The Bureau of Industry and Security is looking to continue moving away from proposed rulemakings and instead issue most new rules as interim final or final, said two people with knowledge of the agency’s plans.
Gibson Dunn brought a suit to the Court of International Trade on behalf of a small Michigan-based importer, Detroit Axle, to challenge President Donald Trump's revocation of the de minimis threshold for Chinese goods. The complaint, filed on May 16, argues that Trump exceeded his statutory authority in eliminating de minimis for goods from China and acted arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (Axle of Dearborn, d/b/a Detroit Axle v. Dep't of Commerce, CIT # 25-00091).
Five senators, both Republicans and Democrats, asked Jamieson Greer, then the U.S. trade representative nominee, to advocate for a formal exclusion process to tariffs, as was done for the Section 301 tariffs in Trump's first term. These written exchanges were recently posted at the Senate Finance Committee website, long after Greer's confirmation vote.
Although the reciprocal tariff for imported Chinese goods may have fallen to 10% for 90 days (see 2505130074), Flexport trade experts advised companies to not treat this action as if there will be an extension. Doing so will prevent companies from having to ask later whether they will have any in-transit exemptions as the 90-day period ends around Aug. 12, according to Angela Lewis, global head of customs for Flexport.
A product is "imported" for duty drawback purposes when it's admitted into a foreign-trade zone and not when entered for domestic consumption, the Court of International Trade held on May 15. Judge Timothy Reif said the definition of "importation" found in both the dictionary and Supreme Court precedent distinguishes importation from entry.
CBP released a notice outlining refund procedures to implement President Donald Trump’s April 29 executive order on tariff stacking. The notice says that, beginning May 16, importers may request refunds on entries on or after March 4 by way of a post-summary correction for unliquidated entries or a protest for entries that have been liquidated but where the protest period hasn’t expired.
Goods loaded onto feeder vessels before reciprocal tariffs took effect, but transferred to another vessel after, aren’t eligible for an exemption from the tariffs for in-transit goods, CBP said in an update to a FAQ May 15.
House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said that once the tax bill passes -- which he is expecting to happen by July 4 -- his top priority will be turning to trade.
Given the fast-evolving trade dynamics in the U.S., some suppliers from China have been advising importers to take advantage of delivered duty paid terms -- which is bad advice and can get companies in trouble with CBP, customs consultant Tom Gould said during a May 13 webinar hosted by Revenue Vessel.
The Senate Finance Committee's top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, said he thinks Republicans in Congress will act to reverse some of the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed -- if they hear enough outrage from Republican base voters.