International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Chris Duncan, former partner at Stein Shostak, has joined Squire Patton in the international trade and foreign investment practice group in the firm's Los Angeles office, the firm announced. Prior to joining Stein Shostak, Duncan worked for 16 years at CBP as a senior attorney, most recently holding the position of assistant chief counsel in San Francisco. Duncan works on a host of customs issues, including on classification, Section 301 tariffs, valuation, country of origin and marking rules, the firm said.
President Donald Trump and Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had a "friendly" talk for 30 minutes Oct. 6, according to an unofficial translation of a Brazilian readout. Trump wrote on social media, "This morning, I had a very good telephone call with President Lula, of Brazil. We discussed many things, but it was mostly focused on the Economy, and Trade, between our two Countries. We will be having further discussions, and will get together in the not too distant future, both in Brazil and the United States. I enjoyed the call — Our Countries will do very well together!"
John Foote, former chief of Kelley Drye's customs practice, has joined Sidley as a partner in the global arbitration, trade and advocacy practice, the firm announced. Foote, who worked at Kelley Drye since 2020, represents clients on various customs matters at both the administrative and judicial levels, including classification, valuation, country of origin, drawback, tariff exclusions, withhold release orders and antidumping/countervailing duty evasion issues, Sidley said. Prior to joining Kelley Drye, Foote worked as an associate and partner at Baker McKenzie for six years.
The Commerce Department has published the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on chlorinated isocyanurates from Spain (Commerce case number A-469-814) (CBP case number A-470-814). In the final results of this review, Commerce will set assessment rates for subject merchandise from the one company under review entered June 2023 through May 2024.
A sterling silver bracelet that underwent production in the U.S. before being shipped to India to undergo additional processing is still considered as having U.S. origin and is thus exempt from duties, CBP recently ruled in NY N350026.
Taiwan has rejected the idea of a 50-50 split in chip manufacturing recently proposed by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (see 2509290046).
Given the White House's focus on trade enforcement, Customs rulings have become a way for importers to ensure they are following trade regulations appropriately.
Two Colorado companies and their top executives were indicted last month for conspiring to evade tariff payments on their imports of forklifts, DOJ announced on Sept. 30. The companies, Endless Sales and Octane Forklifts; current executives Brian Firkins and Jeffrey Blasdel; and former executive J.R. Antczak allegedly conspired to undervalue the forklifts from China at entry, then hide their Chinese origin and sell them to federal government agencies by declaring them to be made in the U.S.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Sept. 30, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.