Consumer electronics wearables will be one of six categories of sports and activity gear included in a “global product labeling database” that the Sports & Fitness Industry Association and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry will partner on in about a month, said Alli Schulman, SFIA coordinator-communications and marketing, on a July 18 webinar to mobilize member company opposition to proposed 10 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on sports equipment and accessories (see 1807190003). The database will “provide labeling requirements for 49 countries around the world." More details will be disclosed in an SFIA webinar Aug. 2, she said.
Goods under the $800 de minimis level are not subject to Section 232 tariffs, a CBP spokesperson said July 18. CBP previously said that tariffs don't apply to de minimis shipments covered under the Section 301 tariffs (see 1807050033). The agency recently ruled against the use of foreign-trade zones to get around limits on de minimis entries (see 1807180022).
It’s “difficult to read the tea leaves,” or “glean” any lessons, from why the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative removed certain tariff lines from the initial list of Section 301 tariffs, said David Cohen, a lawyer with Sandler Travis, during Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) webinar July 18. The USTR on June 15 announced it deleted 40 percent of the product lines from its first list of proposed Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports (see 1806150003). The rationale behind those changes isn't apparent, he said.
In more than 2,300 comments on the possibility of tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, only three support the idea, according to Jennifer Thomas, vice president of federal government affairs at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Thomas, who represents all companies with American plants, was one of 45 witnesses testifying at the Commerce Department July 19, as the department investigates whether an increase in auto parts imports impairs the economic security of the auto industry or the ability of the military to benefit from advanced technologies such as autonomous driving (see 1805240002).
The Section 321 entry exemptions do not apply to bulk shipments sent to foreign-trade zones that are broken up for individual consumption entries below the $800 de minimis level prior to a consumer order, CBP said in May 8 ruling the agency released on July 17. Much of the decision hinges on the definition of "importation," as expected (see 1806050049). The ruling came in response to an internal advice request from Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, it said. CBP recently said the new Section 301 tariffs won't apply to Section 321 entries (see 1807050033).
A Display Supply Chain Consultants analysis of International Trade Commission data found the firm’s initial read that the Chinese-sourced display product lines targeted July 10 for proposed 10 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs (see 1807110055) accounted for minuscule import shipments in 2017, DSCC President Bob O’Brien told us. Of the 21 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) product codes listed in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice under the “8528" heading for displays, only four of those classifications of imports had customs values exceeding $1 million last year for all countries of origin, including China, O’Brien said.
China filed an additional complaint at the World Trade Organization over the U.S. Section 301 tariffs. A 10 percent tariff on $200 billion in Chinese imports has not yet been imposed, and will not be imposed until public input on the more than 6,000-product list is received (see 1807110050). In the past, the U.S. has accepted consultations in Geneva with China even before tariffs begin (see 1804190039).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 9-13 in case they were missed.
With the publication of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s notice in the July 11 Federal Register on procedures for requesting exclusions from Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports (see 1807100049), docket USTR-2018-0025 for posting such requests became active in the regulations.gov portal. No requests were posted yet as of International Trade Today's deadline. Exclusion requests are due by Oct. 9, and if granted will apply for a year retroactively to July 6, the notice said. Though Oct. 9 is the deadline for the exclusion requests, international trade lawyers at BakerHostetler are advising "clients to file as soon as possible in anticipation of the large administrative backlog that they expect,” the law firm said.
The Section 301 tariffs on goods from China do not apply to covered imports that are part of a set if that set is classified under a subheading that is not included in the Section 301 list, CBP told the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. "If the product that imparts the essential character to the set (i.e., the [Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S.] under which the entire set is classified) is covered by the Section 301 remedy, then the entire set will be subject to the additional 25% duties," CBP told the NCBFAA. "If the HTSUS under which the entire set is classified is not covered by the Section 301 remedies, but the set contains a component that is classified in a subheading covered by the 301 list, the 301 duties will not be assessed on the individual component at this time."