Aluminum waste recovered from a manufacturing process in a foreign-trade zone is not subject to Section 232 tariffs or to antidumping and countervailing duties upon entry, CBP said in a May 8 ruling. Shannon Fura, a lawyer with Page Fura, sought CBP's ruling on behalf of the U.S. Granules Corp. (USGC). The company buys aluminum scrap and waste from suppliers that generate recoverable aluminum from manufacturing operations within an FTZ, it said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 1-5 in case they were missed.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced a new round of Section 301 tariff exclusions (see 2006090003). New subheading 9903.88.49 will be used for the new exclusions. The new set of exclusions are reflected in “two 10-digit [Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)] subheadings and 32 specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 55 separate exclusion requests,” according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another set of product exclusions from the fourth group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "two ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and 32 specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 55 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, the date the fourth set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020.
Sharply reduced April imports of the largest TVs were the result of COVID-19 factory shutdowns in Mexico, where the supply chain for big-screen sets predominantly resides, according to newly released Census Bureau data accessed June 6 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered the closure of nonessential factories and businesses on March 31.
While the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 gives the president clear authority to terminate Hong Kong's special status if China violates the island's autonomy, the fact that Hong Kong has its own membership in the World Trade Organization could complicate the matter, the Congressional Research Service says. In a June 5 “legal sidebar,” CRS said that not only is it not clear when the administration would end Hong Kong's special trade status, it's also not clear whether the U.S. would say it no longer acknowledges Hong Kong's membership in the WTO.
The International Trade Commission on June 4 issued Revision 12 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. This latest edition implements a June 2 notice from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that extends some exclusions from list 1 Section 301 tariffs on products from China (see 2005290020). The extended exclusions are listed in new U.S. Note 20(ccc) to Chapter 99 in the tariff schedule, and goods entered under these exclusions are classifiable under new subheading 9903.88.0050.
CBP in Detroit seized about 4,600 remote-controlled helicopter drones worth some $69,000 that didn't “meet Federal Communications Commission labeling requirements,” the agency said in a June 3 news release. The goods, which were imported from China and were subject to Section 301 tariffs, were also found to be undervalued by about $62,000, CBP said. The imports “were seized June 1 in conjunction with a previous shipment containing more than $400,000 in counterfeit merchandise” that was seized in late May, the agency said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether the set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 1 that are set to expire Sept. 20 (see 1909180013) should extend by up to another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on June 8. The comments are due by July 7, it said. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently. The focus of the evaluation will be whether, despite the first imposition of these additional duties, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 26-29 in case they were missed.