International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 27-31 in case they were missed.
No records exist at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative explaining how and why the agency removed finished TVs from China from the first tranche of Section 301 tariffs imposed July 6 (see 1806150003), USTR said in an email on Aug. 30. A Freedom of Information Act request submitted Aug. 6 asked for copies of all emails, reports and any other physical or electronic documentation shared among the 17 members of the interagency Section 301 committee charged with deciding which tariffs would stay and which would go from the list released April 6. The request, submitted by a sister publication to International Trade Today, sought documents that would shed light on the deliberations among the committee members that led the agency to spare TVs from the 25 percent tariffs. The agency did an automated search of the records stash of four USTR officials who serve on the committee using an “eDiscovery tool,” and also did a “manual search,” but found no materials that were “responsive” to our FOIA request, it said. The four officials whose records the agency said it searched included: Arthur Tsao, assistant general counsel and lead attorney in the Section 301 tariffs proceedings; Julia Howe, director-China; William Busis, deputy assistant USTR for monitoring and enforcement, and chairman of the Section 301 committee; and Terry McCartin, assistant USTR for China affairs.
President Donald Trump is in favor of moving forward with proposed Section 301 tariffs on a broad group of products from China, according to a report from Bloomberg. The proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports (see 1808010070) could come soon after the comment period on the proposal ends on Sept. 6, the report said. Asked to confirm the report during an interview, Trump called it "not totally wrong."
Though the Trump administration “so far” hasn’t targeted “fashion watches” for Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, “that could be a potential for the future,” Movado Group CEO Efraim Grinberg said on an Aug. 29 earnings call. “We are looking at different ways to hope to be able to mitigate that, if that were to occur,” he said. “In the short-to-medium term, if they were to occur, that would be a threat to the overall margins.”
Seafood importers should make certain that Chapter 98 exemptions for goods returned to the U.S. after being advanced in value are applicable when filing such claims to reduce exposure to Section 301 duties, a lawyer at a seafood company said during a recent interview with Seafood Source. Ian Moores, general counsel at seafood company F.W. Bryce in Massachusetts, said that the duty exceptions in Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9802.00.50 for goods returned after repair or alteration only apply to U.S. raw fish material processed in China. Additionally, CBP has ruled that headed and gutted raw material that is cut, frozen and packaged goes beyond "alteration," Moore said. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently said the Section 301 tariffs will only be applied to the operation performed in China, not the full value of the good, for imports under the Chapter 98 provisions (see 1808160049). Seafood is not currently subject to Section 301 tariffs, but is on the list of $200 billion of goods proposed for the third round of duties (see 1807100070).
The Agriculture Department on Aug. 27 announced a series of programs designed to compensate farmers for losses caused by foreign retaliation for new U.S. tariffs. Under a new Market Facilitation Program, some $4.7 billion will be distributed to farmers of certain commodities below an income threshold, with about $3.63 billion of that amount set aside for soybean farmers. Soybeans are one of the products most affected by Chinese tariffs put in place July 6 in response to U.S. Section 301 duties (see 1806200035 and 1804060019).
Marketers of low-end consumer electronics (CE) products will be especially vulnerable if the Trump administration imposes a third tranche of 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, companies said in comments in docket USTR-2018-0026. Both said their businesses are too profit-poor to absorb higher customs duties, and they worry about the pass-along impact of higher pricing.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 20-24 in case they were missed.
China began a World Trade Organization challenge of 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on a second group of $16 billion in Chinese goods that began Aug. 23, the WTO said in a news release. China requested consultations with the U.S. on Aug. 23, saying the measures violate WTO rules by imposing higher tariffs on China than on other countries, exceeding U.S.-agreed bound rates and retaliating against China without first filing a WTO dispute. Under WTO rules, China may request the formation of a panel to adjudicate the case if consultations don’t resolve the dispute after 60 days. China has already filed a challenge of the first group of $34 billion in goods subject to Section 301 tariffs since July 6 (see 1807060012), as well as proposed tariffs on a third group of $200 billion in Chinese goods (see 1807160046).
The House could pass the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill in the first week or so following a return from recess after Labor Day "if they think that they can get it passed and get it through the president to sign," said Jon Kent, a lobbyist for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America with Kent & O'Connor. One potential issue could be inconsistency concerns within the administration over tariff cuts on many goods that come from China as other tariffs are being added under Section 301 and other trade remedies, Kent said.