National Foreign Trade Council panelists addressing the future of U.S.-China relations agreed that the political climate won't allow President Joe Biden to reverse the Section 301 tariffs on China, even though they think those tariffs haven't been effective in achieving their goal of changing the competitive playing field with Chinese firms.
In post-hearing comments over the argument that Vietnamese imports of illegal timber hurt U.S. furniture manufacturers, several parties said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is not following the law, because it provided no concrete evidence of illegal timber in furniture exporters' supply chains.
The procedural stalemate in the Section 301 lawsuits inundating the U.S. Court of International Trade is traceable to Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu and his staff “really looking at everything very carefully,” Grunfeld Desiderio partner Ned Marshak said in an interview. His firm has filed about 800 of the 3,700 complaints, including a case filed Jan. 6 on behalf of flooring company R.A. Siegel based on a two-year statute of limitations running from a 2019 date of liquidation. All the complaints seek to vacate the lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings and get the duties refunded. Most of the actions based timeliness within the two-year statute of limitations dating to when List 3 was published in the Federal Register or when the tariffs took effect on Sept. 24, 2018. Fewer based the two-year window on dating to when List 3 tariffs were first paid.
The head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam said businesses there don't know whether U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will conclude that Vietnam has been a trade cheat through currency manipulation but not put a tariff number on it; put a tariff number but not start collecting; or implement tariffs before the new administration takes over Jan. 20.
Provisions for new tariffs on certain goods from France were added to the tariff schedule the evening of Jan. 6, said an International Trade Commission spokesperson. New subheading 9903.90.01 and corresponding U.S. Note 22 implement the Section 301 tariffs announced by the U.S. Trade Representative in July in retaliation for France’s digital services tax. The additional 25% duty applies to French handbags, soaps and cosmetics. The new tariff provisions took effect Jan. 6, according to the ITC's change record.
CBP was correct when it found against an importer's use of price paid to a related factory in China, rather than the price paid by the importer's customers, the agency found in a Sept. 9 ruling. The director of the Industrial and Manufacturing Materials Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) requested an internal advice ruling after Mayer Brown asked for a further review of protest on behalf of the importer, World Wide Packaging. The import entry involved two line items of “plastic tubes used for personal care products, which were the subject of purchase orders from two unrelated U.S. customers of WWP.”
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 28 - Jan. 3:
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Dec. 28-31 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2021 Preliminary Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the removal of GSP benefits for many Thai products, as well as the redesignation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as eligible for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits, and the extension of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act until 2020. New statistical breakouts are also added for many medical products, including those used in the treatment of COVID-19, as well as for industrial turbines and hemp seed, among other goods. Changes take effect Jan. 1, 2021, unless otherwise noted.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories published in 2020 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference numbers.