The Comfy, a "wearable, oversized item covering the front and back with a hood, sleeves, ribbed cuffs, and a marsupial pocket," is a pullover and not a blanket, the Court of International Trade held on June 16. Issuing a decision after a five-day bench trial held last year, Judge Stephen Vaden said, as a matter of fact, The Comfy doesn't protect against "extreme cold," and that, as a matter of law, the item fits under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 6110, which provides for pullovers.
The importer seeking class certification at the Court of International Trade to obtain refunds for tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act voluntarily dismissed its case June 16. Counsel for the importer didn't respond to a request for comment (Chapter1 v. United States, CIT # 25-00097).
The number of audits doubled from April to May, with CBP conducting 67 audits that identified $139 million in duties and fees from imported goods improperly declared, according to the agency's May monthly update released June 17.
CBP is preparing ACE to handle calculating estimated duties from entry summaries that might have more than two Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes attached, according to the agency's latest ACE development and deployment schedule for June.
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, speaking to reporters as he flew back a day early from the Group of 7 summit in Canada, called both Japan and the EU tough negotiators, but said there's a chance that a deal can be arrived at with Japan.
Two importers challenging tariffs imposed under the international Emergency Economic Powers Act, Learning Resources and Hand2Mind, petitioned the Supreme Court June 17 to hear their case in a bid to accelerate the resolution of the challenges to President Donald Trump's IEEPA tariffs. The companies, represented by Akin Gump, said the high court should hear the case now in "light of the tariffs’ massive impact on virtually every business and consumer across the Nation, and the unremitting whiplash caused by the unfettered tariffing power the President claims" (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, Sup. Ct. # 24-1287).
The additional in-quota Section 232 tariff rate for British cars will be 7.5% under a deal recently concluded with the U.K., so that the combined most-favored nation and 232 tariff will be 10% as long as imports are under the 100,000 annual tariff rate quota amount, beginning seven days after the June 16 executive order is published in the Federal Register.
The two importers challenging tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act before the District Court for the District of Columbia directly petitioned the Supreme Court to hear their case. The importers, Learning Resources and Hand2Mind, represented by Akin Gump, said the question of whether IEEPA authorizes tariffs "will inevitably fall to this Court to resolve definitively." The companies said they can't wait for the normal appellate process to wrap up, even on an expedited basis, given the "tariffs’ massive impact on virtually every business and consumer across the Nation, and the unremitting whiplash caused by the unfettered tariffing power the President claims." The importers are only asking the high court to review whether IEEPA provides for tariffs and not any of its other challenges to President Donald Trump's IEEPA tariff action, noting that it's the only claim the government says courts have the power to review.
President Donald Trump expressed confidence that the U.S. and Canada will "work something out" on trade, just before he met June 16 with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The two were meeting ahead of the beginning of a two-day Group of 7 summit in Canada's Alberta province.