CBP is implementing a new Chapter 99 harmonized tariff schedule number to implement an increase in duties from 10% to 20% on imported products from China and Hong Kong that went into effect just after midnight on March 4 (see 2503030007).
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.
From corporate giants to small companies, in farming, manufacturing and retail, Americans said tariffs on Canada and Mexico were damaging their businesses and driving up costs for customers.
Going from zero tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports to 25% convulsed Capitol Hill and foreign capitals, with some Republicans diverging from the president's protectionist message and Democrats universally using the action to attack Trump as the reason prices will go up.
Stacy Hernandez, a former international trade specialist at the Commerce Department, was “let go” from her position March 3 amid the Trump administration's sweeping cuts of employees who are still on probationary status. March 4 would have been her first day off probation, she said on LinkedIn. She joined ITA last year after working in the Bureau of Industry and Security's Office of Technology Evaluation.
Beijing is studying ways to retaliate against an increase to 20% in U.S. tariffs to address fentanyl smuggling (see 2502270037), state-run news outlet Global Times reported March 3. China's countermeasures likely will include a combination of tariffs and non-tariff measures, the report said, with American agricultural and food products likely to be targeted.
The Federal Highway Administration is delaying the effective date of a final rule aimed at ensuring that manufactured products used on federal-aid projects are manufactured in the U.S.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the March 3 Federal Register on the following antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The International Trade Commission is seeking public input on remedies for its Section 337 investigation on Nokia's imported laptop and desktop computers, tablet computers, streaming devices, televisions, cameras and components (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1380), the ITC said in a notice to be published March 4. The ITC initiated the investigation in December 2023 based on allegations that HP and Amazon were importing various electronics that infringe seven of Nokia's patents covering motion compensated prediction inventions, improvements to video decoding techniques, encoding and decoding, and video compression (see 2311030010). The ITC partially terminated the investigation with respect to HP in December and the administrative law judge subsequently found a Section 337 violation by Amazon. The ITC is reviewing the ALJ's determination and is requesting written submissions by “close of business” on March 13.
The International Trade Commission has ended a Section 337 investigation on imported of Dyson surface cleaning products (ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-1404), it said in a March 3 notice. Complainants SharkNinja and Omachron initially alleged in 2023 that Dyson’s stick and hand vacuums copy SharkNinja's and Omachron’s patents related to a straight-line configuration, dust-emptying system and separate dirt collection and cyclone chambers (see 2406130034).