AAEI Asks for USMCA Delay, Refund of Sections 232, 301 Duties

The American Association of Exporters and Importers is asking the Trump administration to help importers and exporters deal with the impact of COVID-19 response measures, whether that impact is a cash crunch, the effects of telework or business decisions made in response to delays in shipments from China. The group is asking the administration to extend the time to respond to regulatory notices that are paper based, including entry filings deadlines, because telecommuting makes it more difficult to manage the paper flow. It is also asking CBP to extend the protest period for customs duties and decisions.

For importers that are facing cash issues, AAEI is asking that the administration give firms 90 days to pay customs duties and fees, or that it refund duties paid under sections 301 and 232 and suspend payment on those duties. President Donald Trump has already rejected the idea of suspending Section 301 duties, saying they are paid by China.

The group surveyed its members and found that 56% said that they had face delays in getting goods shipped from China, and so they argue that Section 301 exclusions should be extended. Moreover, AAEI said a suspension of duties or a longer time to pay them would help companies that are amassing more inventory as a way to deal with delays; it said that a third of survey respondents are doing that. Because all of these impacts from the coronavirus pandemic are consuming companies, AAEI asked the administration to put off the date of entry into force of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to Jan. 1, 2021, to keep things simpler for traders.