The Commerce Department set the 12-month 2024 value-added tariff preference level for certain apparel imported directly from Haiti eligible to receive duty-free treatment under the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE). For the one-year period Dec. 20, 2024, through Dec. 19, 2025, the recalculated quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under the value-added TPL is 322,927,229 square meters equivalent (SME). Apparel articles entered in excess of this TPL will be subject to otherwise applicable duty rates.
The Bureau of Industry and Security has submitted a rule for interagency review that would finalize its proposed import restrictions on connected vehicles from China (see 2409220001). BIS said it’s reviewing public comments on the proposal (see 2410290026) and is working to determine “the technologies and market participants most appropriate for regulation.” The agency sent the final rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Dec. 17.
The U.S. requested three more panels under the rapid response labor mechanism in the USMCA to investigate three Mexican manufacturing facilities. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that the U.S. and Mexico "were not able to agree on a plan for the full resolution of workers’ concerns at their facilities," and so USTR activated the dispute settlement panel under USMCA.
After Elon Musk whipped up opposition to the spending bill, and President-elect Donald Trump came out against it, the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives issued a slimmed down spending bill that cut out trade issues, such as renewing the Haiti trade preferences through 2030, and creating outbound investment restrictions for China. The bill, which would fund the government at current levels through mid-March, also raises the debt ceiling for two years.
More than a dozen groups are asking President-elect Donald Trump to bolster intellectual property protections within the first 100 days of his presidency as part of a wider effort to combat counterfeit trade, they said in a Dec. 19 letter.
The Court of International Trade on Dec. 19 declined to grant victory to G&H Diversified Manufacturing on the importer's claims that CBP previously, as part of its role in granting a Section 232 duty exclusion, already said the company's imports were subject to the exclusion. Judge Timothy Reif said open questions of fact still exist with regard to the extent of CBP's role in the exclusion process.
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 Dec. 18, 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.
Shein, which has made its business selling fast fashion from Chinese manufacturers in de minimis packages to American consumers, announced Dec. 19 that it has begun participating in the Section 321 Data Pilot program. The Section 321 pilot is smaller and requires less data than Type 86 filing. The company said it had been participating more than 30 days, and CBP confirmed that it was receiving all the relevant import entry information for the data pilot.
Rep. Don Beyer, a long-time trade liberalization advocate, led a 90-minute hearing making the case against more tariffs in the second Trump administration, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden slammed the economic impact of campaign tariff promises as the Democrats try to use their bully pulpits in the last week before Republicans will have control at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.