The footnote in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that says that the U.S. could change its de minimis level to match Canada's and Mexico's levels was roundly rejected by the Senate Finance Committee on July 30, when the topic was one of the most-discussed aspects of the deal. Paula Barnett, owner of Paula Elaine Barnett jewelry, was the first witness who testified, and she told the committee that she does not want U.S. de minimis levels lowered, because she doesn't have to pay tariffs when goods are returned from outside the country, and because she purchases opals from Mexico, and those purchases are under the $800 threshold.
Several leaders of the New Democrat Coalition met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer late July 25, and told him that they want him to treat negotiations with the working group on the new NAFTA with a sense of urgency. "Congress members are starting to say, 'Let's get down to brass tacks and figure out how specifically these issues can be addressed," said Rep. Derek Kilmer, chairman of the New Democrats. Kilmer, D-Wash., who described the meeting in a short hallway interview after it concluded, said Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., also met with Lighthizer.
Countervailing duty cash deposit requirements took effect July 12 for imports of fabricated structural steel from Mexico (C-201-851) and China (C-570-103), after the Commerce Department found illegal subsidization during its preliminary determinations for those two countries. The agency also found that fabricated structural steel from Canada (C-122-865) is not being illegally subsidized in a negative countervailing duty determination, and will not suspend liquidation or impose CV duty cash deposit requirements for imports from Canada at this time.
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CBP will begin testing advance data collections for low-value entries that may be eligible for Section 321 exemptions, the agency said in a notice. "Participants will electronically transmit certain data elements pertaining to these shipments to CBP in advance of arrival," CBP said. "CBP is conducting this test to determine the feasibility of requiring advance data from different types of parties and requiring additional data that is generally not required under current regulations in order to effectively identify and target high-risk shipments in the ecommerce environment."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP will deploy the new entry type 86 for Section 321 shipments in ACE on Sept. 28, rather than the previously planned August date, the agency said in an updated deployment schedule. A Federal Register notice on a test for the entry type is expected soon (see 1905300050). Other changes mentioned in a CSMS message were the deployment dates for Collections Release One and the Modernizing e214 Online Admission Process, which were previously scheduled but are now not finalized. An antidumping and countervailing duty redesign was also added, with a "target deployment" of Sept. 14.
Objections to the exemption of low value shipments from the Section 301 duties on goods from China demonstrates the need for a change in law to allow for de minimis exemptions for goods withdrawn from foreign-trade zones, the 321 Coalition said in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The comments were part of the docket on the fourth tranche of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, which are now on hold as the U.S. and China work toward a trade deal (see 1907010012). The coalition similarly said it would like to see federal law changed to allow for de minimis entry for goods from foreign-trade zones as part of CBP's customs framework review (see 1902140022).
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CBP would like to use the ongoing discussion around the 21st century customs framework (see 1903040023) as a way to review some of the most basic ways the agency looks at trade, said Thomas Overacker, CBP executive director, Cargo and Conveyance Security on June 28 while at the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference in Washington. Hypotheticals mentioned by CBP officials as discussion starters included a rewrite of the entry language in 19 CFR 141 and whether drawback remains a necessary program.