The U.S Trade Representative issued its first list of product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on products from China, granting full or partial exemptions for 22 10-digit tariff subheadings, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website Dec. 21. The product exclusions apply retroactively as of July 6, the date the first set of tariffs took effect, and will remain in effect until one year after USTR publishes the notice in the Federal Register.
Brian Feito
Brian Feito is Managing Editor of International Trade Today, Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. A licensed customs broker who spent time at the Department of Commerce calculating antidumping and countervailing duties, Brian covers a wide range of subjects including customs and trade-facing product regulation, the courts, antidumping and countervailing duties and Mexico and the European Union. Brian is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2012.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 10-16:
Food importers that aren’t complying with Foreign Supplier Verification Program requirements should expect enforcement action from the Food and Drug Administration to begin over the next year, said Dominic Veneziano of Veneziano Consulting, at the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Enforcement Litigation and Compliance Conference on Dec. 12.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 3-9:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 26 - Dec. 2:
Trade groups called for improvements to Japanese customs procedures as part of any U.S.-Japan Free Trade Agreement, including enhanced cooperation between CBP and Japan Customs to combat fraud, in comments submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on negotiating objectives for the potential trade deal. Commenters generally supported an increase in the Japanese de minimis level, but as was the case in prior trade agreement negotiations, disagreed on rules of origin, particularly for textiles.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 19-25:
An importer’s challenge of the antidumping duty rate assessed on its hand trucks from China is better directed to the Commerce Department than to CBP by way of protest, the Court of International Trade said in a Nov. 23 decision. Northern Tool argued that, under Commerce’s “knowledge test” the exporter for AD duty purposes should have been the manufacturer of the hand trucks, but the trade court found CBP was only bound to determine the exporter based on entry documentation.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is proposing an overhaul of its regulations on the labeling and advertising of wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages. The proposed rule would reorganize the regulations “to simplify and clarify regulatory standards,” and would also incorporate requirements currently set by guidance and policy documents directly into the regulations. Comments on the proposal are due March 26.
A substantial penalty case related to alleged evasion of antidumping duties by a major chemical importer will go to trial, after the Court of International Trade on Nov. 13 issued a mixed ruling on whether CBP proved the existence of a transshipment scheme. In the decision, publicly released Nov. 20, the trade court found evidence pointed both ways on whether Univar imported Chinese saccharin through Taiwan, and whether the importer fulfilled its reasonable care responsibilities.