A pipe importer will pay $600,000 to settle a False Claims Act suit over its failure to pay marking duties, according to lawyers in the case. Victaulic had been accused by Customs Fraud Investigations LLC of failing to mark pipe fittings it imported from China and Poland and then failing to pay the 10 percent marking duty to CBP (see 14091119).
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.
Suspension of liquidation and antidumping duty cash deposit requirements take effect as of May 7 for imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico (A-201-820), the Commerce Department said in a notice announcing its termination of the agreement suspending the antidumping duty investigation. That investigation will now resume at the preliminary determination stage, which is where Commerce left off when it first suspended the investigation in 1996.
A domestic manufacturer filed petitions on May 7 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on quartz surface products from India and Turkey. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on quartz surface products that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. The petition was filed by Cambria Company.
CBP provided some details in a May 9 CSMS message on how importers should file entries that will be subject to the increased Section 301 duties on goods from China. The CSMS message confirms that the increased duties will only apply to goods exported and entered after May 10 (see 1905080035). During a call with software developers the same day, CBP officials explained that several pieces are still being worked out, including the addition of a tariff subheading for goods exported before May 10 and entered after the tariffs take effect.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice on the increase in Section 301 tariffs for the third tranche of goods from China (see 1905080004) mentions that a new exclusion process will be coming for that group of products. The notice, which said that the tariffs will go from 10 percent to 25 percent for the third list of goods from China at 12:01 a.m. on May 10, also seems to indicate some differences from previous tariff implementation instructions on the timing.
The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on ceramic tile from China (A-570-108/C-570-109). The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018. The AD duty investigation covers entries Oct. 1, 2018, through March 31, 2019.
CBP's proposed ruling revocation on garments with 50/50 blends of fiber (see 1904050037) seems to indicate a big shift in the way the agency classifies garments and other finished textile goods, according to industry experts. The proposal is a "significant change in policy," Sandler Travis lawyer Elise Shibles said in a May 2 email. The proposal "could significantly impact a wide range of imported goods, including their duty rates, qualification for free trade agreements, and sourcing supply chains," she and trade consultant Tom Gould said in a post on the firm's website.
Twenty-five House members, led by former New Dems Chairman Jim Himes, D-Conn., asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer not to terminate India as a beneficiary under the Generalized System of Preferences program before a new government is seated in that country. India is in the midst of elections now. India could be terminated as early as May 4, since notice was given March 4. India is the top beneficiary of GSP, accounting for $5.6 billion of the program's $21.1 billion in imports last year, according to USTR. Almost 12 percent of India's exports to the U.S. are covered by GSP.
The Commerce Department issued a countervailing duty order on large diameter welded carbon and alloy steel structural pipe from Turkey (C-489-834). The order sets permanent countervailing duties, which will remain in place unless revoked by Commerce in a sunset or changed circumstances review. Commerce will now begin conducting annual administrative reviews, if requested, to determine final assessments of CV duties on importers and make changes to cash deposit rates.
The Commerce Department issued an antidumping duty order on large diameter welded carbon and alloy steel line pipe from Greece (A-484-803). The order sets permanent antidumping duties, which will remain in place unless revoked by Commerce in a sunset or changed circumstances review. Commerce will now begin conducting annual administrative reviews, if requested, to determine final assessments of AD duties on importers and make changes to cash deposit rates.