In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted (here):
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.
Aluminum extrusions made from 1-series aluminum alloys that are welded together to form pallets are subject to antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions from China (A-570-967/C-570-968), the Commerce Department said in a scope ruling issued Dec. 7. The domestic Aluminum Extruders Fair Trade Committee (AEFTC) had requested the scope ruling, alleging the pallets are only imported to be re-melted and used in other products. Agreeing the products can’t be used as pallets, Commerce applied the ruling to all such merchandise, regardless of producer or exporter.
The government is not limited to facts CBP includes in penalty notices when it seeks penalties from importers in court, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued Dec. 22 (here). Rather, it can rely on facts and evidence gathered during the court case itself, CIT said. However, the court declined to rule against an importer accused of duty evasion based on those facts and evidence in a Section 1592 penalty case, finding neither side had established enough of a case either way.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on softwood lumber products from Canada (A-122-857/C-122-858). The agency will determine whether imports of Canadian softwood lumber are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or are illegally subsidized. The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2015. The AD duty investigation covers entries Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2016.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 12-18:
CBP is formally investigating Eastern Trading NY over allegations of antidumping duty evasions filed under CBP's new evasion enforcement processes (see 1608190014), the agency said in a "public version" of its notice to the company (here). The company is alleged to have evaded "the antidumping duty order on steel wire garment hangers from the People’s Republic of China," the agency said. "Interim measures apply because CBP determined that there is a reasonable suspicion that the importer entered covered merchandise into the customs territory of the United States through evasion," the agency said.
U.S. policy for customs valuation, import licensing and rules of origin, as well as the U.S. trade remedy regime and a range of other trade policies, have gone unchanged since the last U.S. trade policy review in 2014 at the World Trade Organization, the WTO said in a summary (here). U.S. efforts to implement the single-window International Trade Data System by Dec. 31, activities to roll out ACE and work on simplified entry and trusted trader programs indicate a "long-standing" U.S. commitment to open trade policies, the WTO said. Antidumping and countervailing duties investigations rose between 2014 and 2015, with most AD investigations concentrated in the steel industry, the WTO added in its full report (here). Tariffs above 25 percent most commonly apply to agricultural, footwear and textile products, the WTO said.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on hardwood plywood from China (A-570-051/C-570-052). The agency will determine whether imports of Chinese hardwood plywood are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or are illegally subsidized. The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2015. The AD duty investigation covers entries April 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2016.
CAFC Affirms Award of Fees and Costs to Importer of White Sauce in Case on Improperly Revoked Ruling
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Dec. 15 affirmed a lower court ruling ordering the government to cover attorney’s fees and costs paid by International Custom Products in one of several contentious cases involving a CBP ruling letter improperly revoked without notice and comment (here). The decision likely brings to a close a series of cases dating back to 2005 on a CBP notice of action reclassifying ICP’s white sauce (see 06030725), which led to a 2,400% duty increase and put the company out of business (see 12121239).
The Commerce Department set the 12-month 2017 value-added tariff preference level for certain apparel imported directly from Haiti (HTS 9820.61.25 for entry specific claims or 9820.61.30 for aggregate claims) eligible to receive duty-free treatment under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership for Encouragement Act (HOPE) (here). For the one-year period beginning on Dec. 20, 2016 and extending through Dec. 19, 2017, the recalculated quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under the value-added TPL is 337,117,964 square meters equivalent (SME), a decrease of nearly 14 million SME over 2016 levels. Apparel articles entered in excess of this TPL will be subject to otherwise applicable duty rates.