International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept.17-21 in case they were missed.
Customs Duty
A Customs Duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs Duty Rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight.
A Canadian customs broker told a group of her colleagues from the U.S. that the last year "has been probably the most challenging year of my life." Kim Campbell, who is president of MKMarin Trade Services, fears it could get worse. If the Trump administration decides to levy tariffs on Canadian cars, car parts or uranium under Section 232, the amount of goods that now cross the border tariff-free would drop dramatically, she believes, because Canada would have to put in place counter-tariffs.
The Court of International Trade on Sept. 24 dismissed a lawsuit from an importer whose Generalized System of Preferences refund request was denied as late, even though the cause was a misunderstanding with the importer’s customs broker. Industrial Chemicals had missed the 180-day deadline to file requests for refunds of duties paid during the GSP lapse of 2013-15. The importer had through a series of emails understood that its broker would request the refunds, and vice versa. After its eventual refund request was denied because it was filed after the deadline, Industrial Chemicals had protested, arguing the issue amounted to a “clerical error, mistake of fact, or other inadvertence.” CBP denied the protest in a ruling issued in November 2017 (see 1711170036). The trade court agreed, finding CBP’s decision was not protestable. The law renewing GSP “clearly states that importers must submit requests for retroactive application of GSP over certain entries by December 28, 2015,” CIT said. “Although Customs makes certain decisions related to the liquidation or reliquidation of merchandise, the plain language of the statute does not appear to give Customs discretion in administering refunds for this particular lapse in GSP,” it said.
Two U.S. manufacturers seek the imposition of new antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum wire and cable from China, they said in a petition filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission Sept. 21. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CV duty orders and the assessment of AD and CV duties on importers.
The American Keg Company recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on refillable stainless steel kegs from Germany, Mexico and China, and new countervailing duties on refillable stainless steel kegs from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on refillable stainless steel kegs that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties.
Customs brokers this week will be lobbying congressional leaders to press the Department of the Treasury and CBP to change the proposed rule that excludes excise taxes from drawback, and will be asking members to co-sponsor the Customs Business Fairness Act (see 1712180053). The act, H.R. 4657, would change bankruptcy law so that customs brokers are not subject to clawback on duties advanced to CBP after a client declares bankruptcy.
On the first day of tariff collection for the third phase of the U.S.-China trade war, another 5,745 products became subject to 10 percent higher levies, with the threat of an additional 15 percent levy on those products following in a little more than three months.
Importers of products covered by the new third set of 10 percent Section 301 tariffs on China will file under two new tariff provisions in Chapter 99 beginning at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sept. 24, according to a notice published Sept. 21 by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. New subheading 9903.88.03 will cover the vast majority of new products subject to tariffs that fall in 8-digit subheadings fully subject to Section 301 tariffs. New subheading 9903.88.04, on the other hand, covers a set of 11 8-digit subheadings that are only partially covered and have exceptions at the 10-digit level.
A group of domestic manufacturers filed a petition on Sept. 18 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on mattresses from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin an AD duty investigation. The investigation was requested by Corsicana Mattress Company, Elite Comfort Solutions, Future Foam Inc., FXI, Inc., Innocor, Inc., Kolcraft Enterprises Inc., Leggett & Platt, Incorporated, Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC, and Tempur Sealy International, Inc.
Multiple conservative-aligned groups called for CBP to change course on the agency's proposed plans to eliminate duty drawback for excise taxes. Those groups, including Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, filed comments on the proposed changes for drawback under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (see 1808020049). The question of ending drawback for excise taxes on domestically produced goods that are exported free of excise taxes, a practice used by the wine industry for years to the envy of other industries paying excise taxes (see 1708090043), was the biggest area of contention among comments filed in the docket.