A bill that would effectively overrule the Treasury Department's implementation of the foreign entity of concern restrictions for battery components and critical minerals in electric vehicle tax credits passed the House of Representatives Sept. 12 by a vote of 217-192.
It's not clear whether removing all Chinese goods or apparel from de minimis would shrink the universe of duty-free imports the most, but the latter approach, combined with a restriction for Section 301 tariff targets, may be gaining support on the Hill.
Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce's Health Subcommittee criticized the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products for giving its blessing to so few vaping delivery systems and liquids put in electronic cigarettes, saying that the vast black market of vaping products is benefiting China, and that having so few legitimate products available makes it more dangerous for smokers who are wanting to switch from cigarettes to vaping, which is less harmful to their health.
A regional union president for CBP officers asked Congress "to close the de minimis exception" or at least lower the de minimis threshold, but also to increase funding for frontline staff.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said members of Congress have a wide range of views "of what the reaction should be" to compliance weaknesses in de minimis shipments. "But I think we need to continue the conversation and look for solutions that can generate the results we need," he said. Smith said he thinks Congress can pass a de minimis bill this year.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told podcast hosts at Bloomberg News that the U.S. and other countries that lost manufacturing jobs as China ramped up its exports from 2000 to 2019 are saying: "We will not tolerate, we cannot tolerate a China Shock 2.0."
A survey of large American-headquartered multinationals -- 40% of which capture more than $1 billion in revenue from Chinese operations -- found as one of their top concerns the rising competitiveness of Chinese companies, whether from subsidization or business advances, or a combination of those factors.
A bill that passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee that would make consumer tax credits for electric vehicles more restrictive is on the schedule for a vote next week.
The House of Representatives will not be voting on a de minimis restriction as part of its "China week," according to a list of 31 bills published by its leadership Sept. 3. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had said in July that he expected changes to de minimis to be part of the package (see 2407080049).
The U.S. has asked Canada for formal consultations on the 3% digital services tax on revenues of large social media platforms, e-commerce platforms and other companies that target advertising or collect data from Canadian customers.