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.
Higher or new Section 301 tariffs on lithium-ion batteries for EVs, lead-acid battery parts, golf-cart like EVs, electric cars, vans and buses, plug-in hybrids, ship-to-shore cranes, solar cells, solar panels, syringes, needles, three categories of disposable masks, 26 critical minerals, more than 100 HTS codes covering iron and steel products, and 31 aluminum HTS codes, all on imports from China, will not go up on Aug. 1, as originally announced two months ago (see 2405220072).
The U.S. government, aware that many goods made with forced labor are inputs to finished goods, is working both to identify those inputs and to help importers understand that their goods could be banned from import as traceability becomes more possible.
Upcoming changes to Section 301 tariffs won’t begin to take effect Aug. 1, as was proposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in May. After receiving over 1,100 comments on its notice of proposed changes, the USTR now says it expects its final determination will be issued in August but with the actual tariff changes taking effect about two weeks after USTR “makes the final determination public.”
Members of the Federal Maritime Commission are traveling to the Panama Canal this week to examine the supply chain aftereffects from a recent drought (see 2401180050). The FMC also will review the measures the Panamanian government and the Panama Canal Authority “have identified to improve the infrastructure of the Canal and make it more resilient to any future disruptions, particularly droughts.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service has added the longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), a fish species found off the Pacific Coast, to the list of endangered and threatened wildlife. The designation, and resulting import and export restrictions, will be effective Aug. 29, it said in a notice.
The Federal Communications Commission is launching a voluntary labeling program for wireless consumer “Internet of Things” products that have been certified and tested to meet FCC IoT cybersecurity standards, the commission said in a final rule released July 29.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register July 29 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department said it is rescinding the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on mattresses from China (A-570-092) for the period of review Dec. 1, 2022, through Nov. 30, 2023, because there were no reviewable, suspended entries of subject merchandise by any of the 44 companies listed in the review initiation notice during the review period. Commerce will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries, at rates equal to the cash deposit of estimated AD required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, it said.
The Commerce Department has released the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on steel nails from Malaysia (A-557-816). In the final results of this review, Commerce may set assessment rates for subject merchandise from reviewed companies entered July 2022 through June 2023.