The White House is asking Congress to pass a law that "would require importers of small packages to provide additional information to Customs and Border Protection officials so that we can keep track of these packages and better detect and identify packages that are carrying illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and related machinery," and is giving agencies 30 days to review public-private partnerships with "shipping companies, freight forwarding companies, e-commerce entities" and others to see how effective they are in stopping the distribution of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, and asking for recommendations on how to close "key gaps" in those partnerships.
Higher or new Section 301 tariffs on lithium-ion batteries for EVs, lead-acid battery parts, golf-cart like EVs, electric cars, vans and buses, plug-in hybrids, ship-to-shore cranes, solar cells, solar panels, syringes, needles, three categories of disposable masks, 26 critical minerals, more than 100 HTS codes covering iron and steel products, and 31 aluminum HTS codes, all on imports from China, will not go up on Aug. 1, as originally announced two months ago (see 2405220072).
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The U.S. government, aware that many goods made with forced labor are inputs to finished goods, is working both to identify those inputs and to help importers understand that their goods could be banned from import as traceability becomes more possible.
African journalists asked Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa Constance Hamilton and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs Joy Basu if their countries would stay in or return to the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
The Court of International Trade denied Seko Customs Brokerage's bids for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against its temporary suspension from the Entry Type 86 Test and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs. Judge Claire Kelly found Seko already received all the relief it sought when it was conditionally reinstated into the programs and told why it was originally suspended.
Momentum on a bill to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods in e-commerce has slowed, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., acknowledged. Earlier, he had hoped the Shop Safe (Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-commerce) bill would move in the House Judiciary Committee in May or June.
CBP plans to enforce the $800 daily aggregated limit for de minimis shipments as a new functionality of the ACE platform.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Drawback for merchandise processing fees should be calculated at the entry summary line level for both substitution and direct identification drawback claims, CBP said in a recently released ruling announced in a July 23 CSMS message.