Importers that want to benefit from a lawsuit challenging list 3 and list 4A Section 301 tariffs on goods from China may face a tight deadline for filing their own cases at the Court of International Trade, law firms said in recent days. “This lawsuit, if successful, could result in the refund of all Section 301 tariffs levied on List 3 and List 4A goods from China,” the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in an emailed alert. “However, importers must file their own independent claims to preserve their potential refunds by Friday, Sept. 18.”
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 new lobbyist for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America encouraged members to keep calling their elected representatives' offices to ask them to support a bill that would change clawback rules in the case of business bankruptcies. Currently, money paid to customs brokers in the 90 days before a bankruptcy filing is clawed back from those firms, even if the money was passed through to CBP for duty payments. CBP does not return the duties in this process, so a customs broker is on the hook for it, and has to get in line with other creditors for a partial payment.
With only 20 days left before expiration, lead sponsor Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said she hopes her colleagues will support a clean reauthorization of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, and that she fears that trying to move this bill with a Generalized System of Preferences benefits program expansion and renewal will cause delays. She said that the most recent report on the program from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said all eight countries are in compliance with their obligations, including labor rights.
LVMH won't acquire Tiffany & Co. as previously planned, due in part to tariffs on goods from France scheduled to take effect in January (see 2007130043), LVMH said in a Sept. 9 news release. During an LVMH board of directors meeting, “the Board learned of a letter from the French European and Foreign Affairs Minister which, in reaction to the threat of taxes on French products by the US, directed the Group to defer the acquisition of Tiffany until after January 6th, 2021,” LVMH said. Based on that and other analysis, LVMH said it can't complete the acquisition “as it stands.”
CBP is apparently working on a regulatory change that would eliminate the $800 de minimis exemption for goods subject to Section 301 tariffs. The agency on Sept. 2 submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule titled “Excepting Merchandise Subject to Section 301 Duties from the Customs De Minimis Exemption,” according to OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website.
CBP is apparently working on a regulatory change that would eliminate the $800 de minimis exemption for goods subject to Section 301 tariffs. The agency on Sept. 2 submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule titled, “Excepting Merchandise Subject to Section 301 Duties from the Customs De Minimis Exemption,” according to OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website. OMB’s reviews are the final step before publication of a rule, and include an interagency review. CBP did not immediately comment.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from Aug. 24-28 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Aug. 28. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
With a month left to go before the expiration of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act benefits program, some lobbyists are starting to worry that a renewal won't get done. Beth Hughes, vice president of trade and customs policy for the American Apparel and Footwear Association, said Aug. 31 that her organization has been contacting the trade staffers at the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee since April or May, reminding them that the expiration is coming up. About a month ago, the trade staffers from both chambers were telling her that while they are aware of the deadline, they wanted to make sure that the administration supports renewal.
The Commerce Department on Aug. 25 published a notice in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on methionine from France (A-427-831), Japan (A-588-879) and Spain (A-469-822).