RH "expects no impact to Fiscal 2019 or Fiscal 2020 financial results from the tariffs imposed on new product categories imported from China effective September 1, 2019," the luxury furniture company said in an Aug. 1 news release. "The impacted product categories represent less than 1% of total inventory receipts for fiscal 2019 and less than 2% of anticipated total inventory receipts for fiscal 2020," it said. Also, "since the vast majority of the impacted product categories are textile based, we have multiple sourcing alternatives outside of China that the Company has been evaluating."

The criminal charges filed against a China-based aluminum extrusions manufacturer, its owner and several related companies over tariff evasion (see 1907310040) is good news for the aluminum extrusion industry, the Aluminum Extruders Council said in an email. The charges allege that Zhongtian Liu, his company China Zhongwang Holdings, and several other companies controlled by Liu, including Perfectus, imported aluminum extrusions but declared them exempt from antidumping and countervailing duties. "ZhongWang and its affiliates have been an ongoing and disruptive force in the U.S. aluminum industry, especially regarding aluminum extrusions," the AEC said. "ZhongWang and its affiliates dumped tens of millions of pounds of aluminum extrusions into the U.S. market for months leading up to our victory in our Fair Trade Case. Although the shipments stopped after the orders took place, soon afterward extrusions were being shipped into Mexico by ZhongWang and stored in the desert. Later, fake pallets, comprised solely of aluminum extrusions, began entering the United States. Once uncovered, the AEC launched its scope clarification case, in which the Department of Commerce sided with the industry and declared the fake pallets were covered merchandise and thus subject to duties. At every turn, the AEC was actively involved in thwarting ZhongWang’s attempt to avoid duties."

George Mason University will open a new Anti-Illicit Trade Institute within the existing Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center, the university said in a news release. David Luna, CEO of Luna Global Networks and a former U.S. diplomat, will help lead the program, GMU said. The new institute will also be led by Louise Shelley, a GMU professor, it said. "Beginning in 2020, the AITI will include a core of anti-illicit trade executive-tailored courses and online instruction related to developing effective strategies for fighting illicit markets; investigating and prosecuting illicit trade (the importance of intelligence -- and information-sharing across borders); targeting webs of corruption and criminality by following the money and 'value' (money-laundering/trade-based money-laundering); tackling cybercrime and dismantling online markets related to Intellectual Property (IP) crime including counterfeit and pirated goods; and other important anti-crime and criminal justice areas," it said.

At a press conference attended by dozens of pro-USMCA trade groups, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue said his group is optimistic that the trade pact will get a vote in September. Donohue held his fingers an inch apart and said, "Lighthizer and Nancy Pelosi are this close," he said, referring to negotiations on changes to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the Speaker of the House. Donohue said the Chamber is "very, very willing to move forward" with small fixes, which he characterized as "ornaments on the tree."

Hundreds of business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, urged Congress to pass the new NAFTA, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, "as soon as possible," in a letter sent July 23. The letter was signed by trade groups from many sectors, goods and services, importers and exporters and sectors that rely on both, as well as local chambers of commerce from every state. "U.S. manufacturers export more made-in-America manufactured goods to our North American neighbors than they do to the next 11 largest export markets combined, and the two countries account for nearly one-third of U.S. agricultural exports," the groups wrote. "They are also the top two export destinations for U.S. small and medium-size businesses, more than 120,000 of which sell their goods and services to Canada and Mexico."

About 83 percent of respondents to a United States Fashion Industry Association survey say they'll reduce the amount of apparel they source from China in the next two years -- a strong increase from the 67 percent who said they planned to do that last year. But given that only 6.7 percent said their reductions in Chinese sourcing would be significant, it appears that Section 301 -- and the uncertainty of whether more apparel will be affected -- has had somewhat muted effects on the industry.

Though President Donald Trump delayed imposition of List 4 Section 301 tariffs to restart negotiations with China toward a comprehensive trade deal, retailers continue stocking up on inventory as a hedge against the duties taking effect on short notice, the National Retail Federation said July 10. Imports at major U.S. retail container ports will remain at high levels this summer, “but are expected to grow only modestly compared with last year’s rush to bring merchandise into the country ahead of scheduled tariff increases,” the NRF said. “Retailers still want to protect their customers against potential price increases that would come with any additional tariffs, but with the latest proposed tariffs on hold for now and warehouses bulging, there’s only so much they can do,” it said. “We will still see some near-record numbers this summer, but right now no one knows whether there will be additional tariffs or not.” U.S. ports handled 1.85 million 20-foot-long cargo containers or their equivalents in May, up 6 percent from April and a 1.4 percent increase from May 2018, the NRF said. It’s estimated that ports handled 1.87 million containers in June, an increase of only 0.8 percent year-over-year. The July forecast is for 1.93 million containers to be handled, which would be 1.3 percent higher than the July 2018 volume, it said: “The small year-over-year increases expected in the next few months compare with double-digit growth in multiple months last year as retailers rushed to import Chinese merchandise ahead of expected tariff increases.”

E2open finalized its acquisition of Amber Road, the company said in a July 2 news release. The companies announced the deal in May (see 1905130057). "The combination of E2open and Amber Road brings together two complementary platforms to create a premier global trade management network solution, enhancing customers’ ability to operate their entire end-to-end supply chains from one place in the cloud," E2open said.

Even if a deal is struck with China, things won't return to how they were before, a trade consultant and the National Foreign Trade Council CEO agreed while on a panel. Rufus Yerxa, CEO of the National Foreign Trade Council, told the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference June 28: "I fear we get to a situation where we can’t go back, and we can’t go forward, either."

Even as one panelist said the changes to NAFTA won't really affect her Fortune 500 company, other panelists at the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference June 27 in Washington agreed that the deal's rewrite is important for the precedent it sets in future trade negotiations.