Bipartisan Bill Reintroduced to Refund Some Tariffs on EU Imports Hit in Airbus Dispute

Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., have reintroduced a bill that would refund some tariffs paid to importers of goods that were hit with tariffs as a result of the Airbus dispute with the EU. The bill also would prohibit future actions by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that would hike tariffs on goods already in transit -- unless the tariffs were on a nonmarket economy, such as China. The bill would require USTR to set an effective date for the tariff hike no sooner than 60 days from the publication of the target list.

In the news release announcing the bill, the senators said: "In October 2019 and again in January 2021, USTR placed 25 percent tariffs on over $7.5 billion of European wine, spirits, food, and other products and implemented both sets of tariffs within two weeks.

Because the tariffs affected products that were already "on the water," the bill requires CBP to refund tariffs on affected goods that entered the U.S. within 60 days of either Oct. 15, 2019, or Jan. 12, 2021.

“Referees shouldn’t change the rules in the middle of a game and tariffs shouldn’t change in the middle of a shipment. Employers need certainty. This bill gives certainty," Cassidy said in the release.

Menendez said the bipartisan For Accurate Import Relief to Aid Retailers and Importers of Foreign Freights (Fair Act) would "exempt goods in transit from additional tariffs, something that should be standard practice and will help protect the interests of American consumers and companies.”

If the goods have already been liquidated, the bill instructs CBP to reliquidate the entries within 180 days, as long as the importer can provide "sufficient information" to enable CBP to either locate or reconstruct the entry, and verify the eligibility of the request.

It would apply to Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings 9903.89.10, 7 9903.89.13, 9903.89.16, 9903.89.19, 8 9903.89.22, 9903.89.25, 9903.89.28, 9 9903.89.31, 9903.89.34, 9903.89.37, 9903.89.40, 9903.89.43, 9903.89.46, 9903.89.49 for the 2019 entries.

For the 2021 entries, it would cover HTS subheadings 9903.89.57 or 9903.89.59.

CBP would be required to pay interest on the duties, the bill says.

The release said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, the North American Olive Oil Association, the Association of Food Industries, the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance, the New York State Distillers Guild, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, the American Craft Spirits Association, the American Distilled Spirits Alliance, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Napa Valley Vintners, the National Association of Beverage Importers, the National Association of Wine Retailers, Wine America, the Wine and Spirits Shippers Association and Uncorked New Orleans support the legislation.

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the Fair Tariff Act of 2023. It’s simple, practical, and -- as the name says -- fair. There’s never a good policy reason to slap tariffs on ‘goods on the water,’ and this legislation will ensure that doesn’t happen in the future,” John Murphy, senior vice president for international policy, said.

"The FAIR TARIFF Act would prevent a recurrence of what happened to Association of Food Industry members in 2019, when a very limited allowance was granted for goods to arrive before newly announced tariffs went into effect in the Airbus trade dispute -- in spite of the fact that allowances has been granted in other prior disputes,” AFI President Bob Bauer said.