DOJ launched a cross-agency "Trade Fraud Task Force" on Aug. 29 to "bring robust enforcement against importers and other parties who seek to defraud the United States," the agency announced. The task force will bring together attorneys from the agency's civil and criminal divisions, along with officials at CBP, to target tariff evasion and "smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Aug. 29, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
A GAO report suggests that DHS' efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking have been "limited," despite an as-yet-unfulfilled requirement in a law passed by Congress in 2023 for DHS to develop a program to collect data and establish measures and performance goals for its anti-fentanyl efforts.
CBP late last week provided guidance on the extension of Section 301 product exclusions for goods imported from China, noting that ACE functionality for the acceptance of these exclusions is available.
CBP began developing a system to automate duty and fee calculations for global mail entries in May, but the target deployment date for the functionality is still to be determined, according to the agency's ACE Development and Deployment Schedule for August.
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.
The Court of International Trade held that Section 1318(a) of the Trade Act of 1930, which lets the president grant duty-free treatment to certain goods "for use in emergency relief work," doesn't cover solar cells and modules. As a result, Judge Timothy Reif vacated the Commerce Department's duty "pause" on collection of antidumping duties and countervailing duties on solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam that were set to be collected from the four countries due to an anti-circumvention proceeding.
President Donald Trump said that the administration will petition the Supreme Court on Sept. 3 to make an "expedited ruling" on the legality of tariffs he imposed on every country through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Vietnam-based Southern International Co. (SIC) has accused Daynamez Group of Companies of Fairfax, Virginia, of failing to reserve cargo space with carriers despite receiving full payment of more than $2.4 million to do so for 558 containers, according to a complaint filed Aug. 26 with the Federal Maritime Commission.