Customs brokers have been pushing for a change to U.S. bankruptcy law for decades to make it so pass-through payments to CBP for tariffs are not subject to clawback after a client goes bankrupt. With a package of funding bills the Senate passed March 8, brokers got a permanent change to the law.
Democrats that represent Michigan and Ohio, where Big 3 automakers' plants are concentrated, are asking that the Section 301 review hike tariffs on Chinese automakers. Section 301 tariffs already apply a 25% tariff, making the total duty for a Chinese auto 27.5%.
A bipartisan bill sponsored by a half-dozen House members from Florida -- though none on the Ways and Means Committee -- offers full refunds for tariffs paid for imports of goods that should have been covered by the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program. It also renews the program through the end of 2029.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 7 said that importer RKW Klerks' net wraps products, used in a machine to bale harvested crops, are not "parts" of harvesting machinery under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Judges Richard Taranto, Raymond Chen and Tiffany Cunningham thus sided with CBP's classification of the products as "warp knit fabric," dutiable at 10% under HTS subheading 6005.39.00.
USDA is increasing the FY 2024 tariff rate quota for raw cane sugar by 125,000 metric tons raw value, it said in a notice released March 6. The increase brings the total FY 2024 TRQ, originally set at the 1,117,195 MTRV minimum mandated by the World Trade Organization, to 1,242,195 MTRV, USDA said. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will allocate the increase among supplying countries and customs areas. Raw cane sugar under this quota must be accompanied by a certificate for quota eligibility.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently introduced a bill that would require the president to hike tariffs on Chinese battery components, solar energy components and wind energy components by 25%. Those goods are currently subject to 25% Section 301 tariffs. The bill also would require that tariff rate to rise by 5 percentage points each year, for five years, until it reaches 50%.
A bipartisan bill has been introduced that would set country-by-country de minimis levels, instruct the administration to reconsider U.S. tariffs "with the focus on the principle of reciprocity" for most favored nation rates, and open a dialogue with Mexico and Canada on allowing Costa Rica and Uruguay to join USMCA.
Both co-sponsors of a bill to restrict Chinese goods from de minimis eligibility said that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who has the power to advance the bill, is interested in marking up the bill.
CBP has “cleared” its long-awaited proposed rule on low value shipments, and the proposal will now go to the Office of Management and Budget for review, acting Commissioner Troy Miller said at a Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting March 6. If OMB declares the rule “significant,” the proposal will then go for interagency review prior to publication in the Federal Register, Miller said.
China criticized a proposed U.S. rulemaking last week that could lead to new import restrictions on Chinese-made cars, calling the announcement a “typical protectionist approach that will disrupt and distort the global economy.”