The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 27 - Sept. 2:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 27-31 in case they were missed.
The White House on Aug. 29 issued proclamations expanding company-specific exclusions from Section 232 tariffs and quotas on steel and aluminum. The proclamations make exclusions from Section 232 tariffs retroactive to the date the exclusion request was "accepted," rather than the date of posting, by the Commerce Department. They also authorize Commerce to grant exclusions for products from countries constrained by Section 232 quotas on steel and aluminum (currently Argentina for steel and aluminum, and South Korea and Brazil just for steel).
Gray Television’s buy of Raycom is widely expected to be approved by the FCC, industry officials told us, though recent DOJ actions make it harder to predict that agency’s reaction. Gray/Raycom is the leading edge of what could be a wave of dealmaking among TV groups, partially spurred by the demise of Sinclair/Tribune (see 1807230055), said Patrick Communications media broker Gregory Guy. The collapse of a combination that would have been vastly larger than any other broadcaster has “pumped a bunch of air into the industry,” Guy said. TV broadcasting is no longer a “two-horse race,” he said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 20-26:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 20-24 in case they were missed.
An importer can’t be held liable under a Connecticut unfair trade practices law for violations of customs regulations, the Connecticut U.S. District Court said in an Aug. 24 decision. Activities subject to a comprehensive regulatory scheme, such as importation, are exempt from the state law, and allowing use of the state law would “upset the carefully crafted equilibrium” provided for in the Tariff Act of 1930, the court said.
CBP could begin processing drawback claims as soon as October if all goes according to the plans of a group of customs brokers and importers challenging CBP’s failure to meet a February deadline, said John Peterson of Neville Peterson, who represents those brokers and importers in the case at the Court of International Trade.
China began a World Trade Organization challenge of 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on a second group of $16 billion in Chinese goods that began Aug. 23, the WTO said in a news release. China requested consultations with the U.S. on Aug. 23, saying the measures violate WTO rules by imposing higher tariffs on China than on other countries, exceeding U.S.-agreed bound rates and retaliating against China without first filing a WTO dispute. Under WTO rules, China may request the formation of a panel to adjudicate the case if consultations don’t resolve the dispute after 60 days. China has already filed a challenge of the first group of $34 billion in goods subject to Section 301 tariffs since July 6 (see 1807060012), as well as proposed tariffs on a third group of $200 billion in Chinese goods (see 1807160046).
Auto parts and tools exported by Porsche Motorsport North America for sale to teams at car races may be eligible for duty-free re-entry as “tools of the trade” for temporary use abroad, but more remains to be decided in the tariff classification dispute before a final ruling is issued, the Court of International Trade said in an Aug. 22 decision.