The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, said the administration could initiate another Section 301 investigation into China's practices in strategic sectors. It said the sources didn't say which sectors, but said there could also be tighter export controls, with greater cooperation with European and Asian allies on subsidies, and that the administration might increase scrutiny of U.S. companies' investments in China. The article said that a Section 301 investigation has been bandied about for months, but that it has new momentum since the talks to build on the Trump administration's phase one trade agreement have been fruitless. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the White House press office didn't respond to requests for comment.
Section 301 (too broad)
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.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 21-27:
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Feb. 25. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
U.S. importers made smartphone shipments to the U.S. a nearly $60 billion business in 2021, with the highest yearly dollar volume since 2007, when handsets began to be tracked in Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8517.12.00, according to Census Bureau data recently accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb portal. Inflationary trends from supply chain woes and semiconductor shortages, plus a higher mix of 5G-enabled handsets with higher average value, likely fueled the record-high dollar volume.
Neither importer Cyber Power Systems (USA) Inc. nor the U.S. succeeded in persuading the Court of International Trade that their side was right in a tiff over the country of origin for shipments of uninterruptible power supplies and a surge voltage protector. Judge Leo Gordon, in a Feb. 24 order, denied both parties' motions for judgment, ordering the litigants to pick dates on which to set up a trial.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking Canada to "abandon any plans" for a digital services tax while countries continue to negotiate international taxation principles, including how to tax companies that derive revenues from a country's population but do not have a physical nexus there.
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.
Sanctions, rather than additional tariffs, are the most likely result of political pressure to not look soft on China, Bank of America analysts Ethan Harris and Aditya Bhave predicted. The two wrote in a Feb. 18 note that it's not surprising that China did not purchase the volume of U.S. exports it promised, but "what's unusual is the lack of follow-through from either side so far, other than empty rhetoric."
In January, some technical fixes had to be made to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule "to conform to amendments adopted by the World Customs Organization" (see 211227003). To now fix a technical error that occurred with that and to ensure that those "amendments do not extend the scope of the additional duties in the Section 301 investigation," the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a notice about two technical modifications to the HTS notes that implement the additional duties. The modifications are effective as of Jan. 27.