The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will exclude two more products from the third list of Section 301 tariffs on products from China, it said in a notice released Aug. 21. The exclusions will apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and through Aug. 7, 2020, it said. The new exclusions will fall under previously created subheading 9903.88.48.

CBP is still working out of some details around the recent policy shift for Section 321 shipments (see 2008040044), an agency official said during an Aug. 20 call with trade professionals. CBP said that it is finding a significant number -- though not a majority -- of the millions of packages that enter the U.S. under de minimis in a month do not qualify for that category. Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, said the agency is crunching data to see which shippers have been violating de minimis guidelines most frequently.

The U.S. is reducing by 50% tariffs on certain prepared meals, certain crystal glassware, cigarette lighters and lighter parts, surface preparations and propellant powders, in exchange for the European Union ending tariffs on live and frozen lobster imports. Canada had been taking market share from Maine lobster exports since Canada and the EU signed a trade deal, and Canadian lobsters could enter duty free. The products from the EU have an “average annual trade value of $160 million,” while lobster exports to the EU topped $111 million in 2017, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a news release Aug. 21. All the tariff reductions are effective as of Aug. 1, 2020.

During the second of two hearings aimed at satisfying primarily Florida and Georgia farmers frustrated with lost market share to Mexican competitors, officials from the Commerce Department, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Aug. 20 heard vastly different views of how Mexican vegetable and fruit producers deserve to be treated (see 2008180034). Blueberry, zucchini, cucumber and bell pepper farmers from Georgia testified again and again that Mexicans can sell these items cheaper than they can, because of much lower labor prices, because of stricter environmental regulations in the U.S., and because Mexican producers have gotten government help to build shade houses, greenhouses and hoop houses.

CBP recently finished a “final draft” of a document creating a 21st Century Customs Framework, Vincent Annunziato, director of CBP’s business transformation office, said during the American Association of Exporters and Importers virtual conference Aug. 19. The draft includes five pillars: Enhance Facilitation and Security, Define Customs and Trade Responsibilities, Ensure Seamless Data Sharing, Employ Intelligent Enforcement, and Protect and Enhance Customs Infrastructure Through Secure Funding, he said. CBP said last year it hoped to begin introducing some policy changes around the framework this year (see 1907250028).

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is no longer planning to begin Oct. 1 enforcement of Lacey Act import declaration requirements on 29 new tariff lines, the agency announced recently in an email. The delay “will give the trade community time to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for this change,” it said. The agency said in March it planned to implement the sixth phase of Lacey Act import requirements in October (see 2003300011).

Several trade groups representing businesses would like the USMCA's rapid labor mechanism for dealing with Mexico labor violations to be far less rapid, according to their suggestions on how the process should go. The National Foreign Trade Council, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation submitted nearly identical comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which posted them publicly late on Aug. 17. They said that those arguing that Mexicans' rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association are being abridged by an employer should “be required to exhaust all other avenues prior to filing petitions.”

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from Aug. 10-14 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

CBP issued a withhold release order for imported "seafood harvested by the Da Wang, a Vanuatu-flagged, Taiwan-owned distant water fishing vessel," CBP said in a news release . Effective Aug. 18, CBP will stop seafood from the vessel at all U.S. ports of entry, it said.

The stevia importer that paid CBP $575,000 over allegations of using forced labor (see 2008140016) said the payment was the result of a settlement with the agency and didn't include any admission of guilt. CBP touted the enforcement action against PureCircle U.S.A. as the first such penalty the agency issued since the forced labor laws were changed in 2016. “Rather than engage in extensive litigation requiring travel to China during the COVID-19 pandemic to challenge the penalty notices, PureCircle instead settled the matter with the U.S. government for less than 7% of the amount sought by CBP in penalties,” the company said in a news release Aug. 14.