On the first day of higher tariffs for dozens of countries, prominent Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee attacked the policy, while the Republican chairman put a positive spin on soft employment numbers. The Senate minority leader used his daily floor speech to tie the tariffs to broader economic woes, while Republican leadership focused on Democrats' obstructions to prompt confirmation votes for presidential nominees.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on an information collection related to Section 232 national security adjustments for imports, it said in a Federal Register notice. The data collection relates to presidential proclamations 10895 and 10896, which require the Department of Commerce secretary to establish a process for including additional derivative aluminum and steel articles within the Section 232 tariffs for steel and aluminum. BIS said the agency is collecting data as part of broader efforts by the commerce secretary to conduct investigations on the effects on U.S. national security of importing an article. Comments are due by Sept. 30.
The scope of the Section 232 copper tariffs is narrower than was expected, as the 50% rate only applies to semi-finished copper products, such as copper pipes, wires, rods, sheets, and tubes, and products that use a lot of copper, such as pipe fittings, cables, connector and electrical components -- not to copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes, anodes, or copper scrap.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking public comments on two information collections related to the agency's delivery verification procedures for imports, it said in notices released July 25. Some foreign governments require U.S. importers of certain “strategic commodities” to provide the foreign supplier with a U.S. Delivery Verification Certificate, which validates that the items were received, BIS said in both notices. “This procedure increases the effectiveness of controls on the international trade of strategic commodities.” Comments for both collections are due Sept. 26.
A Government Accountability Office report released July 23 recommends that the Department of Transportation office handling multimodal freight infrastructure get better at identifying infrastructure needs and policy changes that affect the air cargo movements.
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bill to increase funding for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by $6 million, more than 10%, and to increase funding for the Bureau of Industry and Security, which handles Section 232 action, by $20 million -- almost 10%.
Beijing is following through on a trade agreement recently reached with Washington by approving license applications for certain exports to the U.S., a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said July 4 in response to a reporter's question at a press conference, without providing specific details.
U.S. and Chinese officials said the two countries are still on pace for Beijing to ease its restrictions over rare earths and for Washington to lift its countermeasures, including export controls.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued guidance on additional derivative steel products that will be subject to Section 232 duties starting June 23.