The manufacturing of major Roomba robotic vacuum subassemblies that occurs in Malaysia is enough for the vacuum to be considered of Malaysian origin, CBP said in a July 31 ruling. Sandler Travis lawyer Paula Connelly, representing iRobot, sought CBP's input on the country of origin. The agency also said the retail set that includes the vacuum is of Malaysia. The vacuum is classified in subheading 8508.11.0000, which was included in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China.
Section 301 (too broad)
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 19-23 in case they were missed.
France's President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at a press conference at the G-7 meeting Aug. 26, said that the U.S. and France have agreed they will work together to reach an agreement in 2020 on modernizing the international tax rules. Macron, who was speaking in French, said that the 3 percent digital services tax is not designed to punish any large companies. Rather, he said, "it's to fix the problem. And there are also plenty of French companies that will be touched by this tax."
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1914 on Aug. 13, containing 531 Automated Broker Interface records and 94 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes adjustments required by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement of two new sets of exemptions from Section 301 tariffs on China (see 1907290023 and 1908080019). Modifications required by the verification of the 2019 HTS and to support Partner Government Agency message set functionality are included as well.
Adrienne Braumiller and George Alfonso will offer trade-related lobbying through a new lobbying firm founded by the pair, Braumiller said in an Aug. 26 email. Braumiller, who started the Braumiller Law Group, and Alfonso, who also founded The Law Offices of S. George Alfonso, said the two will partner to create a new lobbying firm called Reigncore. The pair "have combined their unique talents and experiences in international trade and artful persuasion to form the cornerstone of Reigncore, in order to provide the consulting and lobbying services best suited for each client’s specific objectives and goals," Braumiller said in the email. Alfonso will be president and Braumiller will be CEO, though neither will "provide legal counsel or representation," Reigncore said on its website. Lobbying areas include the new NAFTA, Section 301 tariff exclusions, and export control reform efforts, it said.
The U.S. will on Oct. 1 raise its existing Section 301 tariffs on the first three lists of $250 billion in imports from China from 25 percent to 30 percent, said President Donald Trump in a series of tweets Aug. 23. The next set of tariffs set to take effect beginning Sept. 1 on $300 billion in imports from China will also be increased from 10 percent to 15 percent, Trump said.
President Donald Trump said in an Aug. 23 tweet that he is planning an unspecified response to new tariffs that China will impose on U.S. goods. China's tariffs are in relation to the coming Section 301 10 percent tariffs on Chinese goods, most of which will begin on Sept. 1. “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA,” Trump tweeted. “We don’t need China” and the U.S. “would be far better off without them,” he said. “The vast amounts of money made and stolen by China from the United States, year after year, for decades, will and must STOP.”
CBP on Aug. 22 issued new filing instructions for goods subject to Section 301 duties, in light of the 10 percent tariffs set to take effect on Sept. 1. The agency’s CSMS message contains updated information on how to enter goods with subheadings on the first group of fourth tranche products, on which Section 301 duties take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sept. 1 (see 1908150039). Beginning on Sept. 1, goods included in the first group of the list must be filed under subheading 9903.88.15. Then, effective Dec. 15, tariffs take effect on a second list of goods under subheading 9903.88.16.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative posted the transcript of the Aug. 19 hearing on the Section 301 investigation in response to France's digital services tax (see 1908200020).
Target remains “mindful of the volatility and uncertainty in the marketplace, including the timing and extent of additional China tariffs,” CEO Brian Cornell said on a Q2 earnings call Aug. 21. Noting that List 4 Section 301 tariffs at 10 percent are set to hit Sept. 1 on apparel, TVs, toys and home goods, Cornell said Target is following developments carefully: “We’re encouraged that many items originally slated for tariff increases in September have now been delayed until later in the year,” he said of the List 4B tariffs deferred until Dec. 15. As long as the trade situation with China “remains fluid,” he said, “it will present an additional layer of uncertainty and complexity as we plan our business.”