Customs Duty

CBP is examining the possible transshipment of glycine from China in order to evade antidumping duties, the agency said a notice of initiation of investigation. The notice follows an allegation of evasion filed under CBP's Enforce and Protect Act process. Due to evidence creating a "reasonable suspicion" of evasion, "CBP has imposed interim measures," it said.

The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on carbon and alloy steel threaded rod from India, Taiwan, Thailand and China (A-533-887, A-583-865, A-549-840, A-570-104), and countervailing duty investigations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from India and China (C-533-888, C-570-105).

The Commerce Department issued a notice in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on acetone from Belgium, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and Spain (A-423-814, A-580-899, A-517-805, A-559-808, A-791-824, A-469-819).

Importers can use the temporary import provisions with goods subject to Section 301 tariffs in order to pay the tariffs at current levels and avoid potential increases, CBP said in a Feb. 21 ruling, HQ H302203. Alex Romero of A.F. Romero & Co. Customs Brokers requested CBP's ruling on behalf Panacea Products Corp. Several of Panacea's products are subject to the third list of Section 301 tariffs, which were originally slated to increase from 10 percent to 25 percent on Jan. 1. That increase has since been delayed "until further notice" while the U.S. and China negotiate (see 1903010036).

The U.S. Council for International Business submitted its outline for how to improve the World Trade Organization to the Senate Finance Committee, which held a March 12 hearing on the WTO (see 1903120055). "Our recommendations for modernizing the WTO should not in any way be read as questioning the business support for WTO. Instead, they are intended to highlight areas for action that would strengthen the ability of the organization to more effectively meet the demands of a changing world," the trade group wrote.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision in Trek Leather continues even now to be a major point of contention among customs lawyers, more than four years after it was issued (see 14091703). "There's a lot of uncertainty out there," said Michael Cone, a FisherBroyles lawyer, who moderated a March 8 panel on enforcement during the International Trade Update at the Georgetown University law school. Patricia McCarthy, assistant director for the Department of Justice commercial litigation branch, said despite the concerns within the trade, there remains a high bar for individual liability in Section 1592 cases.

The question of how de minimis should fit within the new NAFTA is being grappled with in Congress (see 1902280005) and partner countries (see 1903080033), panelists said March 8 during the International Trade Update at the Georgetown University law school. There was significant pushback from Canada over increasing the value threshold, mostly due to the country's value-added taxes rather than the customs duty collections, said Christine McDaniel, senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

Broad descriptions of the budget for trade-related operations show the administration would like to spend more on enforcement, and would like to collect more fees from travelers and traders. The submissions, released March 11, for fiscal year 2020, asked for $9 million more for the Bureau of Industry and Security -- slightly more than last year's requested increase. "The Budget increases resources to support the Department of Commerce's membership in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the summary said. "The Budget includes $16 million to support the President’s robust trade agenda," the summary said, including implementing the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, which asked Commerce to identify emerging technologies that should be subject to export controls. The summary said the administration wants to establish "a new initiative within the International Trade Administration to counter the circumvention or evasion of U.S. trade actions aimed at those who engage in unfair and illegal trade practices."

Supply chain location changes are difficult and take time, so companies are turning to other ways to avoid or reduce Sections 301 and 232 tariffs, experts said at a March 7 Georgetown Law International Trade Update (see 1903070033) panel on the Trump administration and the supply chain. For steel and aluminum imports, there's been "a big uptake in foreign-trade zones," said Lynlee Brown, a senior manager at Ernst & Young. With Section 301, companies are using drawback, and after a recent CMS message, they may be taking advantage more often of substitution drawback. But the best bang for the buck, Brown said, is in customs valuation. Companies are making changes there not only because of Section 301, but also because of the administration's tax reform.

While U.S. textile manufacturers and apparel industries “have expressed overall support” for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the two sectors disagree on several key provisions, including certain rules of origin and enforcement procedures, according to a March 5 report by the Congressional Research Service.