CBP is investigating a California company for alleged antidumping duty evasion on aluminum extrusions from China, the agency said in a May 17 notice. The investigation stems from allegations filed under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) by Endura Products, a domestic producer of fabricated extruded aluminum door thresholds, CBP said. The company alleged that Columbia Aluminum Products evaded antiumping duties by misclassifying door thresholds.
CBP provided some details on the coming duty collections on Chinese goods covered by the Section 301 tariffs (see 1806150003) in a June 28 CSMS message. "In addition to reporting the Chapters 1-97 HTSUS classification of the imported merchandise, importers shall also report the 9903.88.01 special tariff number for goods subject to the additional duty assessment of 25% ad valorem as a result of the Section 301 trade remedy," CBP said. The tariffs only "apply to products of China, and are based on the country of origin, not country of export." CBP said the additional duties won't apply "to products for which entry is properly claimed under a heading or subheading in Chapter 98," which covers returned U.S. goods.
The Department of Justice and Temple St. Clair reached a $796,000 settlement to resolve allegations of civil fraud, the DOJ said in a news release. Temple St. Clair, "a fine jewelry designer, manufacturer, and importer based in New York, New York," was alleged to have undervalued its goods at import, the DOJ said. The company's senior leadership also allegedly carried jewelry, including a pendant valued at $83,000, into the U.S. for commercial purposes without declaration, the DOJ said. The lawsuit was initiated by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act, it said.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of June 27 (some may also be given separate headlines):
The Environmental Protection Agency is setting new reporting requirements that would apply to importers and exporters of mercury, mercury compounds and products containing mercury. Under the final rule, persons who import or manufacture mercury or mercury-added products, intentionally use mercury in a manufacturing process, distribute mercury or mercury-added products in commerce, store mercury after manufacture or import, or export mercury or mercury-added products would be required to electronically report every three years the amount of mercury they handle and certain use-specific information, such as the country of origin of their imports.
New tariffs on goods from the U.S. exported to Turkey in response to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect on June 21, KPMG said on its website. An official June 25 notice from Turkey described the implementation of the new tariffs, a report from a KPMG firm in Turkey said. The new tariffs apply to the same subheadings listed in a World Trade Organization submission, though some of the tariff amounts differ, according to KPMG. "Retaliatory customs duty will be applicable on imports of US originated automobiles, whiskey, tobacco, coal, cosmetics, machinery equipment, paper and petrochemical products, etc.," the Turkish firm said. "Turkey will impose additional fiscal burden against various US origin goods between 4 percent to 70 percent. At the same time, [whiskey] and automobile importations will be subject to additional fiscal burden at the rate of 70% and 60% with an applicable highest rate."
The Commerce Department is ending an antidumping duty investigation on steel propane cylinders from Taiwan (A-583-864), after the U.S. manufacturers that originally requested the investigation withdrew their petition. No AD duties had yet been collected in connection with the proceeding, which began June 11 (see 1806150019). Antidumping duty investigations on steel propane cylinders from China and Thailand, as well as a countervailing duty investigation on China, continue.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 18-22 in case they were missed.
Lawmakers should vote for legislation to limit the president's ability to impose Section 232 tariffs, more than 60 national business groups and more than 200 local chambers of commerce and similar organizations pleaded with the Senate in a letter sent June 26. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., led a charge to give Congress a way to roll back the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and to block similar tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, but it stalled because Senate leaders said such a measure has to originate in the House of Representatives, as it affects revenue.
The one-year clock for product exclusions to the Section 232 tariffs starts the day the decision memo was signed, not the date a request was posted for comment, a Commerce Department spokesperson said June 25. So, for example, a request that was posted for comments on April 20 that the Bureau of Industry and Security approved on June 19 will apply until June 19, 2019. That one year starts on the date the deputy assistant secretary of export administration signed the memo, which was June 19, not on the original date of posting the request and not on the date the decision became public.