Correction: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will extend the expiration date for 81 of 99 previously granted Section 301 tariff exclusions for six months to May 31, it said in a notice posted on the agency's website. All the exclusions were slated to expire Nov. 14, but USTR is allowing a "transition period" and the exclusions not being extended will expire Nov. 30, it said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will extend the exclusions from Section 301 China tariffs on goods used to treat COVID-19 for six months, it said in a notice posted on the agency's website. The exclusions were set to expire Nov. 30, but USTR said it will extend the 99 product exclusions to May 31.
The office of Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., released a discussion draft of much-anticipated customs modernization legislation that CBP has been considering as part of its 21st Century Customs Framework, according to an email from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. The trade group said Cassidy is seeking input on the draft legislation, and provided a one-page fact sheet, draft legislation and a section-by-section discussion summary for review.
The U.S. will administer tariff rate quotas starting Jan. 1 on European steel across 54 product categories, with an annual 3.3 metric ton limit, but the products that are currently covered by Section 232 exclusions won't count against the quotas. Those exclusions will automatically renew through the end of 2023, the Commerce Department announced. For both steel and aluminum, derivative products will no longer be subject to tariffs or quotas.
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative plans to restart a Section 301 tariff exclusions process, and has no immediate plans to remove any of the Section 301 tariff targets now that its comprehensive China review is over. However, a government official who spoke on background during an Oct. 3 call with reporters said, "We also want to make sure to align existing tariffs to those [Biden-Harris administration] priorities."
The U.S. Trade Representative announced that Vietnam has committed to keep illegally traded timber out of the supply chain, so no trade action is warranted as a result of the Section 301 investigation. Vietnam agreed to improve customs enforcement at the border with high-risk source countries, and to collaborate on enforcement with those countries, in addition to other verification and seizure practices.
The U.S. Trade Representative will allow a short-term extension for the exclusions on goods used to treat COVID-19 from Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, it said in a notice posted on the agency's website. The exclusions were set to expire Sept. 30, but USTR said it will extend the exclusions for 45 days to give the agency more time to review comments submitted about a longer extension. The exclusions will now expire Nov. 14, it said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with the Court of International Trade's rejection of CBP regulations that limit the amount of drawback that can be claimed on excise taxes, the CAFC said in a ruling. "We conclude that the expansive definition in the Rule, which extends drawback to situations in which tax is never paid or determined, conflicts with the unambiguous text of the statute," said the CAFC.
CBP announced the trade associations and companies represented on its 90-member task force that is currently developing new customs legislation as part of CBP’s 21st Century Customs Framework, as well as the identities of the 12 participants in the “focus group” that will vet the task force’s recommendations, in two documents released July 19. The task force includes 43 members from the trade community, as well as participants from CBP and other government agencies.
The Treasury Department and the State Bank of Vietnam announced July 19 that they have “reached agreement to address Treasury’s concerns about Vietnam’s currency practices as described in Treasury’s Report to Congress on the Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States.” While the news release does not explicitly say this resolves the Section 301 investigation over currency at the U.S. Trade Representative, it does say, “Treasury will inform other U.S. government agencies that it has reached agreement with the SBV to address Treasury’s concerns about Vietnam’s currency practices.”