The International Trade Commission is accepting proposals for changes to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System tariff schedule for potential adoption in 2027, it said in a notice. The proposals will be reviewed by the ITC, CBP and the Census Bureau, and will be published for further comment, prior to potential submission to the relevant WCO committees by November 2022 for final WCO approval by June 2024. Proposals are due to the ITC by March 1, 2020.
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 group of domestic manufacturers filed a petition on March 27 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on sodium sulfate anhydrous from Canada. Commerce will now decide whether to begin an AD duty investigation on the product, which is also known as "disodium sulfate," and is used in a variety of products including detergents, pulp and paper, glass, textiles, starch, carpet deodorizers and livestock mineral feed. The investigation was requested by Cooper Natural Resources, Inc., Elements Global LLC and Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.
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 that began April 1 and ends June 30, the interest rates for overpayments increase to 5 percent for corporations and 6 percent for non-corporations, and the interest rate for underpayments will be 6 percent for both corporations and non-corporations. These interest rates are subject to change for the calendar quarter beginning July 1 and ending Sept. 30, CBP said.
The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on wooden cabinets and vanities and components thereof from China (A-570-106/C-570-107). The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018. The AD duty investigation covers entries July 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018.
The Express Association of America pointed to several specific regulatory changes it would like to see CBP make, in its follow-up comments on the agency's efforts to modernize the customs framework. The EAA comments are the only ones posted since CBP reopened the comment period (see 1903110039) following a March 1 meeting on the subject (see 1903040023). Among other things, EAA said the "current drawback regulations do not support the modern B2C/e-commerce environment."
The White House said the U.S. trade representative and the Treasury secretary made progress in talks with China's Vice Premier Liu He in Beijing this week, and that the administration looks forward to the Chinese delegation's arrival in Washington next week.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., is leading the charge to roll back Section 232 tariffs and put Congress in the driver's seat for future 232 actions, but he doesn't know how close the consensus Senate Finance Committee bill will come to his vision for how to address what he called an antiquated law.
The right to a trial by jury does not apply to the determination of penalty amounts for customs violations, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued March 26. While the jury can decide whether an importer is liable for penalties under 19 USC 1592, the determination of how large a penalty a guilty importer must pay is up to the judge, CIT said.
Byer California, a women's apparel wholesaler, reached a settlement agreement with the Justice Department over the company's alleged involvement in an undervaluation scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (USAO) said in a March 27 news release. Byer is said to have allowed one of its importers, Queen Apparel NY, to continue to use falsified customs forms despite being aware of the discrepancies, the Department of Justice said. The USAO said it also filed a civil fraud suit last month against Queen. Both cases stem from a whistleblower complaint that previously resulted in a major settlement (see 1607140056).
Plastic Apple iPad 2 “Smart Cover” cases are classifiable in the tariff schedule as articles of plastic, not as accessories for automatic data processing machines, the Court of International Trade said in a decision released to the public March 19. Apple had argued for its classification as an accessory because it also functions as a stand, but CIT agreed with a CBP ruling that found the cases are explicitly excluded from classification in Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States heading 8473.