As importers seek to recover the monies they paid in tariffs due to discovering they overpaid or because the Supreme Court may potentially rule that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs aren't valid, there are a number of pain points that they may be facing now or will be facing, according to panelists speaking on a Nov. 18 webinar hosted by KPMG.
An Indonesian jewelry company and its co-owner, along with two other employees, were charged last week with taking part in a scheme to evade over $86 million in customs duties on jewelry imports, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced. Two of the individuals, Indonesian national Icha Anastasia and Italian national Claudio Fogale, were arrested last week and each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud (United States v. PT Untung Bersama Sejahtera a/k/a UBS Gold, D.N.J. # 2:25-12158).
United Autoworkers labor union members from John Deere and Caterpillar visited the Commerce Department last week, asking the agency to launch a Section 232 investigation on imports of heavy machinery and equipment.
Trade experts -- including the chief negotiator for the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement -- were puzzled by language in a joint statement on the recent Korea tariff deal Nov. 15.
The White House released a fact sheet Nov. 13 confirming details of the recent U.S.-South Korea tariff deal.
The Trump administration is hindering its stated objectives by holding the USMCA trade agreement hostage and trying to reshape the agreement during the review process, according to experts speaking at a Washington International Trade Association event.
President Donald Trump may look to ramp up his use of sections 232 and 301 should the Supreme Court rule that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act can't be used for levying tariffs, various lawyers told us. However, the expanded use of these statutes, both as they are being used now and how they may be used to supplant the existing reciprocal and fentanyl trafficking tariffs, may encounter legal difficulties.
DOJ has increasingly relied on an undervaluation theory for trade enforcement cases brought under the False Claims Act in its increased attempt to police trade fraud and may be looking to include "corporate integrity agreements" as part of trade-related FCA settlements, attorneys at Faegre Drinker said during a Nov. 13 webinar that focused on increased trade enforcement.
The U.S. is eliminating 15% tariffs on Ecuadoran bananas and cocoa, and 10% tariffs on Guatemalan coffee and Argentinian beef, as the three countries have reached framework agreements on reciprocal trade.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Oct. 27 - Nov. 2 and Nov. 3-9: