International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
President Donald Trump has threatened to place additional tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods over Mexican water use and Canadian fertilizer trade practices.
CBP improperly denied importer Software Brokers of America, doing business as Intcomex, the temporary exclusion from International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs on China for in-transit merchandise, the importer argued in a Dec. 5 complaint at the Court of International Trade (Software Brokers of America d/b/a Intcomex v. United States, CIT # 25-00381).
CBP on Dec. 4 created Harmonized System Update 2542 containing 40 Automated Broker Interface records and 13 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. HSU 2542 contains the updates pursuant to the United States-Korea Strategic Trade and Investment Deal; the updates pursuant to the Section 301 product exclusion extensions notice; and an HTS flagging change in support of the partner government agency message set: the FDA tariff flag FD2 was changed to FD1 for HTS 2941.10.2000 Penicillin G salts.
Former trade officials said the Trump administration's tariff policy in Asia is being tested by China’s concern over recently completed U.S. tariff arrangements with Malaysia and Cambodia, which could complicate the administration’s push to wrap up deals with Vietnam and Indonesia.
Almost 75 House members, from both parties, asked the U.S. trade representative to hold Canada accountable for not meeting its dairy commitments under USMCA. The U.S. already brought two panels against Canada over the issue of its tariff rate quota administration, and while it won some arguments in the first dispute, Canada's fixes were ruled adequate in the second (see 2311240002).
CBP recently created Harmonized System Update 2541 containing seven Automated Broker Interface records and three Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. HSU 2541 contains the updates pursuant to the recent Brazil IEEPA reciprocal executive order and the updates pursuant to the China IEEPA reciprocal executive order. The tariffs were issued by the president under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.
Goods entered using a Chapter 98 provision that avoids International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs must still list the otherwise applicable IEEPA Chapter 99 classification on the entry, CBP said in a Dec. 5 update to its FAQ on IEEPA tariffs. Otherwise, ACE will reject the submission, the agency said.
Auto industry representatives asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to let the USMCA autos rule of origin continue -- or to simplify it -- while the United Autoworkers called for "complete rewrite" of the pact next year, including wage floors in all three countries in auto and parts plants and "explicit job security provisions for American workers."
Former South Korean trade negotiators complained that the U.S. is acting in bad faith in its trade negotiations and doubted the durability of the recent U.S.-Korea trade deal, though former Trump administration officials lauded the deal as a win-win for both countries.