The nominee for Court of International Trade Judge Stephen Vaden would need to review the specifics of a case that involves Section 301 tariffs before deciding whether a recusal is necessary, he said during a Nov. 13 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Vaden, who is general counsel at the Department of Agriculture and a member of the board of the Commodity Credit Corporation, said that he was involved in some discussion of the Section 301 tariffs as they related to aid given to farmers. Asked by ranking member Dianne Feinstein of California whether those discussions might result in a recusal in cases involving the tariffs, Vaden said he would follow the judicial standards for making the decision. “I would need to take a look at the parties that were before me, the issues that they were bringing, consult the law and also potentially consult my fellow judges before making a decision on a case by case basis regarding recusal," he said.
Section 301 (too broad)
An economics working paper found that importers are paying nearly as much for Chinese goods hit by tariffs as they did before Section 201 and 301 tariffs, which means Chinese companies are not the ones bearing the burden, contrary to President Donald Trump's claims. The Harvard University, University of Chicago and Federal Reserve Bank economists said they documented “that the tariffs were almost fully passed through to total prices paid by importers," but that doesn't mean Chinese companies aren't harmed, too. The tariffs would likely reduce the volume of U.S. purchases, even if Chinese companies are able to maintain their profit margins, they said.
CBP has assessed about $46.4 billion in duties under the major trade remedies started during the Trump administration as of Nov. 13, according to CBP's trade statistics page. That includes $36.8 billion in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China and $34.7 million duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from the EU (see 1910020044). CBP also has assessed about $6.4 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and $1.8 billion under tariffs on aluminum. The Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines, washing machine parts and solar cells (see 1801230052), imposed Jan. 23, 2018, account for $1.2 billion in assessed tariffs.
Mattress bases largely sourced from China but assembled in Vietnam undergo a substantial transformation and are not subject to the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, CBP said in an Oct. 30 ruling. The ruling, NY N306524, came in response to a request from lawyer George Tuttle on behalf of Ergomotion. The company asked CBP to confirm that the mattress bases are “country of origin Vietnam, and not subject to China Section 301 duties," CBP said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 4-8 in case they were missed.
A new Port of Los Angeles report bears out predictions the port made when the first Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods were announced 20 months ago that the duties would raise consumer prices and cause other economic harm, Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director, told a media briefing on Nov. 12. The study found that “on an annual basis, on the goods moving through our port complex, an additional $31 billion to $35 billion U.S. dollars is attached to what you and I spend at the store,” Seroka said.
CBP added on Nov. 7 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 1910240004) should report the regular Chapters 29, 32, 37, 39, 40, 48, 51, 54, 56, 58, 59, 60, 68, 70, 73, 74, 75, 76, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 90 and 94 Harmonized Tariff Schedule number, as well as subheading 9903.88.33, CBP said in the message. “Importers shall not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when" subheading 9903.88.33 is submitted, CBP said.
NEW YORK -- Companies hoping to avoid Section 301 tariffs by a shift in origin should research CBP rulings first, United States Fashion Industry Association customs counsel John Pellegrini said. And if the product they are importing is even a little different from what's in a ruling, ask for a new ruling. "It's a time to play conservative," said Pellegrini, who was speaking at the Nov. 7 USFIA Trade and Transportation conference.
Imports at major U.S. retail container ports this month are expected to see their “final surge” of 2019 ahead of the 15 percent List 4B Section 301 tariffs set to take effect Dec. 15 in Chinese goods, the National Retail Federation said. “Retailers are encouraged by reports that China and the United States have agreed to remove at least some of the existing tariffs once a ‘phase one’ deal is signed,” NRF said. “We are eager to see concrete evidence that the trade war is coming to an end with a final deal that removes all tariffs.” There is “no word” from the Trump administration on the fate of the List 4B tariffs still set for December, it said. “Industry planning is in a state of confusion with the on-again, off-again tariff increases and the widening of trade disputes.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new set of product exclusions from the 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The exclusions include products from the third list of Section 301 goods. The new exclusions "are reflected in 2 ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and 34 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 42 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice.