Xing Wei received $170,000 for her role as a whistleblower in a customs duty evasion case settled between the Justice Department and a garment wholesaler in 2017 (see 1710030048), Wei's lawyer Timothy McInnis said in a news release. Notations, the wholesaler, admitted to failing to prevent the obvious customs fraud committed by importer, Yingshun Garments (see 1609280038), as part of the settlement. McInnis said the settlement is significant for two reasons. “First, the government pursued duties fraud claims against a US-based 'downstream' commercial purchaser and re-seller, not just the foreign manufacturer and importers,” he said. “And, second, the whistleblower received an award for opening the door to the investigation and later helping uncover Notations' role even though her qui tam complaint did not name Notations specifically.” Asked why it took so long after the 2017 settlement for Wei to receive her portion, McInnis said by email that “there is no specific reason for the delay” and that some things “just take time.”
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 International Trade Commission posted the 2020 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the U.S.-Japan trade deal that took effect Jan. 1, as well as changes to eligibility for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits. Changes to units of quantity are also made to the tariff schedule, resulting in the complete elimination of UOQ "X" from the tariff schedule (except for in Schedule B), and new statistical breakouts are added in chapters 17, 38, 72, 76, 83, 84, 85 and 87. The changes took effect Jan. 1.
A portable solar charger with a plastic cover on its photovoltaic panel does not qualify for an exclusion for off-grid and portable panels from Section 201 safeguards on solar products from China, CBP said in a recently published ruling. The relevant exclusion covers only portable and off-grid panels that are foldable or that have glass covers, so Arlo’s chargers with plastic covers don’t qualify, CBP said in HQ H299136, issued in May but only posted to CBP’s Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) database on Dec. 18.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2020 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the U.S.-Japan trade deal that took effect Jan. 1, as well as changes to eligibility for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits. Changes to units of quantity are also made to the tariff schedule, and new statistical breakouts are added in chapters 17, 38, 72, 76, 83, 84, 85 and 87. The changes also took effect Jan. 1.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for 2019 in case they were missed.
CBP published the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties. For the quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2020, and ending March. 31, 2020, the interest rates for overpayments remains 4 percent for corporations and 5 percent for non-corporations, and the interest rate for underpayments will be 5 percent for both corporations and non-corporations. These interest rates are subject to change for the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 2020, and ending on June 30, 2020, CBP said.
Stainless steel beer kegs used by Anheuser-Busch (AB) to transport beer are eligible for duty-free treatment as Instruments of International Traffic but would be subject to applicable trade remedies if the kegs enter U.S. commerce, CBP said in a June 13 ruling that the agency recently posted. Customs lawyer Michael Roll requested the ruling on behalf of AB as to the treatment of the kegs, which are of Chinese, U.S., Spanish, Mexican and German origin. AB will fill the subject kegs with beer outside the U.S. and will import them mostly through 22 U.S. ports, the company told CBP.
Japanese beef exporters will be able to send more beef to the U.S. at a lower tariff rate in 2020, as Japan's tariff-rate quota will be part of the total TRQ allocation, according to a White House proclamation released Dec. 27. However, Japan is a trivial source of imported beef in America; the top six exporters -- Canada, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua and Brazil -- account for 95 percent of imports.
In the Dec. 11 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 53, No. 45), CBP published notices that propose to revoke or modify rulings and similar treatment for rigid plastic coolers and multiple types of chemical compounds.
Even though the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement has not finished its ratification path through Canada and the U.S. Senate, industry is already looking to how CBP will make the changes a reality, perhaps as early as May 2020. “This is going to move out of the Beltway political sphere and really get into the practical, everyday pain in the neck, painstaking trade world,” said Dan Ujczo, a partner at Dickinson Wright and a customs and trade lawyer who specializes in North American trade. A CBP official said last month that agency discussions for how to implement some USMCA provisions are underway (see 1911070015).