Steel interests, steelworkers and aluminum interests mostly said that 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum should remain for Canadian and Mexican exports even after upcoming USMCA review, with exceptions among some aluminum witnesses and the Mexican steel industry.
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."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable and other major voices of business said Section 232 tariffs applied to Canadian and Mexican goods that meet USMCA eligibility are a clear violation of the pact, and need to end. The business groups, which opened the second day of an Interagency hearing on what the U.S. should prioritize in next year's USMCA review, also emphasized how imports from and exports to Mexico and Canada are essential for domestic manufacturing.
Specialty crop interests testifying at the first of three days of hearings on UMSCA Dec. 3 disagreed on whether duty-free access for Mexican imports should continue, and protectionists' arguments were echoed by Global Trade Watch.
Reductions of reciprocal tariffs on South Korea, as well as of Section 232 tariffs on South Korean lumber, will take retroactive effect Nov. 14 under a recently agreed trade deal, according to a notice released Dec. 3 by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Commerce Department.
Think tank scholars and lawyers emphasized that Section 232 tariffs on Mexican and Canadian autos, steel, aluminum and lumber are engendering rancor and suspicion, and the uncertainty of future tariffs levels on Mexican and Canadian imports is a silent tax causing businesses to halt investments and expansions.
Most tariff cuts under the recent U.S.-South Korea trade deal will take retroactive effect Nov. 14, with tariff cuts for autos and auto parts coming earlier on Nov. 1, as expected, said the U.S. Trade Representative in a notice released Dec. 3.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will likely approve nearly all newly submitted requests for inclusions of new tariff subheadings under 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives, according to a Nov. 30 blog post by trade lawyer Paul Fudacz.
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