Actions to slap an effective date of March 12 for Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives outside of Chapters 73 and 76 -- and to give the trade community less than three hours to get their systems in place so that they can comply with this new effective date -- sent brokers and importers into a tailspin.
Japan will likely seek negotiation and exceptions to U.S. tariffs rather than respond with retaliatory measures, one expert predicted at an event hosted by Japan House LA on March 10.
The Commerce Department has published the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on silicon metal from Malaysia (A-557-820). Commerce calculated a zero percent AD rate for PMB Silicon Sdn. Bhd, the only exporter under review. The final results are unchanged from the preliminary determination. Subject merchandise from PMB Silicon entered Aug. 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023, will be liquidated without any assessment of AD, and future entries of subject merchandise exported by PMB Silicon won't be subject to AD cash deposit requirements until further notice. The new zero percent AD cash deposit rate takes effect March 11, when these final results were published in the Federal Register.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register March 11 on the following antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CVD rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department soon will suspend liquidation and impose countervailing duty cash deposit requirements on imports of thermoformed molded fiber products from China and Vietnam, it said in a fact sheet issued March 10. The CVD rates will range from 5.99% to 153.25% for Chinese exporters, and from 3.39% to 173.51% for Vietnamese exporters, the agency said as it announced its preliminary determinations in its ongoing CVD investigations. Suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements will take effect for entries on or after the date of publication of the preliminary determinations in the Federal Register, which should occur in the coming days. Commerce is conducting concurrent antidumping duty investigations on the same products from China and Vietnam, with preliminary determinations expected by May 6.
On March 7-10, the FDA posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
The Commerce Department seeks comments by April 1 in connection with its recently launched Section 232 investigation on the national security effects of “wood products: timber, lumber, and their derivative products,” it said in a notice to be published March 13. The agency began the investigation on the tariffs on March 10, after President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the inquiry (see 2503030039).
The Commerce Department seeks comments by April 1 in connection with its recently launched Section 232 investigation on the national security effects of “imports of copper in all forms, including, but not limited to, raw mined copper; copper concentrates; refined copper; copper alloys; scrap copper; and derivative products,” it said in a notice to be published March 13. President Donald Trump ordered the investigation Feb. 24 (see 2502250044).
Two Section 232 investigations launched March 10 by the Commerce Department -- one on copper, the other on lumber -- serve as harbingers of potentially more trade activity to come, attorneys with the law firm Pillsbury said during a webinar on "DC Disrupted: Upcoming Tariffs & Trade Actions," said after notices seeking comments on the investigations had been posted.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: