Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius told reporters that Mercedes-Benz's transition plan for auto rules of origin under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will take three or four years. Kallenius, who was responding to a question from International Trade Today after a Q&A at the Washington Economic Club Jan. 10, did not say explicitly that the carmaker would be applying for the extension, which would require the company to show how Alabama production -- not just Mexican production at its joint venture with Nissan -- will meet the tougher standards. If it will take Mercedes four years to meet the standard, they would need an extension.

Nearly seven in every 10 TV sets imported to the U.S. in November originated in Mexico, according to new Census Bureau import data accessed on Jan. 10 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. November was the third full month that 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs were in force on finished TV sets from China, causing profound shifts in TV-sourcing trends. The U.S. imported 3.66 million TVs from all countries in November, a 22.3 percent decline sequentially and down 40.8 percent from November 2018, DataWeb said. Unit imports for 2019's 11 months declined 4.5 percent year on year to 37.43 million sets.

U.S. smartphone importers abruptly shifted more sourcing toward Vietnam and less from China in November, the last full month before the scheduled imposition of 15 percent List 4B Section 301 tariffs on Chinese handsets, according to newly released Census Bureau data accessed Jan. 9 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. The Trump administration suspended the List 4B tariffs Dec. 13, less than 48 hours before they were to take effect, after reaching a phase one trade deal with China.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce laid out its priorities for trade in 2020, and most of them were well-known in 2019: getting USMCA passed; ending steel and aluminum tariffs; negotiating comprehensive trade agreements with Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom. But lesser-known priorities are: ensuring that new regulations on foreign ownership of American firms are focused on national security issues, and arguing for a balanced approach in the regulations from the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 that protect “national security without unduly hindering legitimate commerce.” The Chamber also said Jan. 9 that it wants Congress to approve “permanent normal trade relations with Kazakhstan and its graduation from the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974.”

Seko Logistics bought Air-City, a New York-based freight forwarder and cross-border e-commerce company, Seko said in a news release. The terms of the deal were not released but Seko said it was its largest acquisition ever. “Air-City will give us immediate depth in the growing westbound airfreight and cross-border ecommerce trade for goods going to China,” Seko CEO James Gagne said. “Air-City also gives us strategic airfreight volumes and expertise into China as the rising demand for US goods increases along with a rising middle class in China. We have also added strength to our U.S. import services with the all-important ‘Section 321’ and Type 86 entries for e-commerce capabilities that are so critical for cross-border ecommerce into the United States as well as a network of bonded warehouses in the United States.”

A merger between the Global Automakers and The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers will result in a new trade association called The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the groups said in a news release. John Bozzella, the former CEO of Global Automakers, will lead the organization, it said.

Although tariffs were imposed to protect American factories from China's unfair trading practices, the import protection was overshadowed by the higher input costs tariffs created, a new report from the Federal Reserve says. The report estimated that the industries most exposed to tariffs had a reduction in manufacturing employment of 1.4 percent compared with companies with low exposure to tariffs. Retaliatory tariffs also contributed to the drag on factories, the report found.

Food and Drug Administration compliance services company Registrar Corp. acquired Register-FDA, Registrar said in a Dec. 23 news release. “Register-FDA has over 20 years of combined experience providing FDA compliance services, including registration and U.S. Agent services for food, medical device and drug establishments, as well as Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and labeling assistance,” it said.

There continues to be “a lot of moving parts” to the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said on a fiscal Q1 call on Dec. 12. With the “current news” that the U.S. and China are close to a “Phase One” trade deal, “we will have to wait and see,” he said. U.S. and Chinese negotiators confirmed agreement Dec. 13 on the Phase One deal (see 1912130035) that includes rolling back the List 4A tariffs by half to 7.5 percent and suspending the List 4B duties that were to take effect Dec. 15. The Trump administration said it’s keeping the 25 percent tariffs in place on the first three tranches of goods.

Fossil Group filed for an exemption to the 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs it has paid since Sept. 1 on the traditional watches it imports from China under tariff subheading 9102.11.2520, said a Dec. 6 posting in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s public docket. “Fossil continues to look for ways to diversify its sourcing for traditional watches,” the vendor said. It recently invested in a factory in India that has “capacity to address our product needs” for the local market, but can’t “address our product needs in the global markets,” it said. “Watch manufacturing is a highly specialized skill which cannot be readily duplicated.” Moving traditional watch manufacturing out of China “is not feasible at this time, especially in the very challenging market for traditional watches that Fossil has been experiencing over the last couple of years,” it said. The exemption request doesn’t list Fossil smartwatch imports, which also have List 4A exposure. Fossil also requested exemptions on four classifications of watch straps imported under subheadings 9102.11.10.30, 9102.11.25.30, 9102.11.30.30 and 9102.11.45.30, plus three on the watch cases it imports under subheadings 9102.11.10.20, 9102.11.30.20 and 9102.11.45.20.