Congress on Jan. 18 approved legislation to avoid a government shutdown one day before funding was set to expire for some agencies. The House voted 314-108 and the Senate voted 77-18 to approve the stopgap funding, which is now set to run out in early March. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure before midnight.
After members of Congress were blindsided by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative backing away from digital trade advocacy, they are taking no chances in spelling out their desire that the agency push for a continued moratorium on tariffs on digital goods. The World Trade Organization has renewed that moratorium since 1998, but some member countries want to start collecting duties on the sale of streaming movies, software as a service, and more.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Jan. 17, 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.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
NEW YORK -- The Court of International Trade held oral argument on Jan. 18 in Chinese exporter Ninestar's case challenging its placement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List, addressing the company's motion for a preliminary injunction against its listing and its bid to unseal and unredact the record in the case (Ninestar Corp. v. U.S., CIT # 23-00182).
The World Customs Organization is considering changes to the tariff nomenclature that underlies the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. and over 200 other country tariff schedules around the world to potentially make classification easier and allow for more detail and accuracy in the identification of goods.
Private equity firm TPG acquired a majority stake in Sayari, it said in a news release Jan. 16. The agreement between the companies allows TPG “to make an up to $228 million strategic majority investment in Sayari,” the release said. “Sayari’s founders, employees, and existing investors will retain a significant stake in the company.” Sayari recently won government contracts for services to support anti-forced labor efforts by CBP and the Labor Department (see 2401050051).
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is asking members to comment on Red Sea shipping experiences ahead of a Federal Maritime Commission meeting on Feb. 7 (see 2401120057). A Jan. 17 email sent by the NCBFAA asked members to share their experiences in the Red Sea and how diversions due to Houthi missile attacks have affected maritime shipping in the region. The association said it plans to compile the responses into an "industry-specific impact statement" that it plans to present at the FMC meeting.
The Department of Energy is setting new energy efficiency standards for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers and freezers that will require compliance in 2029 or 2030, depending on the product, it said in a direct final rule published Jan. 17.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Jan. 17 Federal Register on the following AD/CVD injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):