The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued new medical supply product exclusions from the fourth group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs "are reflected in 19 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 39 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 new medical supply product exclusions from the fourth group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs "are reflected in 8 10-digit HTSUS subheadings, which cover 59 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 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Feb. 28 ruled that Section 232 tariffs are constitutional, finding itself bound by Supreme Court precedent set in the 1970s. Just as the Court of International Trade ruled in March 2019 in a lawsuit filed by the American Institute of International Steel, the Federal Circuit said it could not overturn the Supreme Court’s 1976 ruling, which found Section 232 to be a constitutional delegation of authority. The CAFC affirmed the CIT's decision “without deciding what ruling on the constitutional challenge would be proper in the absence of” the Supreme Court precedent.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another set of product exclusions from the third group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "one 10-digit HTSUS subheading," which covers 6 requests, and "46 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 61 exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the third set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will increase tariffs to 15% on aircraft from the European Union and made some other changes to 25% tariffs as part of the Airbus dispute, the agency said in a news release. A USTR notice outlined the tariff changes. The aircraft tariffs will increase on March 18, while other changes take effect on March 5. Prune juice will be removed from the list, and butcher's knives from England and Germany will be added, but the other products on the list will stay the same.

The Court of International Trade on Feb. 13 issued an injunction barring CBP from collecting new Section 232 tariffs on finished steel and aluminum products form a single importer, PrimeSource. The preliminary injunction says CBP cannot collect “duty deposits” on PrimeSource’s entries of goods covered by the tariffs, which took effect Jan. 8, and sets bonding requirements until CIT enters final judgment in the case. The preliminary injunction results from an agreement between the government and PrimeSource nine days after the lawsuit was filed.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued four new exclusions from the first tranche of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, it said in a notice. The exclusions apply retroactively to July 6, 2018 and will expire on Oct. 2, it said. The agency also adjusted tariff subheadings and made other "technical amendments" to previously issued exclusions.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new set of product exclusions from the 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The exclusions cover products from the third list of Section 301 goods. The new exclusions are reflected "in 2 10-digit HTSUS subheadings, which cover 52 requests, and 117 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 156 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 31 that mandates CBP work toward new criteria for obtaining importer of record numbers, and new consequences for customs brokers that help importers evade those criteria. The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to "issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish criteria importers must meet in order to obtain an importer of record number," and says one of those criteria must be that CBP debarment or suspension for reasons related to trade renders an importer ineligible.

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security posted the two annexes from the recently announced expansion of Section 232 tariffs on goods made from steel and aluminum. The annex for aluminum products lists six subheadings covering types of wire and automobile stampings. The annex for the steel products includes four subheadings that cover types of nails, tacks and automobile stampings.