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.
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.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association, after the government Consumer Price Index for January showed apparel prices up 5.1% and footwear prices 6.1% higher compared with January 2021, is arguing for an "immediate elimination and refund of punitive Section 301 tariffs on U.S. imports from China." CEO Steve Lamar asked the Biden administration Feb. 10 "to pursue swift and effective policies to immediately alleviate the increasingly overwhelming costs on companies and address the shipping crisis," and to get involved with the port labor negotiations for West Coast ports. That contract expires this summer.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
With new data out about exports to China, economist Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics says that China only bought 60% of the goods it promised, and about 57% of all it promised, when services are included. In all, China said it would buy $502.4 billion from U.S. sources in 2020 and 2021.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 6: