Chris Duncan, former partner at Stein Shostak, has joined Squire Patton in the international trade and foreign investment practice group in the firm's Los Angeles office, the firm announced. Prior to joining Stein Shostak, Duncan worked for 16 years at CBP as a senior attorney, most recently holding the position of assistant chief counsel in San Francisco. Duncan works on a host of customs issues, including on classification, Section 301 tariffs, valuation, country of origin and marking rules, the firm said.
Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to defend his assessment that "adequate systems were in place to 'fully and expeditiously process and collect duties for articles otherwise eligible for duty-free de minimis treatment on a global basis'" by July 30.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to expand trade actions started with the Section 232 investigation on pharmaceuticals, so that they cover generic drugs and the active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials in those medicines.
President Donald Trump and Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had a "friendly" talk for 30 minutes Oct. 6, according to an unofficial translation of a Brazilian readout. Trump wrote on social media, "This morning, I had a very good telephone call with President Lula, of Brazil. We discussed many things, but it was mostly focused on the Economy, and Trade, between our two Countries. We will be having further discussions, and will get together in the not too distant future, both in Brazil and the United States. I enjoyed the call — Our Countries will do very well together!"
There will be some rapprochement on trade between India and the U.S. by the end of the year, but nothing substantive, former U.S. trade negotiators predicted during an Oct. 3 webinar.
In the Oct. 1 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 40), CBP published proposals to modify or revoke ruling letters concerning the tariff classification of men’s outerwear jackets from China.
Think tank scholars said they think it's possible that tariffs on Chinese goods could decline by 20 percentage points after the two countries' presidents meet in a month, but that it's also possible that tariffs could soar again if President Donald Trump is angered by China's support for Russia, Iran or aggression toward the Philippines.
During the government shutdown or "funding hiatus," CBP cannot offer refunds or any payments that involve receiving a check from the Treasury Department, including drawback claim payments, protests and post-summary corrections, a CBP official said during an Oct. 6 call to discuss shutdown-related issues.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that 25% tariffs on medium and heavy-duty trucks will begin Nov. 1. The additional tariffs are being imposed under a national security Section 232 action. Trump had previously said the tariffs would begin Oct. 1.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, told Reuters that the White House is considering "significant tariff relief for U.S. auto production." Carmakers are paying higher tariffs on imported parts, steel and aluminum.