The additional Section 301 tariffs on goods from Europe took effect on Jan. 12 (see 2012310010), CBP said in a CSMS message. Products subject to the additional tariffs include French and German aircraft manufacturing parts, non-sparkling wine and cognac. The aircraft parts are subject to a 15% additional tariff, the wines and brandies, 25%.
Section 301 (too broad)
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Jan. 4-8 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The International Trade Commission on Jan. 11 posted Revision 2 to the 2021 Harmonized Tariff Schedule, implementing an increase in tariffs on goods of the European Union that takes effect Jan. 12 (see 2012310010). The ITC added new U.S. Note 21(s) to describe fortified wines and grape spirits from France and Germany that are newly subject to 25% Section 301 tariff under new subheading 9903.89.57.The note also describes grape spirits that are not subject to the additional tariffs, but which nonetheless are given their own Chapter 99 subheading at 9903.89.59. Similarly, the ITC also added new U.S. Note 21(t) to describe aircraft manufacturing parts from France and Germany subject to the additional 15% tariff under subheading 9903.89.61. The new note also describes aircraft manufacturing parts that are not covered by the new tariffs, which should be filed under new subheading 9903.89.63.
National Foreign Trade Council panelists addressing the future of U.S.-China relations agreed that the political climate won't allow President Joe Biden to reverse the Section 301 tariffs on China, even though they think those tariffs haven't been effective in achieving their goal of changing the competitive playing field with Chinese firms.
A Republican congresswoman who has been the biggest critic of the Section 232 exclusion process told National Foreign Trade Council webinar listeners that, “I’m hoping for the best under this administration. We’ve suffered a lot under [Section] 232 and 301.” Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., added that “I can’t wait to see it start unraveling.” Walorski, who claimed Jan. 12 that “we were kind of in this battle” with President Donald Trump over the broadness of the China tariffs, voted against certifying Biden's Electoral College victory last week.
In post-hearing comments over the argument that Vietnamese imports of illegal timber hurt U.S. furniture manufacturers, several parties said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is not following the law, because it provided no concrete evidence of illegal timber in furniture exporters' supply chains.
Provisions for new tariffs on certain goods from France were added to the tariff schedule the evening of Jan. 6, said an International Trade Commission spokesperson. New subheading 9903.90.01 and corresponding U.S. Note 22 implement the Section 301 tariffs announced by the U.S. Trade Representative in July in retaliation for France’s digital services tax. The additional 25% duty applies to French handbags, soaps and cosmetics. The new tariff provisions took effect Jan. 6, according to the ITC's change record.
The procedural stalemate in the Section 301 lawsuits inundating the U.S. Court of International Trade is traceable to Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu and his staff “really looking at everything very carefully,” Grunfeld Desiderio partner Ned Marshak said in an interview. His firm has filed about 800 of the 3,700 complaints, including a case filed Jan. 6 on behalf of flooring company R.A. Siegel based on a two-year statute of limitations running from a 2019 date of liquidation. All the complaints seek to vacate the lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings and get the duties refunded. Most of the actions based timeliness within the two-year statute of limitations dating to when List 3 was published in the Federal Register or when the tariffs took effect on Sept. 24, 2018. Fewer based the two-year window on dating to when List 3 tariffs were first paid.
The head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam said businesses there don't know whether U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will conclude that Vietnam has been a trade cheat through currency manipulation but not put a tariff number on it; put a tariff number but not start collecting; or implement tariffs before the new administration takes over Jan. 20.
CBP was correct when it found against an importer's use of price paid to a related factory in China, rather than the price paid by the importer's customers, the agency found in a Sept. 9 ruling. The director of the Industrial and Manufacturing Materials Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) requested an internal advice ruling after Mayer Brown asked for a further review of protest on behalf of the importer, World Wide Packaging. The import entry involved two line items of “plastic tubes used for personal care products, which were the subject of purchase orders from two unrelated U.S. customers of WWP.”