CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Commerce Department’s spring 2025 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security includes new mentions of three interim final rules that could lead to new import restrictions under the agency's Information and Communications Technology and Services regulations.
The House Appropriations Committee released a summary of its plans for several agencies on Sept. 1, and said it intends to eliminate funding for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs. That bureau, commonly known as ILAB, prepares the annual report on products made with the worst forms of child labor and forced labor. It also has an app to help companies called "SourceRight."
CBP's CTPAT program has published an alert outlining how the trade community can be vigilant against illegal transshipping. Although the document is dated July 16, it was posted just last week on CBP's website.
The Census Bureau issued corrections this week to its August rule that will expand the types of parties responsible for submitting export filings for in-transit shipments imported to the U.S. from foreign countries before being exported to another foreign destination (see 2508130022). The rule "referenced incorrect amendatory language in the List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 30 section," Census said. The rule still takes effect Sept. 15.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security seeks public comments by Sept. 9 in connection with its recently launched Section 232 investigation on the national security effects of imports of wind turbines and their parts and components, it said in a Federal Register notice. BIS is interested in such effects as the concentration of U.S. imports of wind turbines and their parts and components from a small number of suppliers or foreign nations and the associated risks; the potential for foreign control or exploitation of the wind turbine supply chain; and the ability of foreign persons to weaponize the capabilities or attributes of foreign-built wind turbines and their parts or components.
Some companies and associations in the solar industry endorsed additional tariffs on Chinese polysilicon, but others expressed concern that allied countries will be hit with overlapping Section 232 tariffs on both imports of polysilicon and solar cells, in public comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security.
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives, currently set at 50%, will cover 407 additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 18, the Commerce Department said in a notice released late on Aug. 15. The notice includes no exception for goods in transit as of the effective date.
Asking other countries to open their markets to more exports from the U.S. is causing significant changes to how countries have historically conducted trade, according to speakers on Gibson Dunn's Aug. 8 webinar "U.S. Trade Policy: Navigating Uncharted Waters."
The Census Bureau is finalizing a rule that will expand the types of parties responsible for submitting export filings for in-transit shipments that are imported to the U.S. from foreign countries before being exported to another foreign destination. The agency also is adding new language to acknowledge that those parties rely on information from others to make sure the shipments comply with export controls, said it plans to eventually move forward with a new country of origin reporting requirement for in-transit exports, revised its detention for "ultimate consignee" and made other clarifications to the Foreign Trade Regulations.