The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 30 - Oct. 6:
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) is a reference manual that provides duty rates for almost every item that exists. It is a system of classifying and taxing all goods imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international Harmonized System, which is a global standard for naming and describing trade products, and consists of a hierarchical structure that assigns a specific code and rate to each type of merchandise for duty, quota, and statistical purposes. The HTS was made effective on January 1, 1989, replacing the former Tariff Schedules of the United States. It is maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission, but the Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the HTS.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 7 sent a customs classification dispute on truck steps to a bench trial after finding that the undisputed facts are insufficient for conducting a principal use analysis on whether the products are "side protective attachments." Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves held that while a Section 301 exclusion for "side protective attachments" is a principal use provision, and not a provision for an individual product, the court can't at this time properly assess the imports at issue under a principal use framework.
CBP is clarifying how the ACE Entry Type 86 Test governing de minimis shipments applies to customer returns under Chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S., according to an Oct. 4 cargo systems message. The agency said a Chapter 98 classification is not applicable if using the Section 321 duty exemption under Type 86. The merchandise would still enter duty-free under Type 86, but the consignee will be subject to the $800/day de minimis limit, CBP said. "Filers should assess whether filing under the Entry Type 86 or filing a formal or informal entry under Chapter 98 is more advantageous when processing returns, as both are permissible," it said.
Sandler Travis managing partner Lenny Feldman said that CBP decided to delay an ACE validation for de minimis shipments to a recipient that would exceed $800 a day, because "they realized when this hits, there's going to be a significant amount of cargo that's going to be above the threshold."
The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on corrosion-resistant steel products from Australia (A-602-812), Brazil (A-351-862), Canada (A-122-871), Mexico (A-201-863), the Netherlands (A-421-818), South Africa (A-791-829), Taiwan (A-583-878), Turkey (A-489-855), the United Arab Emirates (A-520-811) and Vietnam (A-552-843), as well as its countervailing duty investigations on corrosion-resistant steel products from Brazil (C-351-863), Canada (C-122-872), Mexico (C-201-864) and Vietnam (C-552-844). The CVD investigations cover entries for the calendar year 2023. The AD investigations on Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates cover entries July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, and the AD investigation on Vietnam covers entries Jan. 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024.
A domestic producer recently filed petitions with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on granular hexamethylenetetramine, known as hexamine, from China, Germany, India, and Saudi Arabia, as well as countervailing duties on hexamine from China and India. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers. Bakelite requested the investigation.
Texas-based syringe importer Retractable Technologies took to the Court of International Trade to contest the 100% increase of Section 301 tariffs recently imposed on needles and syringes from China. The complaint is seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the duties, claiming that the tariffs could send the company out of business (Retractable Technologies v. United States, CIT # 24-00185).
The Commerce Department is finalizing its determination that imports of high carbon steel wire from Mexico that are processed into prestressed concrete steel wire strand in the U.S., are circumventing the antidumping duty order on prestressed concrete steel wire strand from Mexico (A-201-831).
Three Republican senators reintroduced a bill to end permanent normal trade relations with China, and to set tariff rates of at least 35% for Chinese goods, if the Column 2 tariffs are not that high, as well as 100% tariffs on 38 pages of Harmonize Tariff Schedule lines enumerated in the bill.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Sept. 9-15 and 16-22: