consists of three items: a short-sleeve teal top with cut-out shoulders, a navy blue legging pant with a teal floral print and a pendant necklace with an orange and teal center. The recalled clothing sets have style number PO#71160/LOT9 and a date of production of 10/2017 printed on a white label on the inside of the garment. The recalled clothing sets were sold in girl’s sizes 4x-12x.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the necklace from the recalled clothing sets, take it away from children and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

Sold At: Burlington and Shopko stores nationwide from February 2018 through October 2018 for about $14.

Manufacturer(s): Ningbo Younker Fashion Accessory Industrial Corporation, of China

Importer(s): H.I.S. International Group LLC, of New York

Distributor(s): H.I.S. International Group LLC, of New York

Manufactured In: China

Recall number: 19-034

Monday is Veterans Day in the U.S.A.

Monday, November 12, 2014, is the observation of Veterans Day, a federal holiday in the United States. National, state, and local government offices will be closed in commemoration. Most businesses will be open.

The Boston office of Agathon Associates will be closed for the day, as principal David Trumbull will be traveling to meetings of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists ("AATCC") in North Carolina, where he will represent clients' interests in fiber analysis.

Do you pause for a moment of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month? I remember, decades ago, in grade school, we all did so in observance of Armistice Day, even though the name of the commemoration had been official changed to Veterans Day way back in 1954.

Without question, we do right to honor our soldiers, seamen, airmen, marines, and coast guard with a public holiday. But let us not forget the origins of Veterans Day/Armistice Day on this the centenary of the end of the "War to End All Wars." Thomas Hardy wrote And There Was a Great Calm on the occasion of the signing of the armistice, here's one stnaza --

Breathless they paused. Out there men raised their glance
To where had stood those poplars lank and lopped,
As they had raised it through the four years’ dance
Of Death in the now familiar flats of France;
And murmured, 'Strange, this! How? All firing stopped?'

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. In 1926 Congress officially encouraged the observance of the day throughout the nation, but in was not until 1938 that Armistice Day became a legal federal holiday.

In 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars and President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day Proclamation. Subsequent Presidents have continued the practice of issuing such proclamations.

By the way, Veterans Day is always on November 11th, which this year is a Sunday. In 1968 the Uniform Holiday Bill removed several federal holidays from their traditional dates, placing them on Mondays in order to create three-day weekends. But many were not pleased with this tinkering with Veterans Day and in 1975 President Gerald R. Ford signed the law which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people. However, when a holiday falls on a Sunday it is the practice of the federal government to get employees the following Monday off from work. That is why while Veterans Day is Sunday, it is observed on Monday.

For more information on the celebration of Veterans Day, see https://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/

God Bless the United States of America!

CPSC Staff to Attend AATCC Meetings Next Week

On November 13 through 14, 2018, Paige Witzen, Consumer Product Safety Commission Directorate for Laboratory Sciences, will be attending AATCC Committee Meetings for Textiles. Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center, Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Outcomes from the latest research shows that wearing superfine Merino wool offers natural relief to those who suffer from eczema

A new study has confirmed that wearing superfine Merino wool helps ease the symptoms of eczema and improves the wearer's quality of life.

Supported by The Woolmark Company's Fibre Advocacy program, Professor Joe Fowler at Dermatology Specialists Research in Louisville, Kentucky, undertook this two-year study assessing the effect of Merino base-layer fabrics on 50 of his patients with mild-to-moderate eczema.

Read more HERE.

Army and Navy Wool Textile Contracts Awarded

Burlington Apparel Fabrics, Greensboro, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $40,632,816 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contract for blue wool cloth. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a one-year contract with four one-year option periods. The maximum dollar amount is for the life of the contract. Location of performance is North Carolina, with a Nov. 4, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1112).

Burlington Apparel Fabrics, Greensboro, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $40,563,765 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contract for blue poly/wool cloth. This was a competitive acquisition with one response received. This is a one-year contract with four one-year option periods. The maximum dollar amount is for the life of the contract. Location of performance is North Carolina, with a Nov. 4, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1100).