The country of origin for imported components of the "Nikola’s Tre Bev, class 8, battery-electric semi-truck" is the U.S. for government procurement purposes, as the parts undergo a substantial transformation when assembled into an electric truck, CBP said. The components lose their individual identity and become an "integral part" of a new article with a new name, character and use.
Bloomberg reported that the White House will release the Section 301 tariffs review next week, with higher tariffs on electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells. The report said it's unclear if there will be any tariff reductions, "though large-scale reductions aren’t expected."
The Court of International Trade on May 9 allowed a case to proceed against the Commerce Department's pause of antidumping and countervailing duties on Southeast Asian solar panels, rejecting motions to dismiss from the government and nine solar cell importers and exporters.
Trade groups, companies and a union that represent the aluminum and steel sectors told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that they need more protection from import competition, by expansion of the scope of Section 232 tariffs, and by re-negotiation of the rules of origin in both trade agreements and the Section 232 exclusion for Canada and Mexico.
The Commerce Department has published amended final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on oil country tubular goods from Ukraine (A-823-815) originally published Feb. 10, 2022. In that review, covering entries from the only company under review, Interpipe, from July 10, 2019, through June 30, 2020, Commerce set an AD rate of 27.8%. Interpipe consists of Interpipe Europe S.A./ Interpipe Ukraine LLC / PJSC Interpipe Niznedneprovsky Tube Rolling Plant (aka Interpipe NTRP) / LLC Interpipe Niko Tube.
When the Commerce Department published the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on multilayered wood flooring from China (A-570-970) on May 1, it left two companies off the list of those determined to have no shipments during the Dec. 1, 2021, through Nov. 30, 2022, period of review. Now Commerce is correcting the list of the companies, adding Dongtai Fuan Universal Dynamics, LLC and Pinge Timber Manufacturing (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., and bringing the total number of companies on that list to 23.
CBP announced a new Enforce and Protect Act investigation, saying it has reasonable suspicion that Just About Foods evaded the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on xanthan gum from China, and enacting interim measures against the importer.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Adrian Smith called out U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai for the lengthy wait for the Section 301 tariffs review, which officially started in July 2022 after a round of comments that year in May in favor of extending the action.
The subcommittee that covers intellectual property issues under the House Judiciary Committee questioned how Congress should address the escalating volume of de minimis packages -- and the opportunities those shipments provide for sending counterfeits and goods made with forced labor, but the CBP witness responsible for de minimis and IP declined to back any of the ideas that were bandied about.
The Commerce Department has published the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on carbon and alloy steel threaded rod from India (A-533-887). In the final results of this review, Commerce may set assessment rates for subject merchandise entered April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, from the 112 companies under review.