The U.S. asked Mexico to review labor violations at Odisa Concrete Equipment in Hidalgo, Mexico, as part of the rapid response labor mechanism. Liquidation has been suspended for entries of the manufacturing equipment for concrete the plant makes.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., sent U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai a letter less than two weeks ahead of election day, asking her to quickly initiate a Section 301 investigation on Chinese support for fentanyl trafficking. Families of those who died from overdoses filed a petition last week (see 2410180039).
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 Oct. 22, 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.
Because China makes 90% of anode and cathode materials, and dominates processing of critical minerals, no matter where they are mined, recent hikes in tariffs on Chinese minerals will do little, trade experts agreed.
The Federal Maritime Commission needs more employees and funding to investigate and penalize violators of shipping laws, especially for costly cases that move to U.S. courts, the commission’s enforcement division director told the FMC this week. Commissioners also said the FMC is closely scrutinizing ocean carriers and terminal operators accused of unfair surcharge practices stemming from the recent labor strikes at U.S. East and Gulf coast port terminals.
Domestic steel producer Zekelman Industries filed a lawsuit on Oct. 21 in a Washington, D.C., federal court alleging that the Mexican government breached its 2019 agreement with the U.S. to slow imports of Mexican steel products. The company argued that Mexico's breach of the deal "has devastated the U.S. steel industry," forcing the company to close two plants due to the oversupply of cheap steel (Zekelman Industries v. United States, D.D.C. # 24-02992).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 23 ruled that steel tubing with insulating material imported by Shamrock Building Materials is classifiable as steel tubes of heading 7306, rather than insulated conduit of heading 8547, subjecting the steel tubing to 25% Section 232 tariffs.
SAN DIEGO -- As brokers and their clients rely more and more on online methods and the cloud to conduct customs operations and everyday business, they should be aware that it’s practically inevitable that a cyberattack will one day hit them, panelists said at the Pacific Coast Council’s Western Cargo Conference (WESCCON) last week.
The Aluminum Association is pleased by the hike in Section 301 tariffs on aluminum products -- even though it applies to more products than it wishes were covered -- and says Mexico's reporting is helping with trade remedies covering Chinese, Russian and Belarussian steel.