The Court of International Trade on May 28 rejected the government's motion for partial reconsideration of the court's decision finding that the government violated the "implied contractual term" of reasonableness in waiting eight years to demand payment from surety Aegis Security Insurance Co. on a customs bond.
CBP is looking for comments on extending CBP Form 4455, the Certificate of Registration, the agency said on May 29. The form is primarily used for the registration, examination and "supervised lading" of commercial shipments that were exported for "repair, alteration, or processing" and will be imported back to the U.S. at a free duty rate or at a reduced duty rate. Comments on the proposal are due July 29.
World Shipping Council CEO Joe Kramek said that his trade group doesn't take a position on whether Chinese practices to support its commercial shipbuilding industry are actionable under Section 301, but it "strongly opposes" the petitioners' proposal that a $1 million fee be levied on Chinese-built ships docking in U.S. ports.
Government subsidies for domestic manufacturing in strategic sectors tend to then need trade protections, former top U.S. trade representative officials from the Trump and Biden administrations agreed.
The U.S. has asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Volkswagen de México, S.A. de C.V. facility in Cuautlancingo, Puebla, are being denied their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced May 28.
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The country of origin of a Whirlpool food waste disposer is Mexico and Section 301 duties don't apply, CBP said in a customs ruling dated May 15. The agency found that, despite the motor in the garbage disposal being of Chinese origin, the manufacturing process in Mexico substantially transformed the original components into subassemblies, which were then combined to make the final food disposer.
The Aluminum Association, in its weekly newsletter emailed May 24, said it had expected aluminum products that aren't subject to any Section 301 tariffs to be included in a new 25% tariff, but only 31 HTS codes will be covered (see 2405220072).
After House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., met with Kenyan President William Ruto, he joined the Senate Finance Committee chairman's call to negotiate a trade liberalizing free trade agreement with Kenya. Finance Committee Chair Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., earlier in the week asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to upgrade its trade negotiations with Kenya so that it's working toward a goal of a comprehensive trade agreement (see 2405210051).
A bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., would end duty drawback for petroleum taxes that are dedicated to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and to Superfund. The bill, called the End Polluter Welfare Act, was first introduced a dozen years ago.