Collapsible shelter frames imported by E-Z Up are exempt from antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions from China (A-570-967/C-570-968), the Commerce Department said in a scope ruling issued in March. Imported in either assembled or unassembled form, the shelter frames meet the requirements of the finished merchandise and finished goods kit exemptions from AD/CV duties because they include both aluminum extrusions and non-extruded aluminum components (beyond fasteners) and come with all parts necessary without any further fabrication or processing. Though they don’t include a textile top for the shelter, these are interchangeable and are added after importation by the customer, Commerce said.
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.
The recently implemented Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum didn't apply to goods under an Immediate Transportation entry if those goods arrived within U.S. port limits as of the March 23 effective date (see 1803230014), the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in an April 3 email. The NCBFAA said it confirmed that with CBP. "Thus, where an IT was filed for goods which arrived prior to March 23, 2018, 232 duties should not be assessed even though the entry summary was filed after March 23, 2018," it said. Filers that "have deposited 232 duties on IT shipments which arrived prior to March 23, 2018 should contact their [Automated Broker Interface] Client Representative to discuss the procedure for obtaining a refund of the 232 duties." CBP didn't comment.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 26-30 in case they were missed.
The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on laminated woven sacks from Vietnam (A-552-823/C-552-824). The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2017. The AD duty investigation covers entries July 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2017.
China raised tariffs on April 2 on all 128 U.S. products it identified in recent weeks after saying it would implement the safeguard tariffs in two phases (see 1803230008). Scrap aluminum and pork is now subject to a 15 percent tariff, while six other higher volume exports will be subject to 25 percent tariffs. "There are multiple commodities that will be affected by the trade war that’s starting," said Randy Goodman, executive vice president of scrap metal trading firm Greenland America.
Instructions not to assess antidumping duties on “unliquidated” entries also apply to entries that have been liquidated but not finalized because they are still protestable, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in a March 30 decision. Overturning a Court of International Trade ruling from 2016 (see 1610250042), the Federal Circuit held that the Commerce Department’s revocation of antidumping duties on German steel may apply to several of ThyssenKrupp’s entries that had already been liquidated by the time the revocation was announced.
Two U.S. manufacturers are seeking the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on steel wheels from China, they said in a petition filed March 27 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. The petition, filed by Accuride Corporation and Maxion Wheels Akron, represents a second attempt at AD/CV duty orders on Chinese steel wheels, after a 2011 request ended in an ITC finding of no injury to U.S. industry (see 12041806).
Two U.S. manufacturers filed a petition on March 27-28 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on glycine from India, South Korea and Thailand, and new countervailing duties on glycine from China, India and Thailand. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on glycine that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties.
Panelists at the Center for Strategic and International Studies agreed that the process to determine whether imports violate domestic companies' intellectual property works well, but said once an exclusion order is issued by the International Trade Commission, enforcement can be tricky.
Canada's government announced changes to its customs and antidumping duty regulations to bolster customs enforcement on dumped steel and aluminum, calling the diversion of cheap steel and aluminum "a threat to Canadian jobs and the North American market." The government said the changes will be subject to a 15-day consultation in the Canadian version of the Federal Register.