Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called on the Biden administration to act on a surge in Mexican steel imports that are violating the 2019 Joint Agreement on Steel and Aluminum. The surge is driven by the Chinese government, which is routing steel through Mexico to avoid U.S. tariffs, Brown said in a June 25 letter.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2409 on June 26, containing 261 ABI records and 79 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. "This update also includes the addition of HTS 9903.45.29 for Section 201 Bifacial Exclusions," CBP said in a CSMS message. "Additional communication with further details, information and guidance on Section 201 bifacial exclusions is forthcoming."
CBP will soon begin rejecting ACE filings for products that fail to comply with certain organic import filing requirements under the USDA’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement final rule, which requires electronic National Organic Program import certificates for organic agricultural products (see 2403190066 and 2301180051). CBP has been issuing warnings for those filings since new USDA organic enforcement regulations became effective March 19, but the agency said in a June 24 CSMS message that the warning will change to a reject in ACE’s certification environment on June 28 and in ACE’s production environment on Sept. 19.
A union request that the government impose a fee on Chinese-made vessels docking at U.S. ports via a Section 301 action confronting subsidization in China's shipbuilding sector (see 2404170029) was mentioned favorably by Democrats and Republicans at a House Select Committee on China hearing that covered Chinese efforts in that sector, semiconductors and drones.
Importers have paid more than $160 million in tariffs that would not have existed if the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program were in place just since the House passed its version of GSP renewal in April, according to the Renew GSP Coalition. The group, joined by more than 30 trade groups and nearly 300 firms that import goods subject to GSP, said the House bill and the Senate GSP renewal that was part of a trade package that didn't make it into the Chips Act "are a strong starting point for negotiations."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register June 24 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The gaps in trade policies between the U.S. and Europe, despite their agreement on the problems, and the difficulty of improving trade relations with major developing countries were grappled with this week by a panel of experts from the U.S. and Europe.
The official proclamation implementing an announcement in mid-May on changes to the 14.25% tariffs on imported solar panels and the tariff rate quotas on imported cells was issued by the White House on June 21.
A "back to basics" webinar on de minimis presented by CBP, which was watched by more than 1,900 in the trade community, didn't elaborate on the suspensions of customs brokers from Type 86, though CBP official Felicia Pullam said the agency has heard "a lot of concern in the trade community about this enforcement."