The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notice for Aug. 13:
The Commerce Department recently issued a final rule repealing outdated regulations on duty-free treatment for certain auto parts from Canada. Issued to implement the Automotive Products Trade Act of 1965, the regulations had provided for duty-free treatment for automotive components imported from Canada for use as original equipment in U.S. motor vehicle manufacturing operations. But the goods covered by the regulations have since 1994 entered duty-free under NAFTA, so the regulations are no longer used, Commerce said.
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notice for Aug. 6:
The Toy Association says the same safe-harbor law that protects YouTube for not preventing copyright infringement on that site should not apply to physical goods. The comments were filed in response to Commerce's request for input on the subject as it prepares a report for the president (see 1907080030). The association argues that the issues are more urgent, because counterfeit toys have not undergone safety testing, and that an online seller has more knowledge about its sellers' products than companies combing through listings do. They said "even the simple addition of proactive text filters can prevent thousands of listings every month."
The lack of information provided to the government for low-value shipments is a major impediment to stopping imports of counterfeit goods, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America told the Commerce Department in a July 29 filing. The comments were filed in response to Commerce's request for input on the subject as it prepares a report for the president (see 1907080030). "For de minimis shipments valued at $800 or less, CBP clears shipments by processing data from manifests, which provides only limited data and does not include the information most needed for effective commercial targeting," the group said.
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notice for Aug. 5:
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notice for Aug. 1:
Imports from China to the U.S. fell 12 percent in the first half of 2019 compared with the January-June period in 2018, and exports to China fell by nearly 19 percent, a new Commerce Department report found. Although imports and exports to Canada were also down, Canada has now surpassed China as the second-largest U.S. trading partner in goods. Mexican imports were up 6.7 percent in the first half the year, and it is now the top trading partner in goods, with $311 billion in two-way trade from January to June. Canada was at $306 billion, despite a decline in both import and export volume. China's two-way trade with the U.S. was close to $290 billion.
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notice for Aug. 1:
The Commerce Department issued its quarterly update to its annual list of foreign government subsidies on articles of cheese subject to an in-quota rate of duty that were imported during the period Jan. 1 through March 31, 2019. The agency again found that only Canada is providing subsidies, in the form of export assistance.