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Carsten Alting

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* Carsten Alting

Rechtsanwalt

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June Towery

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Lawrence J. Scott

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Henry M. Burwell

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John M. Campbell

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Walter H. Hinton, II

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Catharine W. Cummer

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John B. Hagerty

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Denise M. Gunter

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Thomas F. Moran

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*Admitted as an attorney in Germany

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND TRADE

Dumping

Mexico:

• The Economy Ministry imposed punitive tariffs worth nearly $21 million on 10 products of the United States because of the failure of the United States to comply with the WTO ruling against the Byrd Amendment, joining the EU, Canada, and Japan, which announced retaliatory duties because of the refusal to repeal the amendment (22 ITR 1386; 8/25/05).

U.S.:

• The Commerce Department announced Brazil is dumping orange juice in the U.S. (Orange Juice from Brazil/ITA; 22 ITR 1395; 8/25/05).

Transportation

Mexico:

• The Finance Ministry published a decree allowing for the legal importation of certain used cars and trucks into Mexico (22 ITR 1388; 8/25/05).

LEGISLATIVE AND LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

Tariff Classification

U.S.:

• The Court of Appeals for the federal circuit affirmed the tariff classification of electric cables dutiable at 3.5 percent and classifying the fiber optic cable as duty-free, rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that the attachment of the three separate cables with steel wraps constituted an assembly (22 ITR 1392; 8/25/05); (ABB Inc. v. U.S., Fed. Cir., No. 05-1103, 8/16/05).

Pharmaceuticals

U.S.:

• The Protecting Free Trade in Pharmaceuticals Act of 2005 is co-sponsored in the Senate and the House to keep drug importation prohibitions out of future trade deals (22 ITR 1277; 8/04/05).

IMMIGRATION

FY 2006 H1-B Cap Reached on August 10, 2005

• The Immigration Service (USCIS) had received enough petitions filed since April 1, 2005, to fill the entire FY 2006 visa quota through September 30, 2007, except for 6,800 visas available for the Singapore-Chile-U.S. Free Trade Agreement allocation (82 IR 1311; August 15, 2005).

U.S. – VISIT Begins Testing RFID Tags at Certain Border Crossings

• Radio frequency identification tags embedded in I-94 cards will passively and remotely record the entry and exit of covered individuals at certain land border crossings that do not contain information about the individual, but carry a unique identifier for the specific Form I-94 to track entry and exit from the United States (See 70 Fed. Reg. 44934/August 4, 2005; 82 IR 1319; August 15, 2005).

Immigration Reform Legislation: S.1033/S.1438

• S.1033 provides a system for paying a substantial fine, completing rigorous security and criminal background checks, paying back taxes, learning English, and maintaining a strong work record as a condition for legalization.

• S.1438 would invest in border protection by adding thousands of new border patrol agents, investigators to combat smuggling, fraud and workplace violations, and improve technology and infrastructure to gain operational control of the border (82 IR 1243; August 1, 2005).

Real Guest Act of 2005

• Creates a temporary guest worker plan without offering amnesty and overhauls the H non-immigrant visa category (82 IR 1206; July 25, 2005).

Freedom of Information Request (Form G-639) to Immigration Service

• USCIS introduced a new form for Freedom of Information requests effective January 1, 2006 (82 IR 1222; July 25, 2005).

Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons (Form 1042)

• IRS Form 1042 is used to report to the IRS tax withheld at the source on certain income paid on nonresident alien individuals, foreign partnerships, and foreign corporations (82 IR 1224; July 25, 2005).

Clarification of the H1-B1 Free Trade Nonimmigrant Filing Fee

• The additional fee required by the H1-B1 Visa Reform Act of 2004 for H1-B1 employers is $1500 for businesses with 26 or more fulltime employees and $750 for businesses with 25 or fewer fulltime employees (10 IB 1184; USCIS Press Release June 21, 2005).

L-1A Visa Reform Act of 2004

• L-1B temporary workers can no longer work primarily at a work site other than that of their petitioning employer if either the work is controlled and supervised by a different employer, or the offsite arrangement is essentially to provide a non-petitioning party with local labor for hire (10 IB 1185; USCIS Press Release June 23, 2005).

Sources: IR - Interpreter Releases, Federal Publications, Inc.; ITR - International Trade Reporter, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.; IB-Bender’s Immigration Bulletin; ILT - Immigration Law Today, American Immigration Lawyers Association Monthly Journal; IL - International Lawyer, SMU School of Law; FT- Financial Times; KTF - Korea Trade Focus Monthly Newsletter (Korea International Trade Association) TE - The Economist Magazine; GATM - German American Trade Magazine published by the German American Chamber of Commerce; MAPI - Manufacturers Alliance Legal Analysis and Regulations; WSJ - Wall Street Journal; ILN/ABA-International Law News, American Bar Association; TMIJ-Tax Management International Journal, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.; AILA - American Immigration Lawyer’s Association

International Law Bulletin is an international legal news digest published monthly as a service to Nelson Mullins’ clients and friends.  The articles are summaries of particular developments in the law and are not intended to be a solicitation or to render legal advice. This publication can be considered advertising under applicable laws.  Copyright 2005

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, L.L.P.

has offices located in

Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

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