The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 17-23:
The Commerce Department will require cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties on softwood lumber from Canada, it said in a fact sheet issued April 24 (here). Rates calculated in its preliminary determination range from 3.02% to 24.12%, depending on the Canadian producer or exporter. The imposition of duties marks the latest phase in a long-running dispute over Canadian softwood lumber that dates back to 1982. U.S. softwood lumber producers requested antidumping and countervailing duties on softwood lumber in late 2016 (see 1611280035), following expiration of the U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement a year earlier (see 1510160010).
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 10-16:
The Commerce Department on April 19 launched an investigation that could result in the imposition of tariffs, quotas or other import restraints on steel. Commerce will examine whether steel imports threaten national security and a finding in the affirmative would allow President Donald Trump to take action to “adjust imports.” Trump signed a memorandum (here) the following day, April 20, instructing Commerce to carry out the inquiry “expeditiously." The Section 232 investigation is legally required to be completed within 270 days, though Trump said at the memorandum’s signing ceremony that he expects the agency’s report in the “next 30 to 50 days, I would say, and maybe sooner.”
NEWPORT, Rhode Island -- Foreign governments are in active discussions on how they would respond to implementation of the proposed border adjustable tax plan by the U.S., said Kenneth Smith Ramos, head of the Mexican Ministry of Economy’s trade and NAFTA office, at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade Northeast Trade and Transportation Conference on April 12. Mexico and Canada recently organized a meeting in Washington and “35 embassies showed up.” Another meeting is scheduled for next week “and I think we have to get a bigger room,” he said.
NEWPORT, Rhode Island -- The nomination of Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan to permanently head the agency represents welcome continuity to CBP and the trade community, government officials and industry executives said at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade Northeast Trade and Transportation Conference on April 12. For CBP, “having the continuity that he brings from the operational and enforcement piece” and McAleenan’s experience “is going to be great for us,” said Valerie Neuhart, acting director of CBP’s Office of Trade Relations.
NEWPORT, Rhode Island -- Mexico hopes formal negotiations with the U.S. and Canada on a revised NAFTA will begin this summer, said Kenneth Smith Ramos, head of the Mexican Ministry of Economy’s trade and NAFTA office, at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade Northeast Trade and Transportation Conference on April 12. Mexico now welcomes the renegotiation promised by President Donald Trump, seeing it as an opportunity to modernize the 23-year-old agreement, he said. Many provisions of modern free trade agreements, such as rules on intellectual property rights, labor and the environment, were non-existent when the original agreement came into effect, Smith said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 3-9:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 27 - April 2:
NEW ORLEANS -- Section 321 clearance via the Automated Broker Interface is likely years away, but CBP and the trade community are actively considering a multitude of issues surrounding e-commerce and low value shipments, according to trade industry and government officials during a panel discussion at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference on April 5. Though short-term solutions for filers and CBP are likely to come earlier, CBP and the trade community need to avoid having those fixes becoming the norm and put the resources into an automated solution that gives customs brokers the same capabilities as others in the supply chain, said Vince Iacopella of Alba Wheels Up.