Tim Warren

It's not clear that the president's authorities under Section 232 allow for the elimination of drawback, law firm Neville Peterson said in a blog post. President Donald Trump said in April that drawback would not be allowed for entries subject to the Section 232 tariffs (see 1804300064). "While this is a close question, the President’s power under Section 232 is limited to 'adjust[ing] imports,'” the law firm said. "It seems unlikely that the President can take action respecting exports, the activity which generally triggers claims for duty drawback."

Mexico released a list of U.S. goods that will face new tariffs as a result of the U.S. Section 232 tariffs that now apply to steel and aluminum from Mexico. Most of the new Mexican tariffs took effect June 5, while others will be phased in through July 5, Mexico said in the notice. The European Union and Canada also recently released their lists of retaliatory tariffs (see 1806010022), though neither has taken effect yet. The tariffs on U.S. goods are a response to the Trump administration's decision to end the exemptions from tariffs on steel and aluminum goods from the EU, Canada and Mexico (see 1805310028).

The use of a "fixed bed dryer" within a garlic processing process does not result in "toasting," CBP said in HQ H289310. CBP's March 5 ruling was in response to a protest and application for further review through the Port of Newark from FFI Group. FFI Group argued that the garlic at issue is classifiable as “Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading 2006: Other vegetables and mixtures of vegetables: Other: Other” in Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 2005.99.97.

President Donald Trump approved the end of temporary exemptions to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum from Mexico, Canada and the European Union, the White House said in a news release. "As of June 1, 2018, tariffs will no longer be suspended for steel or aluminum imports from those countries," the White House said. "The Administration will continue discussions with them and remains open to discussions with other countries." The U.S. "was unable to reach satisfactory arrangements, however, with Canada, Mexico, or the European Union, after repeatedly delaying tariffs to allow more time for discussions," the White House said in another release.

CBP "determined that there is substantial evidence" that American Pacific Rubber (APAC) evaded antidumping duties on imported oil country tubular goods (OCTG), the agency said in a May 21 final determination. The evidence showed that "the OCTG pup joints imported by APAC from Vietnam were steel OCTG tubing that was misidentified as upper extension nipples, misclassified under subheading 8413.91.9080, HTSUS, and entered into the customs territory of the United States without the cash deposits." The investigation was the result of allegations submitted by Aztec Manufacturing Partnership that APAC evaded antidumping duties on the goods (see 1710230023).

The White House will resume plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on some $50 billion worth of goods from China, it announced on May 29. The announcement came slightly over a week after the Trump administration said it would put the Section 301 tariffs on hold while the U.S. and China formalize a deal between the countries (see 1805210029). A final list will be announced by June 15 and "tariffs will be imposed on those imports shortly thereafter," the White House said.

CBP is looking into the possibility that a final rule for drawback won't be in effect by the statutorily required date, said Randy Mitchell, director of CBP’s Commercial Operations, Revenue and Entry Division, during a May 24 webinar hosted by Integration Point. "Everything concerning the [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] and the effective final rule is very tentative," he said. "We know that we have a congressional mandate of February 2019 to implement the drawback, the new law for drawback. But what happens if we don't have that effective final rule there, and we don't know right now and we've been discussing that with our lawyers."

The installation of proprietary software isn't enough to determine the country of origin for a digital camera for government procurement purposes, CBP said in a final determination notice. Forward Thinking Systems sought a country of origin decision from CBP on the FleetCam vehicle camera, which "allows companies who purchase the product to watch the drivers that they employee [sic] in real-time, as well as view recorded speeding and other behavior moments." The physical camera is made in China, as was the firmware that allows the camera to be operational, CBP said.

The recent scrutiny of social media platforms like Facebook should be seen as a cautionary model for the regulators watching the rapid growth of e-commerce, CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said during a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during a May 22 event. "I think the recent developments in social media and the oversight of social media provide some context I think we should reflect on," he said. For e-commerce, as with Facebook, "the relevant regulators have to be cognizant of the potential risks that such expansion brings," he said.

Trade groups representing the apparel, steel, grain and chemical industries largely agree that China is flouting World Trade Organization rules for trade, but there remains some debate over whether the use of tariffs is necessary. "I think somehow imagining that China after 17 years of noncompliance with WTO rules will somehow reverse and do it is the definition of insanity," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which represents U.S. steelworkers. "We're sitting on an economy where corporations are getting $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, we have pretty robust economy growth, so in a lot of ways there's never been a better way to fight a trade war and this is a very targeted war," Paul said, speaking as a panelist at a May 17 Washington International Trade Association event.