The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of June 14-20.
Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade Chairman Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and ranking member Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, agree that the U.S. should be in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but the expert witnesses at the hearing they held June 22 showed no path to the U.S. reentering the agreement with the 11 countries that went on to seal the deal. This was despite agreement among most subcommittee members (though not Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio) and the witnesses that leaving TPP was a tactical mistake that leaves the U.S. at a trade and geopolitical disadvantage.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated June 16. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
It could take two to three years to resolve the massive Section 301 litigation now before the Court of International Trade, especially since it’s “highly likely” the case will be appealed by whichever side loses, David Cohen, a trade expert with Sandler Travis, said on his law firm's webinar June 15. Roughly 3,800 importers are suing the government to declare the lists 3 and 4A tariffs on Chinese goods unlawful and get the money refunded.
The Generalized System of Preferences benefits program renewal and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, as revenue bills, must start in the House, and Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., has a distinctly different take on the longstanding programs than the version that recently passed the Senate with 91 votes.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated June 15. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
Although the Senate Finance Committee's bipartisan amendment to the China package received 91 votes, some prominent Democrats on trade in the House aren't sure how its provisions could move in their chamber, if Republicans don't agree to calling them up under suspension, which requires a two-thirds vote for passage.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of June 7-13.
The Treasury Department published its spring 2021 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes some details about a proposal to change USMCA rules for non-preferential origin determinations for merchandise imported from Canada or Mexico. The proposal was previously disclosed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, within the Office of Management and Budget (see 2105120051), where it remains under review.
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, has expressed optimism that the House can pass a renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill that will match the amendment passed in the Senate as part of its China package. However, when asked by International Trade Today on June 11 if the House would include the anti-counterfeiting measures and the request to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to re-open Section 301 exclusions, Brady said he didn't know. He said there's always been bipartisan support for fighting counterfeits, and with regard to the exclusions, "there’s a very strong interest for both chambers and both sides of the aisle," he said.