The Court of International Trade ruled that CBP properly classified eight models of gloves imported by Magid Glove & Safety Manufacturing Co. as knit textile gloves, rather than as gloves made of plastics. In a March 25 opinion, Judge Timothy Stanceu sided with the government and ruled CBP correctly classified the gloves imported from China and South Korea in 2015 and correctly denied Magid's 2016 CBP protest (Magid Glove & Safety Manufacturing Co. v. United States, CIT #16-00150).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The submission or completion of CBP and Department of Defense forms related to imports of household goods and personal effects constitutes "customs business" and requires any third-party filers to be licensed customs brokers, the agency said in September ruling that was recently released. The ruling came in response to an internal CBP information request from the Port of Baltimore on the requirements for the submission of CBP forms 3461, 7501, 3299, and DOD Form 1252.
The Court of International Trade ruled in a March 25 opinion that CBP properly classified eight models of gloves imported by Magid Glove & Safety Manufacturing Co. under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 6116.10.55, dutiable at 13.2%. Magid argued for classification in subheading 3926.20.10, free of duty. Judge Timothy Stanceu sided with the government, ruling that heading 6116 and subheading 6116.10.55 describe the gloves in question.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative sought confidential advice from “private-sector advisory committees,” believed to be under the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) program managed jointly by USTR and the Commerce Department, before imposing the List 3 Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, Stephen Vaughn, the agency’s then-general counsel, wrote then-USTR Robert Lighthizer on Sept. 17, 2018. The document was one of about a dozen “decision memos” spanning 488 pages that DOJ filed March 24 in the Section 301 litigation docket (In Re Section 301 Cases, CIT #21-00052) at the Court of International Trade as an “appendix” to oral argument held Feb. 1 (see 2202010059).
DOJ is again arguing that it can file counterclaims in Court of International Trade classification cases -- even after more than four years into a case. Days after defending its counterclaim in another denied protest case involving importer Cyber Power (see 2203180042), DOJ is now arguing that delays by another importer in a separate case, Second Nature, allow it to bring a counterclaim despite the time elapsed (Second Nature Designs Ltd. v. United States, CIT #17-00271).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Processes performed on steel bars do not constitute "further working" for the purposes of tariff classification, meaning the steel bars are still classifiable in a tariff subheading subject to Section 232 tariffs, DOJ said in a brief filed March 21 at the Court of International Trade. Arguing in favor of its cross-motion for judgment, DOJ said that imported grinding rods from China are still classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 7228.40.00 as “Other bars and rods of other alloy steel … not further worked than forged." ME Global is seeking reclassification of the rods under the residual subheading 7326.11.00 as "other articles of iron or steel,” which are not subject to Section 232 tariffs (ME Global Inc. v. United States, CIT #19-00179).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The Court of International Trade ruled in a March 21 opinion that a customs spat over reimported swimsuits will head to phase two of trial. After sorting through whether a Warehousing Agreement between two related companies sufficed as a lease or similar use agreement during the first phase, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves ruled that this condition was satisfied for classification under a duty-free tariff provision for U.S. goods returned. The court will now see if the remaining conditions are satisfied in order to grant SGS Sports duty-free treatment of the reimported swimwear.