A group of retail trade groups, led by the American Apparel and Footwear Association, said that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative failed to adequately respond to comments when imposing its lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on China. Submitting an amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the massive case against the duties, the retail representatives argued that USTR illegally relied on the president's discretion as a response to the comments, violating the Administrative Procedure Act (HMTX Industries, et al. v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 23-1891).
Customs duty
A customs duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs duty rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight. U.S. customs duties are listed in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
Approximately $32 million in Section 232 duties on steel or aluminum should have been paid between March 2018 and Nov. 10, 2021, but weren't because of data errors in the transmissions between the Bureau of Industry and Security and CBP, or because CBP had not caught up to the fact that the exclusion had been filled. According to an analysis by the Government Accountability Office, more than 90% of the unpaid duties were due to CBP not realizing that exclusion volumes for a particular product and firm had been surpassed at the time of the entry, and the agency did not realize that fact until after the 90-day reliquidation period.
The government correctly classified counterweights for mini-excavators as "backhoe" parts, rendering them ineligible for a Section 301 tariff exclusion, CIT Judge Jane Restani ruled in a July 21 opinion.
Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., have reintroduced a bill that would refund some tariffs paid to importers of goods that were hit with tariffs as a result of the Airbus dispute with the EU. The bill also would prohibit future actions by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that would hike tariffs on goods already in transit -- unless the tariffs were on a nonmarket economy, such as China. The bill would require USTR to set an effective date for the tariff hike no sooner than 60 days from the publication of the target list.
A bill that says the Taiwan trade initiative can't take effect until the administration submits an economic analysis of its effects and answers questions from Congress on implementation has passed both chambers of Congress. The bill also says the next deal between Taiwan and the U.S. must gain congressional approval.
Importers of apparel from Africa and exporters of auto parts, apparel, food and metal from South Africa are making the case to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act ahead of schedule, renew it for at least 10 years, if not 20, and, some are arguing directly, restore Ethiopia's eligibility.
There is a "real opportunity" to update the Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes so that "potential tariff benefits" go toward products that are trying to reduce environmental impacts, Recreational Equipment, Inc. Vice President of Sustainability Matthew Thurston said during a panel discussion June 11.
A street mounted docking station for electronic bikes and scooters is correctly classified as a vending machine, according to a recently released CBP ruling. The ruling concerns the Monolith Docking station, which its importer, Lyft, described as a street mounted locking platform for the securing and dispensing of E-bikes or E-scooters. The station has the ability to electronically transmit operational information such as bike availability to remote servers running operations programs.
Canada and Mexico talked about the panel ruling on auto rules of origin -- a decision that went their way but that the U.S. has chosen not to implement -- and Canada brought up the issue with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai as well, according to readouts from Mexico and Canada about the bilateral meetings July 6 ahead of the official Free Trade Commission meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
Motor control boards and electronic speed controllers designed for use in remote-controlled vehicles are "electrical transformers," not toy parts or boards equipped with electric control devices, CBP said in a recently released ruling. The agency found the remote-controlled vehicles that incorporate the control boards and speed controllers are more advanced than toys and are instead for experienced pilots.