On May 8, the FDA posted new and revised versions of the following Import Alerts (after not having posted new ones for a number of days) on the detention without physical examination of:
Former Sen. Chris Dodd, special presidential adviser for the Americas, said that the administration welcomes the Americas Act (see 2403060033), a bill that proposes setting country-by-country de minimis levels, and instructs the administration to reconsider U.S. tariffs "with the focus on the principle of reciprocity" for most favored nation rates and to open a dialogue with Mexico and Canada on allowing Costa Rica and Uruguay to join USMCA. It also would exclude Chinese and Russian shippers from de minimis eligibility, allow Ecuador and Uruguay to use Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act tariff benefits for certain goods, "with the goal of an eventual full-scale FTA with Uruguay and Ecuador," and asks the administration to make it so goods across Western hemisphere free trade agreements could cumulate among those agreements -- so Costa Rican content could be added to Colombian and Mexican content, for instance.
Antidumping duty suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements took effect May 7 for imports of aluminum extrusions from China (A-570-158), Colombia (A-301-806), Ecuador (A-331-804), India (A-533-920), Indonesia (A-560-840), Italy (A-475-846), Malaysia (A-557-826), Mexico (A-201-860), South Korea (A-580-918), Taiwan (A-583-874), Thailand (A-549-847), Turkey (A-489-850), the United Arab Emirates (A-520-810) and Vietnam (A-552-837), after the Commerce Department on that date published its preliminary affirmative determinations that they are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said that despite Democratic opposition in the House Ways and Means Committee to a package of bills renewing and altering the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, he expects there will be enough support for the bill to pass under suspension of the rules, which requires two-thirds of the House. Most bills this year have passed under suspension of the rules, rather than with a rule fashioned by the very narrow Republican majority. Smith said GSP works well to get its beneficiary countries to treat U.S. exports more favorably.
The subcommittee that covers intellectual property issues under the House Judiciary Committee questioned how Congress should address the escalating volume of de minimis packages -- and the opportunities those shipments provide for sending counterfeits and goods made with forced labor, but the CBP witness responsible for de minimis and IP declined to back any of the ideas that were bandied about.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website May 3, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
Automakers and their trade groups cautioned the Bureau of Industry and Security to tailor its restrictions narrowly -- and allow a phase-in -- if they want manufacturers to stop buying information technology components from China for cars with advanced features, including electric cars.
Canadian Solar, which is ramping up a 5-gigawatt solar panel manufacturing factory in Texas, told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that tariff rate quotas on solar cells under the current safeguard action and Section 301 tariffs on machinery that helps make solar panels and cells are harming solar manufacturers. Canadian Solar also is working on opening a solar cell plant in Indiana, but it won't open until late 2025. It imports cells made in Thailand. The TRQ only allows five gigawatts' worth of tariff-free cells in annually.
The Commerce Department has published the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on aluminum foil from China (A-570-053). In the final results of this review, Commerce will set assessment rates for subject merchandise from the companies under review entered April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
The Commerce Department has published the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on multilayered wood flooring from China (A-570-970). These final results will be used to set final assessments of AD duties on importers for subject merchandise entered Dec. 1, 2021, through Nov. 30, 2022.