The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another set of product exclusions from the third group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "one 10-digit HTSUS subheading," which covers 6 requests, and "46 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 61 exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the third set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.
Section 301 (too broad)
The International Trade Commission recently issued two new revisions to the 2019 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes include new and amended exclusions from Section 301 tariffs from China, as well as a decrease in tariffs for goods on list 4A. The ITC also implemented new Section 232 tariffs on some finished goods of steel and aluminum that took effect Feb. 8, as well as a shift to a quarterly tariff-rate quota for imports of large residential washers subject to Section 201 safeguard duties.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 10-14 in case they were missed.
The proportion of smartphones imported from China dropped from almost 80% to just under 75% last year, according to government data, at the same time total imports fell 1.7%.
CBP added on Jan. 14 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS message. Filers of imported products that were granted an exclusion (see 2001020035) should report the regular Chapters 4, 40, 42, 44, 54, 55, 56, 58, 73, 76, 79, 82, 84, 85, 87, 90 and 94 Harmonized Tariff Schedule number, as well as subheading 9903.88.37, CBP said in the message. “Importers shall not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when” subheading 9903.88.37 is submitted, CBP said.
CBP's treatment of goods from foreign-trade zones that are subject to the recently decreased Section 301 tariffs should go through a notice a comment process because it amounts to a change in policy, the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones said in a Feb. 18 letter to the agency. “The 'level playing field' (i.e., providing U.S. FTZs and bonded warehouses equal Customs duty treatment), is a fundamental [principle] of U.S. law governing FTZs, has always been protected in the current Trade Remedy environment,” it said. A lawyer for the NAFTZ recently explained the arguments and said the letter was coming (see 2002120011).
Dishwasher pumps made of parts from China that are assembled in Serbia are considered to be of Serbian origin, CBP said in a Jan. 23 ruling. Due to the Serbian origin of the pumps, Section 301 tariffs on goods from China do not apply, CBP said. The ruling came in response to a request from Thomas Keating, of Rock Trade Law, on behalf of Johnson Electric North America.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2001 on Feb. 13, containing 12,922 Automated Broker Interface records and 2,380 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes the Section 301 tariff decrease for goods on list 4A (see 2001160019) and the expanded Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum goods, it said. It also includes recently released Section 301 tariff exclusions (see 2002030008).
House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said he hopes India's eligibility for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program is restored, but cautioned that India is hard to pin down on opening market access -- which is the administration's requirement for even partial restoration. Brady touched on tariffs, negotiations and implementation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as he took questions from reporters late Feb. 12 at the Capitol.
CBP and the trade community again face difficult decisions on how to move forward with mandatory continuing education for customs brokers. The toughest may be how to create a fair accreditation scheme, but that’s just one of many open questions as a joint task force again attempts to find some resolution of issues that caused continuing education to fall off CBP’s agenda nearly a half-decade ago.