The United Automobile Workers union would like to see vehicles left out of trade negotiations entirely when Japan and the U.S. sit down to craft a free-trade deal. Josh Nassar, UAW legislative director, told the International Trade Commission that Japan has no tariffs on imported cars, yet its imports are just 7 percent of sales. From all countries, Japan imported 11.1 billion in vehicles in 2017, according to World's Top Exports. In 2017, the Commerce Department said the U.S. imported $51 billion in Japanese-built vehicles. The ITC also heard from the milk lobby, the American Chemistry Council and the American Apparel and Footwear Association during its hearing Dec. 6.
Customs Duty
A Customs Duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs Duty Rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of Dec. 5 (some may also be given separate headlines):
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Importers need to be ready to defend to CBP any changes in country of origin that moves a product outside the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, said Doug Zuvich, a partner in KPMG's Trade and Customs Services group. Zuvich, a former customs auditor, and others at KPMG discussed rules of origin during a Nov. 30 webinar. "It's really important to know the mindset from Customs, that they're going to come at this most likely thinking the worst," Zuvich said.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of Nov. 30 (some may also be given separate headlines):
The Court of International Trade on Nov. 29 declined to rule in favor of an importer facing nearly $3.5 million in penalties and unpaid duties based on allegations it fraudulently misclassified and undervalued entries of wearing apparel, sending the case to trial to decide whether the government missed the statute of limitations for customs penalty cases. Greenlight Organic denies the allegations, and also says the government filed its action more than five years after it purportedly found out about the violations. The government says it’s still within the five-year period of when it first obtained double-invoicing records from Greenlight. “More facts are needed to ascertain when the Government first had knowledge of Greenlight’s fraudulent misclassification and undervaluation activities, including when the Government began to suspect a potential double-invoicing scheme and when the Government had knowledge of an intent to defraud with respect to the misclassification of entries,” CIT said. Because more facts are necessary, CIT denied Greenlight’s motion for summary judgment and said Greenlight and the government could submit more evidence on the statute of limitations issue at trial.
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.
CBP's Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate is investigating several new cases of alleged plywood antidumping and countervailing duty evasion under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) evasion enforcement process (see 1608190014), CBP said in a Nov. 20 notice that was released by law firm Wiley Rein. The investigation is focused on five companies that were alleged to be involved in transshipment and false declarations of Chinese hardwood plywood. "Because the evidence thus far establishes a reasonable suspicion that the Importers have entered merchandise into the United States through evasion, CBP has imposed interim measures," the agency said.
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
In the Nov. 14 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 52, No. 46), CBP published notices that propose to revoke rulings and similar treatment for clothes for the handicapped and articles of soapstone or steatite.