Brian Feito

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 30 - Oct. 6:

Cars assembled by Volvo in Sweden as part of a “knockdown operation” using subassemblies manufactured in China are products of China and are subject to Section 301 tariffs, CBP said in a recent ruling. The “complex assembly process” occurs in China, not Sweden, so that’s where substantial transformation happens for the purposes of determining country of origin, CBP said in HQ H302821, issued July 26 and published by CBP on Oct. 2.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 23-29:

CBP can sometimes correct mistaken duty assessments past the normal statutory time limit for reliquidation if it does so quickly enough after discovering the error, the Court of International Trade said in a Sept. 27 decision. In a case involving a court-approved settlement on the amount of antidumping duties owed on ironing tables from China, the trade court allowed CBP to reliquidate entries from Target and other companies that the agency had liquidated at the wrong rate, even though the 90-day period for reliquidation had already passed.

CBP recently found an importer evaded antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions, despite a pending scope ruling request and no allegations of transshipment or misclassification. In a final determination issued Sept. 18 to close out an Enforce and Protect Act investigation, CBP said Worldwide Door Components evaded AD/CV duties by importing door thresholds that the agency says were clearly listed in the scope as subject merchandise. Worldwide says it was simply following instructions in CBP’s own written correspondence.

CBP will not be enforcing its power of attorney (POA) requirements and one-person, one-shipment limits on an entry-by-entry basis as it conducts its Type 86 pilot of filing de minimis shipments via the ACE Automated Broker Interface, said Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and security controls, during a trade call held Sept. 26. The agency will still apply existing regulations on those areas in the pilot, but that will come in the “post-audit environment,” not at the time of entry, Swanson said.

Several issues related to detention and demurrage remain to be addressed as the Federal Maritime Commission moves forward with its recent proposed rule on detention and demurrage practices, said Richard Roche of Mohawk Global Logistics, at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America’s government affairs conference Sept. 23 in Washington. Key among these are notices of availability for cargo and charges for customs holds, he said.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 16-22:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is moving into the latter stages of an effort to streamline ACE messaging to CBP and entry filers, said John Blachere, trade specialist at CPSC’s Office of Import Surveillance, at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America government affairs conference on Sept. 23.

Hyundai has agreed to pay a $47 million penalty to settle charges it imported and sold heavy construction vehicles with diesel engines that violated the Clean Air Act, the Justice Department announced in a Sept. 19 press release. DOJ said Hyundai stockpiled engines that did not comply with emissions standards, and violated the terms of a transition program meant to help manufacturers comply with new emissions requirements.