President Donald Trump issued a proclamation Oct. 10 that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says will end a hotly contested exemption for bifacial panels from safeguard duties on solar cells, despite a Court of International Trade injunction against its elimination that for now remains in effect (see 1912050063). The proclamation also increases the tariff applicable under the safeguard to account for bifacial panels already imported under the safeguard.

CBP should allow in-bonds to be transferred down the supply chain and “eliminate the unnecessary closure of active bonds and filing of subsequent in-bonds,” the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) said in a recommendation adopted at its Oct. 7 meeting. “A single in-bond should be able to be transferred among bonded parties, with liability for the in-bond shipment moving along with the physical transfers,” the COAC said.

Battery-powered electric bikes assembled in China from mostly Taiwanese parts are considered to be a product of Taiwan, CBP said in a Sept. 24 ruling. Yamaha Motor Corp. USA requested a CBP ruling on the country of origin of the electric bikes. Among the parts that are of Chinese origin are the batteries, “saddle seat, clips, fasteners, and brackets,” it said.

A week after the renewal of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act passed the Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the bill, and on Oct. 8, she sent it to the White House, a House aide said. Even if the president does not sign it, the bill will become law in 10 days. The trade program expired Sept. 30, but renewal legislation was passed by the House and Senate in recent weeks (see 2010010039).

The conclusion of whether imported blueberries are damaging domestic producers won't come until February, and it's not clear whether a Biden administration would impose tariff rate quotas or tariffs on blueberries from Mexico or Canada if the International Trade Commission recommends that an intervention is warranted.

There is a desire for more “uniformity” for country of origin and marking under USMCA, similar to the rules in Part 102 of NAFTA, said Heidi Bray, manager-U.S. and global customs compliance for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Bray and other Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee members mentioned a variety of USMCA “challenges” during the Oct. 7 COAC meeting. She said she thinks it would be a good idea to bring back a USMCA working group to discuss those issues.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said a bill that would eliminate all tariffs on personal protective equipment could be added to a spending bill, tax extenders, or another coronavirus relief bill, if there is one during the lame duck session. He said he would argue that Sen. Pat Toomey's bill (see 2010060044) should ride along on one of those bills.

Organic growers, suppliers and importers, as well as customs brokers, called on the Agricultural Marketing Service to streamline aspects of its proposed new strategy for strengthening organic enforcement, in comments to AMS filed in recent days. As proposed in August, the new enforcement approach imposes unrealistic timelines for per-shipment organic certifications, and could cause confusion over who is responsible for ensuring organic imports are compliant.

International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Sept. 28-Oct. 2 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Plastic head-shaped lollipop holders imported separately from lollipops meet the required standards for classification as toys in heading 9503, CBP said in a ruling released Oct. 2. The ruling request came from lawyers for Imaginings 3, which imports the lollipop holders, the agency said. The merchandise was then being entered at the Port of Chicago “and so we have converted the ruling request to an internal advice request for entries not yet liquidated,” CBP said in the ruling, dated July 31.