The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on glass containers from China (A-570-114/C-570-115). The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018. The AD duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2019, through June 30, 2019.
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.
Although the International Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 incoterms did not make the significant revisions that industries expected, it did introduce several changes that may require updated contacts between importers and exporters.
CBP's proposed rule to impose new importer verification requirements on brokers would transfer the government's oversight of importers on to brokers, FedEx said in comments to CBP on the proposal (see 1908130031). "CBP, as a law enforcement agency, should be the party primarily charged with verifying importer identity for security purposes," the company said. CBP should instead implement Section 114 of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, which called on CBP "to develop criteria that an importer must meet in order to obtain an" Importer of Record number, FedEx said.
CBP didn't find "substantial evidence" to demonstrate that glycine importer Newtrend USA evaded an antidumping duty order, the agency said in a final determination posted Oct. 4. The finding, which is dated Sept. 25, seems to be the first time CBP did not find evidence of evasion under CBP's Enforce and Protect Act process. CBP began its investigation following an allegation filed by Salvi Chemical Industries in 2018 (see 1903180021) that said Newtrend USA used transshipment through Thailand to avoid AD order A-570-836 on glycine from China.
CBP's requirement that consignees appoint customs brokers to be importers-of-record on Type 86 entries creates "a significant business risk and is likely to deter customs brokers from filing type 86 entries," the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments on the agency's test of the entry type (see 1908120019). The new entry type is being tested as a way to file informal entries in ACE for low value shipments. CBP is accepting comments through the duration of the test.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative confirmed that European goods that are part of the Airbus action (see 1910020044) must clear customs before midnight on Oct. 18 in order to avoid an additional 25 percent or 10 percent duty. That means the applicability of the tariffs will be based on the date of entry and not the date of export.
CBP published the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties. For the quarter that began Oct. 1 and ends Dec. 31, the interest rates for overpayments remains 4 percent for corporations and 5 percent for non-corporations, and the interest rate for underpayments will be 5 percent for both corporations and non-corporations. These interest rates are subject to change for the calendar quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2020, and ending March. 31, 2020, CBP said.
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.
A coalition of U.S. manufacturers seeks the imposition of new antidumping and countervailing duties on glass containers from China, it said in a petition filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission Sept. 24. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CV duty orders and the assessment of AD and CV duties on importers.
The U.S. Trade Representative announced that the U.S. will reduce or eliminate tariffs on certain Japanese machine tools, bicycles, bicycle parts, fasteners, steam turbines and musical instruments, as well as eliminating or reducing tariffs on 42 tariff lines that cover $40 million in food and agricultural imports from Japan, as part of a "mini-deal" recently agreed to by the two countries. Those food and agricultural imports include plants, flowers, persimmons, green tea, chewing gum and soy sauce.