A U.S. manufacturer seeks the imposition of new antidumping and countervailing duties on non-refillable cylinders from China, it said in a petition filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission March 26. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CV duty orders and the assessment of AD and CV duties on importers.
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.
A domestic producer coalition filed petitions on March 31 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duty investigations on mattresses from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, and new countervailing duties on mattresses from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on mattresses from these countries that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties.
Welding operations in the U.S. used to create a finished product for export are considered to be a “process,” which means the imported components are eligible for duty-free temporary importation under bond treatment, CBP said in a March 30 ruling. The ruling, requested by Crane Worldwide Logistics, involves parts used in nuclear power plants. Crane's client, Thermal Engineering International (TEI), asked for CBP input on how the TIB rules apply and whether the components are eligible treatment in TIB subheading 9813.00.05.20.
The Commerce Department issued a notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigation on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene from South Korea (A-580-907). The agency will determine whether imports of merchandise subject to this investigation are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
CBP's abrupt shift in policy for case-by-case customs duty deferrals amounts to additional risk to the smaller companies that are facing existential threats due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2003260047), the Business Alliance for Customs Modernization said in a March 26 email. “BACM is disappointed with CBP’s decision to stop accepting individual requests to defer the payment of customs duties, taxes and fees,” said Sidley Austin lawyer Ted Murphy, who represents the group. “We understood that this was meant to be a short-term measure to help primarily small and medium-sized companies deal with the devastating impact COVID-19 is having on the U.S. economy, while CBP pursued a more comprehensive solution applicable to all importers,” he said in response to a request for comment. “CBP’s decision will hurt those small and medium-sized businesses the most.” CBP announced on March 26 it would no longer take requests to defer payments of customs duties, less than a week after saying it would consider such requests.
CBP will no longer take requests to defer payments of customs duties, the agency said in a CSMS message. "CBP will retain the right to allow additional days for narrow circumstances, including a physical inability to file entry or payments, due to technology outages or port closures," the agency said.
CBP will no longer take requests to defer payments of customs duties, and payments of previously deferred duties must be “initiated” by March 27, the agency said in a CSMS message. “Single payments, daily and periodic monthly statement payments of estimated duties, taxes and fees that should have been tendered from 3/20/2020 through 3/26/2020, must be initiated by 3/27/2020,” it said. “If a trade member did not pay CBP for estimated duties, taxes and fees due 3/20/2020 through 3/26/2020, payment should be initiated via FedWire or ACH credit by 3/27/2020.”
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet April 15, remotely, beginning at 1 p.m., CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by April 14.
A group of Republican senators supports a temporary delay in duty collections, they said in a March 25 letter to President Donald Trump. “We believe it would be wise to provide a temporary deferral of duty collection for businesses to opt-in to,” said the letter, which was led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. “There are a number of ways to do this that would be helpful that are already being reviewed through the interagency process. Similar to the IRS providing Americans an additional 90 days to make tax payments without incurring interest or penalties, a duty deferral would be a commonsense way to improve the liquidity of our businesses during this time of economic disruption.”
CBP should look at “extending the liquidation of all unliquidated entries by 90 or 180 days,” the Business Alliance for Customs Modernization told the agency in a March 23 letter. Those extensions “would help ensure that importers who may be eligible for duty refunds (e.g., based on Section 232 or Section 301 product exclusion approvals) do not miss opportunities to pursue such refunds administratively due to staffing issues caused by COVID-19.” BACM offered its support for deferring collections of customs duties and asked “that payments related to past liabilities, such as denied protests, also be temporarily deferred.” BACM suggested several other items it said “would help ease the burden on the trade community during this time.”