Democrats that represent Michigan and Ohio, where Big 3 automakers' plants are concentrated, are asking that the Section 301 review hike tariffs on Chinese automakers. Section 301 tariffs already apply a 25% tariff, making the total duty for a Chinese auto 27.5%.
CBP CROSS Rulings
CBP issues binding advance rulings in connection with the importation of merchandise into the United States. They issue the rulings to give the trade community transparency of how CBP will treat a prospective import or carrier transaction. Common rulings include the tariff classification, country of origin, or free trade agreement applicability of merchandise, among other things. These rulings are available in CBP's Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) database.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 7 said that importer RKW Klerks' net wraps products, used in a machine to bale harvested crops, are not "parts" of harvesting machinery under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Judges Richard Taranto, Raymond Chen and Tiffany Cunningham thus sided with CBP's classification of the products as "warp knit fabric," dutiable at 10% under HTS subheading 6005.39.00.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website March 6, 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 ADCVD Search page.
A bipartisan bill has been introduced that would set country-by-country de minimis levels, instruct the administration to reconsider U.S. tariffs "with the focus on the principle of reciprocity" for most favored nation rates, and open a dialogue with Mexico and Canada on allowing Costa Rica and Uruguay to join USMCA.
CBP has released its March 6 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 58, No. 9). While it contains recent court decisions, no customs rulings are included.
CBP has “cleared” its long-awaited proposed rule on low value shipments, and the proposal will now go to the Office of Management and Budget for review, acting Commissioner Troy Miller said at a Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting March 6. If OMB declares the rule “significant,” the proposal will then go for interagency review prior to publication in the Federal Register, Miller said.
CBP finalized its December 2022 interim final rule that moved the responsibility for administering refunds, reduced tax rates and tax credits on imported alcohol from CBP to the Treasury Department. In a notice released March 5, CBP formally adopted changes that took effect in January 2023 that moved the responsibility of the Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) from CBP to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) within Treasury (see 2209220065). The change was required by the Tax Relief Act of 2020, which made CBMA permanent but transferred its administration to the TTB. The rule takes effect March 6.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP didn't prematurely suspend liquidation of two entries prior to the beginning of an Enforce and Protect Act investigation, the agency said in a newly released ruling. The ruling, dated Jan. 3, denied a protest from Crude Chem Technology, which had argued that CBP was required by law to extend liquidation on the entries, not suspend it.
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commissioner Kimberly Glas, calling e-commerce "a superhighway of the Wild West," asked witnesses at a hearing on Chinese exports and product safety if de minimis is a major contributor to unsafe products.