Businesses would get a reason for their exclusion denials if a bill introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., earlier this month becomes law. S. 2362, which has no co-sponsors, would require that an exclusion process be opened before any Section 232 or Section 301 duties went into effect. The Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative would be required to make determinations within 30 days on each request. In a press release announcing the bill, Whitehouse said: “President Trump’s tariffs are causing enormous uncertainty for Rhode Island companies as they make decisions about adding jobs and investing in research and development. It is the least we can do to put in place a fair, orderly process to determine whether a business qualifies for a tariff waiver.”
CBP has assessed about $33.4 billion in duties under the major trade remedies started during the Trump administration as of Aug. 7, according to CBP's trade statistics page. That is about an 8 percent increase from the previous update on July 24 (see 1907250020). That includes $24.4 billion in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. CBP also has assessed about $6 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and $1.9 billion under tariffs on aluminum. The Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines, washing machine parts and solar cells (see 1801230052), imposed Jan. 23, 2018, account for $962.4 million in assessed tariffs.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, raised the possibility that he would not be able to broker a compromise between the two approaches on restraining the president's ability to levy tariffs under Section 232. While he said his goal is to have a committee meeting in late September or early October that would take up a "Grassley-Wyden" version, he said if that can't happen, he will bring forward competing bills and allow lots of amendments to shape them.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of July 29 - Aug. 4:
The majority of companies and a trade group representing metal fabricators oppose the inclusion of brass and other copper alloys on the Airbus retaliation list, but two firms said Germany's dominance in the field is unfair and should be countered. Sixteen players in the metals industry, 14 in the U.S. and two from Europe, testified Aug. 5 at a hearing considering what items should be put on the retaliation list for Europe's subsidies of Airbus launches. The World Trade Organization has ruled that the European Union has not complied with rulings on the subsidies, and that the U.S. is entitled to rebalancing tariffs, but an arbitrator has not yet said how large the tariff action can be (see 1904090031).
JSW Steel (USA) Inc. sued the Commerce Department over its denial of a Section 232 product exclusion request on July 30. The steel company said in its complaint that Commerce never sought to verify the objections to the exclusion request submitted by industry competitors. "The Department effectively abandoned the standards established by Proclamation 9705 and the Department’s own regulations, thereby depriving JSW USA of its right to due process and fair treatment," the company said. JSW USA asserts that it was and remains eligible for the exclusions and asked the Court of International Trade to order Commerce to tell CBP to refund the tariffs already paid. Alternatively, the court should remand the issue back to Commerce for proper treatment and consideration, it said.
Ten conservative groups, including Americans for Prosperity, the National Taxpayers Union and FreedomWorks, are asking the Senate Finance Committee to introduce a Section 232 reform bill closer to the Sen. Pat Toomey version than to the Sen. Rob Portman version. The two Republicans diverge on whether Congress could stop the imposition of national security tariffs before they start, or only reject tariffs once in place.
Some candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination emphasized the cost to consumers of tariffs, while others focused on how past trade deals encouraged outsourcing, on July 30 in the first of two consecutive nights of debates. A CNN moderator put Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, on the spot by asking him whether he sides with steelmakers or steel consumers in his decision to continue or end Section 232 tariffs on steel. Ryan, whose hometown of Youngstown was once a steel powerhouse, pivoted to talking about China. But when pressed, he said, "I would have to re-evaluate. I think some of them are effective. But he's bungled the whole thing, obviously."
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said there's no need for more money for Section 301 exclusion adjudicators, but will assess whether additional funding is necessary as the process continues. He also said "USTR is reviewing various courses of action with respect to whether and how to renew the exclusions granted for Lists 1 and 2" in a newly released written response to one of the chairman's questions stemming from his testimony in June before the Senate Finance Committee.
CBP has assessed about $30.9 billion in duties under the major trade remedies started during the Trump administration as of July 24, according to CBP's trade statistics page. That includes $22.1 billion in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The first tranche of Section 301 tariffs took effect on July 6, 2018 (see 1807050033); the second took effect on Aug. 23, 2018 (see 1808070046); and the third, on Sept. 24, 2018 (see 1809240015). CBP also has assessed about $6 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and $1.9 billion under tariffs on aluminum. The Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines, washing machine parts and solar cells (see 1801230052), imposed Jan. 23, 2018, account for $933.2 million in assessed tariffs.