The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will exclude two more products from the third list of Section 301 tariffs on products from China, it said in a notice released Aug. 21. The exclusions will apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and through Aug. 7, 2020, it said. The new exclusions will fall under previously created subheading 9903.88.48.
Section 301 (too broad)
During the second of two hearings aimed at satisfying primarily Florida and Georgia farmers frustrated with lost market share to Mexican competitors, officials from the Commerce Department, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Aug. 20 heard vastly different views of how Mexican vegetable and fruit producers deserve to be treated (see 2008180034). Blueberry, zucchini, cucumber and bell pepper farmers from Georgia testified again and again that Mexicans can sell these items cheaper than they can, because of much lower labor prices, because of stricter environmental regulations in the U.S., and because Mexican producers have gotten government help to build shade houses, greenhouses and hoop houses.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP will add the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the fourth tranche of Section 301 tariffs on Aug. 20, it said in a CSMS message. The official Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice for the exclusions was published Aug. 11 (see 2008060008). The exclusions are in subheading 9903.88.55. The exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the Annex to USTR’s notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, the date the tariffs on the fourth list took effect, and remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020. The CSMS message also includes a summary of Section 301 duties that shows information on each tranche of tariffs and granted product exclusions.
Cheeses from Greece and sweet biscuits from the United Kingdom will no longer be subject to Section 301 tariffs on products from the European Union beginning Sept. 1, while a range of fruit jams and purees from France and Germany will be newly covered by the tariffs on that date, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice released late Aug. 12.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released an updated list of goods from the European Union to be subject to Section 301 tariffs as part of the dispute settlement at the World Trade Organization over Airbus subsidies. The changes will take effect on Sept. 1, it said.
Some “high tech” goods of Chinese origin sent to Mexico for minimal handling and then to the U.S. are eligible for USMCA tariff treatment, CBP said in an Aug. 7 ruling. Jose Fierro, an El Paso, Texas, customs broker, requested the ruling less than a week after USMCA entered into force July 1. The broker said that a client “has contracted with a Mexican maquiladora facility to provide certain logistical services” and inquired whether USMCA treatment would apply.
CBP “personnel from the Ports of Entry and Centers of Excellence and Expertise (Centers) are directed to neither issue marking notices, nor take further enforcement actions on goods produced in Hong Kong” until Sept. 25, the agency said in a CSMS message. CBP is allowing for a transition period for the new marking requirements on goods produced in Hong Kong, which will have to be marked as from China starting Sept. 25 (see 2008100027). “Centers should take measures to inform accounts of these new marking rules for Hong Kong set forth in the” July 14 presidential Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization, it said. CBP still hasn't specifically addressed whether Hong Kong goods will be subject to the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China or other trade remedies.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 3-9:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from Aug. 3-7 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.