CBP Could Soon Start to See More IEEPA-Related Duty Protests, Expert Suggests
Companies may need to decide soon whether to file protests as a means of hedging against how the Supreme Court might rule on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs, Flexport's Marcus Eeman said on an Oct. 22 webinar on recent U.S. tariff actions.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
That's because sometime next month, CBP could start liquidating entries that were filed in February when the IEEPA tariffs took effect on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China, said Eeman, who serves as Flexport's director of customs. If it takes about 314 days from the date of customs release to when an entry liquidates, those liquidation dates might be coming up soon, he said. Furthermore, since CBP has upped its auditing capacity, some entries may be getting liquidated now even if the bulk of entries have yet to be liquidated.
"The reason I'm bringing it up is to have a plan for yourself and make sure you realize this, that these are coming up. ... What's your plan? Are you going to take a chance here? Do you want to file a protest to keep them open? What's your approach? What's your view?" Eeman said. "And remember, liquidation happens whenever CBP usually just reviews an entry. So, whether that's a CF-28 [form or] if you ever file the [post-summary correction], most of those will go to accelerated liquidation, moving up your liquidation date."
Eeman also reminded webinar participants to consider filing protests ahead of when the Supreme Court starts to hear the proceeding questioning the legality of using the IEEPA to impose tariffs (see 2510160024).
"It seems like protests may be the best hedge. A protest keeps your entry open and active while this case proceeds," Eeman said, especially since the court decision could arrive anytime between a few weeks afterward to sometime next year. Should the Supreme Court determine that the tariffs aren't legal, it's unclear how the court will write its opinion and whether importers will have an easy or hard time seeking refunds, he said.
In addition to providing an update on tariffs, Kyle Beaulieu, head of Ocean and the Americas for Flexport, discussed the Section 301 fees on ocean vessels made in China or operated by a Chinese company when they call at U.S. ports.
While ocean carriers, including China's COSCO, have indicated that they are not planning to charge an additional fee on any U.S.-bound cargo, the fees could encourage the carriers to reconsider their routing as they take into consideration the number of calls they make in the U.S., Beaulieu said. However, there is also a cap on the number of times that an individual vessel can be charged in a year, he said.
"Each of these nuances really gives carriers additional things to consider when trying to plan for supply and demand," Beaulieu said.