Very few businesses testified at a live hearing May 6 on the tariff targets for the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Austria, in response to those countries' digital services taxes, but dozens of firms and trade groups submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 4 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 4. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
The following are short summaries of recent CBP “NY” rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai heard many bipartisan complaints about the pain of both Section 301 tariffs and Europe's retaliatory tariffs in response to steel tariffs, but stood her ground on both during a hearing in front of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai heard many bipartisan complaints about the pain of both Section 301 tariffs and Europe's retaliatory tariffs in response to steel tariffs, but stood her ground on both during a hearing in front of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
At a time when hurricane damage, violence and poverty are driving more Central Americans to the U.S., consultants, advocates and former diplomats say the Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, needs changes to spur development in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Those Northern Triangle countries are the ones sending large numbers of asylum seekers to the U.S. in the last few years. Kellie Meiman Hock, a McLarty Associates managing partner who led the April 14 panel hosted by the Washington International Trade Association, noted that when CAFTA was ratified more than 15 years ago, the hope was that it would bring more economic development to Central America. But instead, trade from the region has been flat.
At a time when hurricane damage, violence and poverty are driving more Central Americans to the U.S., consultants, advocates and former diplomats say the Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, needs changes to spur development in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Those Northern Triangle countries are the ones sending large numbers of asylum seekers to the U.S. in the last few years. Kellie Meiman Hock, a McLarty Associates managing partner who led the April 14 panel hosted by the Washington International Trade Association, noted that when CAFTA was ratified more than 15 years ago, the hope was that it would bring more economic development to Central America. But instead, trade from the region has been flat.
Tech and creative industries universally hailed Senate confirmation Wednesday of China and trade expert Katherine Tai as U.S. trade representative by a 98-0 vote. Tai inherits the USTR post as three rounds of tariffs on Chinese goods remain at 25%, over the concerns of tech and telecom stakeholders. Overhauling the tariff exclusions to give the process more “transparency and predictability” would be “very high on my radar,” Tai told her Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Feb. 25. The levies “disrupted a lot of people’s lives and livelihoods,” she said. BSA|The Software Alliance urges Tai to “promote digital trade policies that facilitate the responsible transfer of data across borders,” said CEO Victoria Espinel. During Tai’s time as lead trade counsel for House Ways and Means, she played “an instrumental role” in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, said TechNet: USMCA “included strong intellectual property protections and a landmark digital chapter that eliminated digital trade barriers and enhanced trade.” MPA CEO Charles Rivkin said Tai “fully appreciates that securing robust copyright protections overseas is fundamental to developing a worker-centric trade policy.” CTA (here), the Information Technology Industry Council (here), the Telecommunications Industry Association (here) and others also commented.
Tech and creative industries universally hailed Senate confirmation Wednesday of China and trade expert Katherine Tai as U.S. trade representative by a 98-0 vote. Tai inherits the USTR post as three rounds of tariffs on Chinese goods remain at 25%, over the concerns of tech and telecom stakeholders. Overhauling the tariff exclusions to give the process more “transparency and predictability” would be “very high on my radar,” Tai told her Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Feb. 25. The levies “disrupted a lot of people’s lives and livelihoods,” she said. BSA|The Software Alliance urges Tai to “promote digital trade policies that facilitate the responsible transfer of data across borders,” said CEO Victoria Espinel. During Tai’s time as lead trade counsel for House Ways and Means, she played “an instrumental role” in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, said TechNet: USMCA “included strong intellectual property protections and a landmark digital chapter that eliminated digital trade barriers and enhanced trade.” MPA CEO Charles Rivkin said Tai “fully appreciates that securing robust copyright protections overseas is fundamental to developing a worker-centric trade policy.” CTA (here), the Information Technology Industry Council (here), the Telecommunications Industry Association (here) and others also commented.