The U.S. and the European Union would recognize each other’s product testing across a variety of sectors including electronics, toys, machinery and measuring instruments, under a proposed agreement released by the EU on Nov. 22. “The EU proposal seeks an agreement, under which the EU and the U.S. would accept the conformity assessment results of each other’s assessment bodies, certifying products against the legal requirement of the other side. This would enable exporters to seek certification of their products in their originating country,” the European Commission said in a press release.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has created a webpage with information on new requirements for importation of tomatoes and peppers to prevent the introduction of tomato brown rugose fruit virus. Effective Nov. 22, APHIS is setting new inspection and certification requirements for tomatoes and Capsicum peppers from Canada, Mexico, Israel, and the Netherlands, as well as certification requirements for tomato propagative materials from all countries.
Partner government agencies list several new regulations on their lists of upcoming rulemakings in the Fall 2019 Unified Agenda. The Food and Drug Administration says it intends to propose new recordkeeping requirements for high-risk foods, and again lists proposed rules to revise written assurance requirements under its Food Safety Modernization Act regulations. The Fish and Wildlife Service intends to expand its list of ports designated for importation of wildlife, and the Commerce Department is set to modify its licensing requirements for steel imports to monitor transshipment through Canada and Mexico.
Importers of goods from the European Union need to be particularly careful about the complicated web of country coverage and exceptions under Section 301 tariffs that began in October, according to KPMG trade consultants speaking during a webinar on Nov. 19. The structure of the new tariffs creates opportunities for duty savings in the form of tariff engineering, shifting supply chains and taking advantage of narrow carve-outs.
Increased Section 232 duties on steel products from Turkey may be invalid or even unconstitutional, the Court of International Trade said in a Nov. 15 decision. Denying the government’s motion to dismiss an importer's challenge of the 50 percent duty, which was dropped back to 25 percent in May (see 1905170004), the court said Transpacific Steel raises arguments that may lead to a refund of the additional duties in the CIT’s final decision.
An automotive importer may use reconciliation to adjust the value of its entries for quarterly surcharges that account for commodity prices of the metals used in imported auto parts, CBP said in a ruling issued Oct. 22. The surcharges can be included because they are calculated according to a set, non-discretionary formula, and can be linked to specific entries through the importer’s records, CBP said in ruling HQ H302879.
The Court of International Trade on Nov. 13 overturned a Commerce Department scope ruling that found cedar shingles and shakes are subject to antidumping and countervailing duties on softwood lumber from Canada. The court said Commerce needed to explain why it had never considered shingles and shakes subject to softwood lumber cases dating back to 1982, but suddenly found they’re covered by the orders in the 2018 scope ruling.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 4-10:
CBP has taken some steps toward addressing a shortfall in antidumping and countervailing duty collections, but will need to continue to strengthen its collection process and implement a risk model for bonding that is currently in development to fully address the ongoing issue, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Nov. 7.
LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich. -- CBP is still wrapping its head around how it would enforce labor wage content requirements for automobiles under the renegotiated NAFTA, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade, at the Automotive Industry Action Group Customs Town Hall on Nov. 7.