The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on collated steel staples from China, South Korea and Taiwan (A-570-112, A-580-901, A-583-866), and countervailing duty investigation on collated steel staples from China (C-570-113). The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018. The AD duty investigations on South Korea and Taiwan cover entries April 1, 2018, through March 31, 2019, and the AD duty investigation on China covers entries Oct. 1, 2018, through March 31, 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.
The trade group that represents companies that invest in China said it is glad China and the U.S. will "postpone further escalation of their tariff battles." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the news, and added, "We hope each side is now prepared to go the last mile to achieve a high-standard, comprehensive, enforceable agreement. China must commit to addressing longstanding unfair trade practices and industrial policies that prevent a level-playing field for U.S. companies. Opening markets, increasing IPR protection, and promoting fair and reciprocal opportunities in trade are in China’s own interest as it works to build a stronger and more innovative economy."
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website June 28, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADD CVD Search page:
Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade Gil Kaplan touted trade enforcement, the NAFTA rewrite, and tax cuts and deregulation in a keynote speech to the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference June 27 in Washington.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of June 17-23:
There remains a portion of the sugar-containing products export quota to the U.S. available "for utilization by Canadian residents on a first-come, first-served basis until the available quantity is fully used or September 30, 2019, whichever occurs first," the Canadian government said in a June 21 notice. Companies must request a shipment-specific import permit from Global Affairs Canada to make use of the available export quota, it said. "To claim the in-quota rate of duty, the eight-digit export permit number issued by the Department on behalf of the Government of Canada must be indicated on the appropriate US Customs entry document. Canadian exporters should provide their US Customs broker with a copy of the export permit prior to the time of export and should retain the original document."
The Court of International Trade on June 21 denied a government motion to dismiss an importer’s denied protest challenge, finding “unreasonable” the government’s position that because some entries were listed in an attachment, rather than in the narrative portion of the protest, the protests of those entries were invalid.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 10-14 in case they were missed.
A California federal court on June 10 declined to hand victory to a whistleblower suing his former employer for allegedly undervaluing imports of herbal supplements to evade payment of customs duties. Travis Kiro, a former account manager for Jiaherb, did not prove that Jiaherb knowingly mislabeled its shipments to pay lower duties to CBP, the Central California U.S. District Court said in the decision.
Ford Motor Company is "evaluating our options following the most recent ruling" on tariff engineering and the applicable duty rate for the Ford Transit van (see 1906070061), the company said in a June 12 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on June 7 overturned a Court of International Trade decision that had said vans imported by Ford are classifiable as passenger vans and dutiable at 2,5%, even though the stripped-down rear seats included in the vans were removed right after clearing customs. "If we ultimately receive a favorable ruling, we will receive a refund of the contested amounts paid and we will treat the refund as a special item," the company said. "Similarly, if we are required to pay the higher rate for prior imports, the payment will be treated as a special item." Neither event would affect the company's earning guidance, it said.