Ahead of a planned trip to India Nov. 22 by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, the Alliance for Trade Enforcement is asking her to make sure that the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum "eliminates significant trade barriers in India to expand economic opportunities for U.S. workers and businesses."
The National Association of Manufacturers said the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill needs to be renewed before the end of the year, so that manufacturers that benefited from it in the past can get relief from higher input costs, at least in one area. In a blog post Nov. 3, NAM highlighted Dow, the giant chemical company, whose lead federal government affairs official said higher tariffs on imported chemicals affect textiles, cosmetics, cleaning products and insulation. "Making our supply chains cost competitive through MTB also supports our consumers who need to manage their costs," Dow's Eric Friedman said. Ali Aafedt, director of trade facilitation policy at NAM, wrote, “Amidst a global pandemic, severe supply chain shortages and other hurdles, Congress’ lack of action on the MTB is yet another challenge. Congress has the opportunity to support manufacturers, workers and consumers in the United States by passing bipartisan MTB legislation by the end of the year.”
Major air cargo airlines, including UPS and FedEx Express, are asking the Office of Management and Budget to delay the Dec. 8 deadline for employee vaccination, in a letter sent last week, first reported by Politico. They asked for the deadline to be extended into the first half of 2022.
Shipmonk, an e-commerce fulfillment and inventory management provider, acquired El Mar Mexico and its fulfillment center based in Tecate, Mexico, Shipmonk said Oct. 21. The acquisition will allow for customers to "legally bypass taxing on the majority of U.S. shipments, eliminating tariffs and import duties" due to the Section 321 exemption allowed on low-value goods, it said. "Goods are legally imported into a free trade zone in Mexico under special license, and then shipped directly to the U.S. consumer within ShipMonk's comprehensive shipping zone coverage area, without paying duties and tariff fees," it said.
The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America say they know the administration cannot help with the spike in shipping costs, but it could ease inflation by removing Section 301 tariffs on children's shoes. In a letter sent Oct. 19, the group said, "Kids’ shoe prices have now reached the highest in over 70 years, causing massive sticker shock for those who can least afford it. The rising costs we see in the shoe supply chain are a contributing factor for shoe retail price increases. That has been the lead, but the real headline has been buried. Government import taxes now make up 30 percent of the price of certain types of children’s shoes at big box retailers where most working-class families shop."
Amazon is calling for legislation to allow CBP to share information about suspected counterfeiters with platforms and logistics companies, providing examples of how such information sharing worked to stop counterfeiters. In a just-published policy paper, Amazon said it received a tip from CBP about Champion-branded earbud cases, and "immediately quarantined the counterfeiter’s additional inventory in our fulfillment network and terminated their accounts." The tip led to HanesBrands bringing a civil lawsuit against 13 counterfeiters.
Farmers who produce several sorts of commodities continue to regret the U.S. retreat from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and want the administration to prioritize opening markets for their goods in Southeast Asia, according to a Farmers for Free Trade panel held virtually.
Tough comparisons with August 2020, the fifth full month of COVID-19 lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, were evident in the double-digit year-over-year declines in August imports of TVs, smartphones and laptops and tablets, according to Census Bureau data accessed Oct. 11 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb portal.
Retail imports remain high, but there’s no telling how much the congestion at U.S. ports is denting the volume of incoming goods, the National Retail Federation reported Oct. 7. “The cargo is there for larger gains at several ports but congestion issues are impacting fluid operations,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president-supply chain and customs policy. “Ships will eventually get unloaded but the pressure is on for everyone to work together to get the containers out as quickly as possible.” U.S. ports handled 2.27 million 20-foot cargo containers or their equivalents in August, NRF said. That was up 3.5% from July and 7.8% higher than a year earlier and tied March as the second-busiest month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002. The congestion and disruption come in the middle of the peak season for shipping “when retailers stock up on holiday merchandise each year, but many retailers began bringing in holiday goods this summer to be sure sufficient inventory will be available.”
The Coalition for a Prosperous America wrote to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, suggesting that tariff rate quotas on European aluminum should be what replaces the 10% tariff on aluminum from the European Union. "We cannot return to the unhealthy belief that ad hoc anti-dumping or countervailing duties are sufficient for these vital sectors. Managing import penetration in aluminum, in particular, remains vital," the group wrote.