International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 10-14 in case they were missed.
The International Trade Commission recently issued two new revisions to the 2019 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes include new and amended exclusions from Section 301 tariffs from China, as well as a decrease in tariffs for goods on list 4A. The ITC also implemented new Section 232 tariffs on some finished goods of steel and aluminum that took effect Feb. 8, as well as a shift to a quarterly tariff-rate quota for imports of large residential washers subject to Section 201 safeguard duties.
Nine pro-free-trade Democrats sent a letter to the White House Feb. 13 demanding that the administration release its autos Section 232 report -- as required by law -- and abandon the idea of hiking tariffs on imported autos and auto parts. The letter says that despite the White House receiving the report a year ago, it's hidden from Congress and the public. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said earlier this week that he still wants the auto 232 report, despite the administration's claim it's protected by executive privilege (see 2002120023).
Correction: A preliminary injunction issued Feb. 13 by the Court of International Trade says CBP cannot collect “duty deposits” entries of goods from a single importer, PrimeSource, for new Section 232 tariffs on finished steel and aluminum products that took effect Feb. 8.
A challenge to Section 232 tariffs that began Feb. 8 on finished steel and aluminum products could proceed quickly, if the Court of International Trade approves a jointly proposed schedule filed Feb. 14 that would have written arguments in the case wrapped up by May. CIT a day earlier issued a preliminary injunction barring CBP from collecting the tariffs from the importer that filed the lawsuit, PrimeSource. Oman Fasteners has requested a similar injunction in a separate case, but as of press time the court had not ruled on the motion. The preliminary injunction for PrimeSource results from an agreement between the government and PrimeSource nine days after the lawsuit was filed.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2001 on Feb. 13, containing 12,922 Automated Broker Interface records and 2,380 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes the Section 301 tariff decrease for goods on list 4A (see 2001160019) and the expanded Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum goods, it said. It also includes recently released Section 301 tariff exclusions (see 2002030008).
The Office of Management and Budget is now reviewing a Commerce Department proposal to modify its Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis system to require import license applicants to identify the country where steel used in the manufacture of an imported steel product was melted and poured. The proposal would prevent transshipment of steel products to take advantage of exemptions from Section 232 tariffs for Canada and Mexico, Commerce has said. OMB reviews of regulations are limited to 90 days, extendable by another 30, and may end with approval of the rule for publication.
The Court of International Trade on Feb. 13 issued an injunction barring CBP from collecting new Section 232 tariffs on finished steel and aluminum products form a single importer, PrimeSource. The preliminary injunction says CBP cannot collect “duty deposits” on PrimeSource’s entries of goods covered by the tariffs, which took effect Jan. 8, and sets bonding requirements until CIT enters final judgment in the case. The preliminary injunction results from an agreement between the government and PrimeSource nine days after the lawsuit was filed.
The U.S.-Japan mini-trade deal covers just 5 percent of trade between the partners, according to Bruce Hirsh, a principal at Tailwind, but he said the likelihood of further progress is small. Hirsh spoke while at the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones legislative summit on Feb. 11. “Japan wasn’t interested in doing a bilateral deal at all, but they recognized there was only so long they could keep the U.S. at bay,” he said. He said that what Japan gave to the U.S. “fell a little bit short of TPP,” or the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He said beef and pork got TPP parity, but rice got nothing and “dairy got a lot, but not everything.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said that the Trump administration's argument that the Section 232 report justifying tariffs on imported autos is protected by executive privilege (see 2001210054) is not the last word. Grassley, who was speaking Feb. 11 on a conference call with reporters, said he will keep pushing, though he has not yet contacted the White House or the Commerce Department. He said the next step is to consult with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Finance Committee.