The Commerce Department issued a countervailing duty order on large diameter welded carbon and alloy steel structural pipe from China (C-570-078). Originating from AD/CV duty orders on all forms of large diameter welded pipe, the orders come with a revised scope due to an International Trade Commission determination that only illegally subsidized Chinese structural line pipe injures U.S. industry, and not line or stainless steel pipe.
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 Commerce Department issued antidumping and countervailing duty orders on large diameter welded carbon and alloy steel line pipe from India (A-533-881/C-533-882). Originating from AD/CV duty orders on all forms of large diameter welded pipe, the orders come with a revised scope due to an International Trade Commission determination that only Indian line pipe injures U.S. industry, and not structural or stainless steel pipe.
The Commerce Department issued an antidumping duty order on large diameter welded carbon and alloy steel line and structural pipe from China (A-570-077). Originating from AD/CV duty orders on all forms of large diameter welded pipe, the orders come with a revised scope due to an International Trade Commission determination that only dumped Chinese structural and line pipe injures U.S. industry, and not stainless steel pipe.
Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports have had a diverse impact on electronics companies serving the custom installer industry, according to manufacturers at the ProSource Summit Expo in Nashville on March 3. Origin Acoustics has seen a wide variety of impacts within its product line, CEO Nick Berry told Consumer Electronics Daily, a sister publication to International Trade Today. Passive speakers, which lack a built-in power source, have been relatively immune, but the effect on amplifiers has been “extreme,” he said. Tariffs on a container of electronics that Origin imported from China in December cost the company more than all the tariffs it paid the prior year, he said. The hike in the duty rate to 10 percent from 1 percent -- “an extreme scenario” -- was going to be a “clear negative” to the balance sheet, so the company, entering its fifth year in business, implemented its first-ever price increase for 2019, he said.
A coalition of domestic manufacturers is seeking the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on wooden cabinets and vanities from China, it said in a petition filed March 5 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission. The petition targets wood-constructed products serving the purpose and function of permanently affixed cabinetry typically found throughout the home, including kitchen and bath cabinetry, modular vanities, and pedestal vanities. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties.
The new NAFTA will reverse outsourcing decisions in the auto industry, the U.S. Trade Representative's annual report on the trade agenda said, and one of the administration's top priorities for 2019 is to get Congress to ratify it. The report, which spends 26 pages on this year's agenda and the rest laying out the status of current free trade agreements, negotiations and enforcement actions during 2018, was released late March 1. Generally, the report defended the administration's actions, arguing they're not protectionist but rather pro-worker, and noting that both imports and exports grew in high single digits during the first 11 months of 2018.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on fabricated structural steel from Canada (A-122-864/C-122-865), Mexico (A-201-850/C-201-851) and China (A-570-102/C-570-103).
The Commerce Department made an affirmative antidumping preliminary determination that imports of steel racks and parts thereof from China (A-570-088) are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The agency will impose AD duty cash requirements on entries of subject merchandise beginning on March 4.
It's not clear yet whether the United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union customs union, but nonetheless, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its negotiating objectives late Feb. 28. Many are similar to what was achieved in the NAFTA rewrite.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: