The Department of Homeland Security posted a revised shutdown contingency plan over the weekend, and, although the plan says that responding to correspondence, long-term project management and developing products for programs that are in the works are not to happen during a shutdown, the only offices in CBP that are mentioned as having non-essential workers are the Office of the Chief Counsel and those who work in labor relations.
A recent CBP ruling, HQ H347879, indicates that CBP is scrutinizing the evidence that importers give to the agency when trying to prove that a bona fide sale has taken place.
Section 232 tariffs on timber, lumber and their derivatives will take effect Oct. 14, under a proclamation issued by President Donald Trump. Tariffs will be set at 10% for timber and lumber, 25% for upholstered furniture and 25% on wooden cabinets and vanities.
The EU is again postponing implementation of its new deforestation reporting requirements, proposing a one-year delay because its IT system isn't ready to handle all the transactions for products covered by the regulation, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall told the European Parliament Sept. 23.
Olof Gill, a spokesman for the European Commission, told reporters in Brussels that the top trade negotiator for the EU, Maros Sefcovic, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were meeting Sept. 25 to talk about the EU's proposal to allow historical levels of steel exports under a tariff rate quota system. Such a system was in place during the Biden administration.
Wendy Cutler, a former career negotiator with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and chief negotiator for the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement, said that South Korea may not want to lower its 25% reciprocal tariff to 15% if the price is $350 billion for U.S. investments. Cutler was speaking on a podcast hosted by the Washington International Trade Association on Sept. 26.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Sept. 26 Federal Register on the following antidumping and countervailing duty injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is formally withdrawing multiple proposed rules issued between October 2009 and July 2024, saying it "does not intend to issue final rules with respect to these proposals." The withdrawn rules, effective Sept. 29, include:
On Sept. 25, the FDA posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:
CBP and trading company Letex Apparels on Sept. 25 settled Letex's negligence suit against the agency for damaging its imports in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport port (see 2505220057). The parties said they will be filing a stipulation of dismissal within the next 30 days (Letex Apparels Co. v. United States, C.D. Cal. # 2:25-04462).