Trade groups representing intellectual property rights holders are telling the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that secondary trademark infringement liability has not been effective in getting e-commerce platforms to police themselves, and several said Congress needs to define the parameters of this doctrine by passing a law.
Section 230
The Office of the U.S Trade Representative is set to publish a notice Feb. 20 listing some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China (see 2002190005). The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.
CBP does not need to go through the same procedures for unpaid duty claims that are required for penalties, the Court of International Trade said in a Dec. 17 ruling. The lawsuit involves 875 entries filed by Tricots Liesse that were wrongly declared as eligible for NAFTA treatment. CIT previously dismissed a related suit over Section 1592 penalties because CBP did not allow for a face-to-face meeting before imposing the penalties, as required (see 1803260022).
The Office of the U.S Trade Representative issued some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website Dec. 12 (see 1912130015). The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020. New subheading 9903.88.36 will be used for these products.
It will be easier to bring a labor case under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement than it was in previous trade deals, but several particulars remain undisclosed. There will be expedited labor enforcement that “provides for facility-based enforcement,” and if independent labor experts find that collective bargaining rights weren't honored at particular factories, it will “lead to penalties,” a summary of the changes to USMCA says. But what those penalties are is not mentioned, and members of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee said they don't know what they are, as no other details beyond the memo have been shared. A Ways and Means spokeswoman and trade staffer did not answer questions.
The Office of the U.S Trade Representative issued some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website Nov. 26. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020. New subheading 9903.88.35 will be used for these products.
President Donald Trump said he delayed the imposition of 10 percent Section 301 tariffs on hundreds of Chinese products "for Christmas season, just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on U.S. customers, which, so far, they've had virtually none. The only impact has been that we've collected almost $60 billion from China -- compliments of China."
The Toy Association says the same safe-harbor law that protects YouTube for not preventing copyright infringement on that site should not apply to physical goods. The comments were filed in response to Commerce's request for input on the subject as it prepares a report for the president (see 1907080030). The association argues that the issues are more urgent, because counterfeit toys have not undergone safety testing, and that an online seller has more knowledge about its sellers' products than companies combing through listings do. They said "even the simple addition of proactive text filters can prevent thousands of listings every month."
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1815 on Sept. 21, containing 1,230 Automated Broker Interface records and 306 harmonized tariff records, it said in a CSMS message. This update includes modifications related to the imposition of the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on China (see 1809210026), as well as changes to Chapter 63 related to a new subheading for bed nets. The update also includes some updates related to the enactment of H.R. 4318, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018 (see 1809140004). "Please be aware that only a portion of the records have been added thus far, and have been included in this update. This effort is ongoing and will continue until all changes have been completed," CBP said. The MTB changes are effective Oct. 13.
The Internet Association (IA) called on the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees to take on copyright issues within trade legislation in a Jan. 14 letter (here) to committee leaders. The group, which includes Amazon, Facebook and Paypal, said that copyright “limitations and exceptions” should be included in the Trade Promotion Authority legislation and asked for liability protections for Internet intermediaries.