Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings Jan. 27
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on Jan. 27 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
H309718: Application for Further Review of Protest Number 5301-23-109115; New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires from the People’s Republic of China; Antidumping and Countervailing Duties
| Ruling: Triangle Tyre is the producer and exporter based on the documentation provided by Leviathan. Accordingly, Leviathan’s entry deemed liquidated at the 12.83% antidumping duty rate asserted upon entry. |
| Issue: Did CBP properly assess antidumping duties at the correct rate on entry number XXX-XXXX575-7; and was entry number XXX-XXXX575-7 deemed liquidated by operation of law? |
| Item: Leviathan's protest of AD related to single entry number XXX-XXXX575-7, which consisted of 36 pneumatic off-the road tires (“OTR tires”) from China. Leviathan argues that CBP erroneously assessed AD at the China-wide rate rather than the exporter and producer combination rate attributed to Triangle Tyre, the exporter. |
| Reason: To determine who is the exporter, CBP looked at the first sales contract, the first commercial invoice and the first packing list. The first packing list explicitly refers to Triangle Tyre as the exporter. While the bill of lading refers to Tianjin Leviathan International Trade Co., Ltd., as the shipper, the container and seal numbers on the bill of lading can be cross referenced to the first packing list, which lists Triangle Tyre as the exporter. Moreover, the merchandise was exported from the Port of Qingdao, China, where Triangle Tyre is located, rather than the Port of Tianjin, China, where Tianjin Leviathan is located. |
| Ruling Date: Nov. 26, 2024 |
H334641: Coastwise Transportation; Outer Continental Shelf; Cable Laying; 46 U.S.C. §§ 55102, 55103, and 55109; 19 CFR §§ 4.80a and 4.80b
| Ruling: The transportation of subsea power cable from a foreign or a U.S. port by a foreign vessel, as described above, prior to cable lay operations would not violate the Jones Act. The use of a foreign vessel to lay subsea power cable would not violate the Jones Act. The return of a de minimis amount of excess power cable by a foreign cable installation vessel to the exact location from which it was laden would not violate the Jones Act. The transportation of a de minimis amount of excess power cable by a foreign cable installation vessel between U.S. ports would not violate the Jones Act so long as the de minimis amount of cable consists of 5% or less of the cable initially laded aboard the vessel. The transportation of more than 5% of cable would violate the Jones Act. The employment by a foreign vessel of a pure chain cutting device, a hybrid water jet/chain cutter device, or a pure water jet device on the OCS seabed to bury subsea power cable on the Outer Continental Shelf would not violate the Dredging Statute. The use of a foreign vessel to engage in a pre-lay grapnel removal of out-of-service communications cable and debris would not violate the Dredging Statute. The subsequent transportation of out-of-service cable and debris removed from the seabed from an OCS location to a U.S. port utilizing a coastwise-qualified vessel would not violate the coastwise laws. The transportation of containers containing cable protection materials between two U.S. ports by a foreign cable installation vessel would not violate the Jones Act. The use of a foreign vessel to conduct survey operations would not violate the coastwise laws. The transportation of marine crew personnel between points in the United States by a foreign cable installation vessel, out of service cable removal vessel, pre-lay grapnel run vessel, and survey vessel would not violate the Passenger Vessel Services Act. |
| Issues: Whether transportation of subsea power cable from a foreign or a U.S. port by a foreign vessel prior to cable lay operations would violate the Jones Act; whether the use of a foreign vessel to lay subsea power cable would violate the Jones Act; whether the return of a de minimis amount of excess power cable by a foreign cable installation vessel to the exact location from which it was laden would violate the Jones Act; whether the transportation of a de minimis amount of excess power cable by a foreign cable installation vessel between U.S. ports would violate the Jones Act; whether the employment by a foreign vessel of a pure chain cutting device, a hybrid water jet/chain cutter device, or a pure water jet device on the OCS seabed to bury subsea power cable would violate the Dredging Statute; whether the use of a foreign vessel to engage in a pre-lay grapnel removal of out of service cable and debris, as described above, and subsequent transportation of such cable and debris to a U.S. port for recycling by a coastwise qualified vessel would violate the Dredging Statute; whether the transportation of containers containing cable protection materials between two U.S. ports by a foreign cable installation vessel would violate the Jones Act; whether the use of a foreign vessel to conduct survey operations would violate the coastwise laws; and whether the transportation of marine crew personnel between points in the United States by a foreign cable installation vessel, out of service cable removal vessel, pre-lay grapnel run vessel, and survey vessel would violate the Passenger Vessel Services Act |
| Item: Vessel activities relating to the installation of a subsea power cable on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf by non-coastwise-qualified vessels |
| Reason: See ruling. |
| Ruling Date: Jan. 23, 2025 |