CBP is working to resolve an issue with some product exclusions for the Section 232 tariffs on aluminum that are being rejected mistakenly, a CBP official said during a Dec. 5 call with software developers. CBP plans “to have a remedy next week” but “because they are retroactive, if you must pay the duty because the system is apparently rejecting them, you always have [the Post Summary Correction (PSC)] process,” she said. The importer may also choose to delay entry, she said.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Reuters that despite the fact there was no action on auto tariffs at the end of the 180-day period announced for negotiations, that doesn't mean they are off the table. “It may or may not turn out that there is any need for the tariff,” he said Dec. 3, as the U.S. negotiates with German automakers.
Another group of steel importers filed a broad legal challenge to Section 232 tariffs on iron and steel products on Dec. 3, this time alleging that the measures are based on a faulty Commerce Department report and should be terminated by court order and refunded.
Two prominent Republicans questioned the suitability of switching tariffs for quotas because of currency manipulation in Brazil and Argentina, as President Donald Trump said Dec. 2 he is doing. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., the leading critic of Trump's trade policy, issued a statement that night that said, “He is justifying these tariffs by citing Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. This provision is exclusively meant for national security threats. Yet, the President has acknowledged that the real purpose of this action is to combat currency manipulation -- which does not pose a national security threat. Furthermore, even if this action were legitimate, the statutory window for imposing these tariffs has closed. These actions further underscore that Congress should take up my legislation that would reassert congressional authority regarding imposition of national security tariffs.”
After a surprise tweet from President Donald Trump that he would implement tariffs on Brazilian steel and on Argentinian steel and aluminum (see 1912020002), the agency in charge of Section 232 actions declined to say when a Federal Register notice would follow to put the tweet into action. The department also declined to say if importers can bring in products in sectors where the quotas are already full while waiting for the Federal Register notice. Commerce also didn't say if importers can apply for exclusions for the items. Currently, exclusions against quotas are allowed, but they are not allowed to be taken until this quarter, even though the quotas fill up quarter-by-quarter.
President Donald Trump plans to bring back the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum from Brazil and Argentina, he said in a tweet. "Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies. which is not good for our farmers," he said. "Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the U.S. from those countries."
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 18-22 in case they were missed.
The silence from the White House on auto tariffs and a Court of International Trade ruling on 50 percent tariffs on Turkish steel (see 1911180013) has left some trade lawyers wondering whether the window has closed to levy Section 232 tariffs on European cars. The panel of judges said that the law “cabins the President's power" procedurally, because of its deadlines. The Trump administration missed its deadline of Nov. 14 last week.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on forged steel fittings from India (A-533-891) and South Korea (A-580-904), and its recently initiated countervailing duty investigation on forged steel fittings from India (C-533-892).
The Commerce Department is getting close to finalizing a Section 232 report on whether there are national security issues involved in importing titanium sponge (see 1905290024), said Matt Borman, Commerce’s deputy assistant secretary for export administration. “That report is due to the president on the 29th of November," he said. "As you can imagine, we’re looking to finalize that report so that can be sent to the president for his consideration no later than a week from Friday. And then at some point, that report, in full or at least an executive summary, will be made public. But that’s some weeks, some months down the road.” Borman spoke at the Bureau of Industry and Security Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee meeting on Nov. 20.