Suspension of liquidation and antidumping duty cash deposit requirements take effect July 14 for imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico (A-201-820), after the Commerce Department withdrew from the latest in a series of agreements suspending the duties since 1996.
The Commerce Department is beginning an anti-circumvention inquiry to determine whether all imports of disposable aluminum containers, pans, trays, and lids from Thailand and Vietnam that are made from Chinese aluminum foil are circumventing antidumping and countervailing duties on disposable aluminum containers from China (A-570-170/C-570-171), it said in a notice released July 10.
Georgetown Law professor Jennifer Hillman, a former International Trade Commissioner and a former general counsel in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, predicted that the Supreme Court may make a decision on the legality of reciprocal tariffs and other tariffs imposed via the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Hillman, who was speaking on a July 8 webinar about tariffs hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, has been helping challengers to those tariffs, and she said there's "a very good chance that the legal challenges will at least temporarily derail the tariffs imposed under the [law]."
Harris Sliwoski, an international law firm, published a blog post noting that the mention in the Vietnam trade deal framework of 40% tariffs for "transshipped" goods from Vietnam is designed to reduce China's role in supply chains.
In the July 2 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 27), CBP published proposals to revoke ruling letters concerning the tariff classification for certain wireless headphones and earphones and the country of origin of a brake hose.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit's recent ruling in a trade-related False Claims Act case likely will create more customs fraud enforcement led by private parties and should lead importers to be extra wary that they are complying with U.S. trade laws, various laws firms said. The case is Island Industries v. Sigma Corp. (9th Cir. # 22-55063).
CBP has released its July 2 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 27), which includes the following ruling actions:
Sidley trade lawyer Ted Murphy sent a note to clients about his thoughts on the U.S.-Vietnam tariff deal announced July 2 "based on what we (think we) know about the deal thus far," though he noted that the deal is likely still being negotiated.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
President Donald Trump posted on social media that Vietnamese goods would face a 20% tariff, rather than an originally proposed 46% reciprocal tariff, in exchange for zero tariffs on U.S. exports.