Only one of the allies that have so far avoided tariffs on their steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. has agreed to reducing the volume of those exports -- and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says all will have to if they don't want to face tariffs. "If people don't have the tariffs, and they don't have the quota, that would defeat the whole purpose of the [Section] 232s," he said, which is to boost aluminum and steel production domestically. Since the temporary tariff exemptions for the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Australia end May 1, it remains to be seen if countries in talks with the U.S. will get another extension.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will lead a delegation to China in a few days to discuss trade issues, including potential Section 301 tariffs, President Donald Trump said during a press conference April 24. Mnuchin, joined by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, will discuss unfair intellectual property rights issues that led the U.S. to propose the 25 percent tariffs under Section 301. Tariffs will be levied "unless we make a trade deal. I think we've got a very good chance of making a deal," Trump said in a meeting earlier in the day.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 16-20 in case they were missed.
CBP will have the ability to grant up to 300 days to reject entry summaries that are subject to new or coming tariffs, CBP said in a CSMS message. CBP will allow for up to 300 days, "with supervisory approval," for "rejecting entry summaries subject to import measures under Sections 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962," CBP said. CBP also extended the time period for rejecting antidumping/countervailing duty entry summaries to 300 days "with supervisory approval," it said.
The U.S. agreed on April 19 to enter consultations on its Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum with the European Union and India. The action follows its announcement April 17 that it would consult with China on the matter. In all cases, the U.S. says the tariffs are not safeguards, as the countries allege, and that they are not subject to World Trade Organization dispute settlement because they are matters of national security.
A senator from Louisiana has asked that Chinese shrimp and crawfish be added to a list of products targeted to compensate for Chinese violations of intellectual property rights. "Including crawfish and shrimp would provide a much needed economic boost to the Louisiana seafood industry," Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican, wrote in a letter April 17 to President Donald Trump. As Kennedy notes, the products are both subject to antidumping duties. So far, the products named as targets in the Section 301 investigation (see 1803220034) are largely manufacturing inputs, such as ball bearings and metals, or capital goods used by manufacturers. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is putting together a second list, of imports with twice the value of the first list, and it's unknown whether consumer goods such as food, toys or furniture would be on that list of $100 billion in goods.
The Trump administration’s imposition of 25 percent tariffs on TVs sourced from China (see 1804040019) would cause shipments of those sets to decline 2.1 percent and raise consumer pricing 23 percent, according to a new report released by industry groups. The survey report, released April 17, was prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide for the Consumer Technology Association and the National Retail Federation, both of which vehemently oppose the tariffs. The Section 301 tariffs, which aren't yet in effect, would likely have a major impact on TVs from China (see 1804090008).
The slew of trade remedies "changes everything" for importers, making programs like drawback and foreign-trade zones more valuable to companies that previously didn't need to consider such options, said Amie Ahanchian, KPMG managing director, Trade and Customs Services, during an April 16 KPMG webinar. Of the 1,333 tariff lines on the Section 301 list (see 1804040019), about 60 percent, or around 800 line items, are duty-free today, she said. That means "if you're importing these items, you may not have ever considered a customs planning strategy because there were no duties to mitigate in the current trade environment," she said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, represents a state that exports lots of soybeans to China but remains critical of the U.S.'s largest trading partner in goods. He said he recently visited five cities in China with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and other senators. What he saw there convinced him that Chinese officials "will do anything legal or illegal, moral or immoral, ethical or unethical ... to get ahead and stay ahead." He added, "They are very strategic and we're very short-sighted." Grassley, speaking at a Senate Finance trade subcommittee hearing April 11 on access to China's market, said he's one of the only Congress members still in office who voted to allow China full membership in the World Trade Organization. "It hasn't turned out the way I anticipated," he said. "I kind of feel like I should feel sorry for my vote."
Misclassification and valuation are among areas of enforcement focus for CBP's administration of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, CBP officials said during an April 10 interview. "Classification is a way to play with it, valuation as well, but these are things we will have to look at," said John Leonard, executive director of trade policy and programs at CBP. There are some different considerations involved for looking at possible transshipments because most antidumping or countervailing duty evasions involve countries around China, such as Malaysia or Thailand, but those countries are affected by the 232 tariffs too, he said. "It's hard to put it in that same context," he said.