Cedar shingles manufactured and exported by Valley Cedar for inclusion in the U.S. in shingle panels are not covered by antidumping and countervailing duties on softwood lumber from Canada (A-122-857/C-122-858), the Commerce Department said in a May 12 scope ruling. Though different in dimensions than the cedar shakes and shingles Commerce has previously found exempt, Valley Cedar’s shingles are destined for the same uses, the agency 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.
Members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee who spoke at the first meeting of that conference committee to find a compromise China competition package sounded more combative than cooperative.
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.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 2-8:
TUCSON, Arizona -- CBP is considering giving filers the option of using blockchain technology for entry filing as it develops ACE 2.0, Celeste Catano of E2open said May 4 at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference. Filers would have the choice between setting up a distributed ledger to talk to CBP’s distributed ledger, or use ABI calls to CBP’s system, she said.
TUCSON, Arizona -- As CBP develops its 21st Century Customs Framework, the role of the customs broker will change in ways that reflect the new era of economic competition and “national economic security” concerns, Brandon Lord, deputy executive director of CBP’s Office of Trade Policy and Programs, said May 3 at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference.
A third of the Democratic caucus in the Senate asked President Joe Biden to expedite an investigation into antidumping and countervailing duty circumvention by solar panel manufacturers in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, if they use Chinese components. The letter, made public on May 2, was led by Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who made the same arguments to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo when she appeared before the Commerce Committee (see 2204270041).
The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on white grape juice concentrate from Argentina (A-357-825/C-357-826). Both the AD and CV duty investigations cover entries Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2021.
The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on preserved mushrooms from France (A-427-833), the Netherlands (A-421-815), Poland (A-455-806) and Spain (A-469-825). The agency will determine whether imports of preserved mushrooms are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The investigations cover entries during the period Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2021.
A wide variety of trade groups told the Commerce Department that while they know the administration doesn't intend to tackle tariffs as part of its negotiations with Asian countries, they think offering to lower tariffs on U.S. goods would be the best way to get ambitious commitments in the region, and many said reconsidering the re-named Trans-Pacific Partnership is better than the conceived Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.