The National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade Coalition recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on biodiesel at the request of the coalition, which is made up of the National Biodiesel Board and 15 unnamed U.S. producers of biodiesel.
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.
CBP outlined its recent enforcement work related to antidumping and countervailing duties in an AD/CVD Update for November and December (here). The update includes a look at AD/CVD statistics for fiscal year 2016, during which CBP collected $1.5 billion in cash deposits, up 25 percent over the previous fiscal year and up 200 percent since FY 2014. Also during FY 2016, CBP hit importers with $30.6 million in monetary penalties for fraud or negligence involving AD/CVD violations and identified more than $92 million on AD/CVD discrepancies after a review of 33,000 potential violations, it said. CBP auditors found $14.7 million in AD/CVD discrepancies as part of 89 audits during the year, it said. CBP and ICE also seized 16 shipments worth more than $5.3 million for AD/CVD violations, CBP said. The Centers of Excellence and Expertise continue to play a leading role in AD/CVD enforcement (see 1608030028), with the Base Metals Center recovering in excess of $710,000 in countervailing duties "to date," CBP said. The Pharmaceuticals CEE also followed up on an inquiry from a customs broker about classification and AD/CVD advice for hydrofluorocarbons from China, it said. "Due to a high risk for evasion, the information obtained from the inquiry was used to identify other subject shipments resulting in the recovery of over $1.3 million in undeclared antidumping duties," CBP said.
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) is concerned that the miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) process is being “abused” through the filing of hundreds of petitions on finished goods, especially apparel, outgoing Chairman Robert Chapman said March 23 at the group's annual meeting (here). “On principle, NCTO opposes MTBs on finished goods because they often compete with like products made with U.S. inputs,” Chapman said. “Duty reductions on finished textile items from any source can also undermine U.S. free trade agreements that grant duty relief through a yarn forward rule of origin.” But Chapman added that NCTO strongly supports duty relief on domestically unavailable manufacturing inputs that don’t compete with other U.S.-made products. The International Trade Commission is in the process of reviewing the petitions and comments (see 1703230052).
World Trade Organization members during the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December should consider address concerns about fishery subsidies and make permanent the current prohibition on customs duties associated with e-commerce transactions, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) said in a report (here) released March 22. The ICC also said that countries should work to mesh outside trade initiatives with the WTO in some way. A press release (here) accompanying the report pointed to increasing protectionism and weakening growth in global trade volumes internationally as reasons to invest “far more” in the WTO. “Sentiments of economic nationalism are on the rise and the political compact for globalisation is challenged in many countries,” the ICC said. “Governments all across the world have become more innovative in protecting domestic business against competition from abroad.”
Congress should raise CBP’s overtime pay cap, re-designate the destination for customs user fees, and fix the “broken and segmented” agency hiring process to help fill its current 3,500-officer staffing shortage, National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Anthony Reardon said in remarks (here) submitted to a Senate panel March 22. CBP is running an existing vacancy rate of 1,400 CBP port officers, and its 2016 Workload Staffing Model indicated the need to hire another additional 2,100 officers, said Reardon, who testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on March 22.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 6-10 in case they were missed.
The Commerce Department issued its quarterly list of (i) completed antidumping and countervailing duty scope rulings and (ii) anticircumvention determinations (here). The following list covers completed scope and anticircumvention rulings for the period Jan. 1, 2016, through March 31, 2016:
Globe Specialty Metals recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on silicon metal from Australia, Brazil and Norway, and new countervailing duties on silicon metal from Australia, Brazil and Kazakhstan. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on silicon metal.
The following new requests for antidumping and countervailing duty scope rulings were filed with the Commerce Department since International Trade Today's last update:
The Aluminum Association filed a petition on March 8 with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum foil from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on aluminum foil that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. "We did not come to this decision lightly, but felt that action was needed not only to address the acute challenge facing the foil market but also to signal the industry’s continued commitment to ensuring that trade laws are enforced to create a level playing field for domestic producers," said Heidi Brock, CEO of the association, in an email (here).