The sole U.S. producer of titanium sponge, TIMET, argued to the Commerce Department that two Japanese companies and TIMET should be given a price advantage and that all other countries' producers should be restricted through quotas or tariffs that are not subject to drawback. TIMET, which failed to win an antidumping case because the International Trade Commission said its production was not in direct competition with imports used by other U.S. processors, is asking for a preference pricing scheme, similar to those used in suspension agreements for antidumping cases.
Drawback
A duty drawback is a refund by CBP of the duties, taxes, or fees paid on imported goods, which were imposed upon importation as prescribed in 19 U.S.C. 1313(d). More broadly, a drawback also includes the refund or remission of other excise taxes pursuant to other provisions of law.
A Texas Republican and a Michigan Democrat in the Senate are co-sponsoring a bill that would require CBP to hire at least 600 additional officers a year until its staffing needs are met. Sen. Gary Peters, the ranking member of the committee that oversees CBP, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced Securing America's Ports of Entry Act of 2019 on April 3.
The Express Association of America pointed to several specific regulatory changes it would like to see CBP make, in its follow-up comments on the agency's efforts to modernize the customs framework. The EAA comments are the only ones posted since CBP reopened the comment period (see 1903110039) following a March 1 meeting on the subject (see 1903040023). Among other things, EAA said the "current drawback regulations do not support the modern B2C/e-commerce environment."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP plans to make its next unit of quantity changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States on Jan. 1, 2020, CBP said in a March 8 notice. The changes are necessary under the drawback provisions in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, which require CBP to be able to "identify a standard 'per unit' quantity" at the HTSUS level, CBP said in a fact sheet. "To meet the Drawback requirements stipulated by TFTEA, CBP will be changing all the statistical suffixes with a unit of quantity (UOQ) of 'X' to a standardized unit of measurement such as kilograms ('kg') or number ('No.')," the agency said. "A UOQ of X indicates importers do not report a quantity, other than gross weight, which conflicts with the Drawback data collection requirements outlined by TFTEA."
Supply chain location changes are difficult and take time, so companies are turning to other ways to avoid or reduce Sections 301 and 232 tariffs, experts said at a March 7 Georgetown Law International Trade Update (see 1903070033) panel on the Trump administration and the supply chain. For steel and aluminum imports, there's been "a big uptake in foreign-trade zones," said Lynlee Brown, a senior manager at Ernst & Young. With Section 301, companies are using drawback, and after a recent CMS message, they may be taking advantage more often of substitution drawback. But the best bang for the buck, Brown said, is in customs valuation. Companies are making changes there not only because of Section 301, but also because of the administration's tax reform.
CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
General Electric, a major U.S. exporter, remains supportive of "the notion of trying to open markets," said Drew Quinn, director of trade policy at GE. But, the tariffs the U.S. is using to try to bludgeon China into a more open stance are worse than the status quo, he said. Quinn, who was speaking at a March 5 Washington International Trade Association program on Asia, said that tariffs are generally pretty low on the aircraft engines, MRI machines and turbines it sells. There aren't a lot of investment barriers, either. "The biggest issue for us is the host country's industrial policies, and how they favor their national champions," he said. But even there, Quinn said, GE has found a way to work with foreign countries where it has facilities, and has been able to participate in subsidies. "We may have a different and less absolutist position than some people."