Todd Owen, who served as executive assistant commissioner for field operations at CBP for about five years before retiring in 2020, argued that hundreds of millions of dollars for technology upgrades, and staffing expansions, would be more helpful to catch contraband in the small package environment than removing Chinese goods or other restrictions.
Customs duty
A customs duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs duty rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight. U.S. customs duties are listed in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Members of the House Ways and Means Committee majority, who will lead the extension or expansion of the first Trump term income tax cuts, are expressing some hesitancy about using tariffs as a pay-for.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 11-17:
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, in its annual report to Congress, said that ending de minimis for all e-commerce is one of its top 10 recommendations, and said that if Congress passes such a law, it should provide CBP adequate resources to implement and enforce the change.
Trade attorneys continue to wait and wonder what kind of tariff changes will come next year, with one observer using a tariff slide that said "Tariff Armageddon."
House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., proposes increasing tariffs on nearly all Chinese goods to at least 35% and raising tariffs on "strategic goods" to 100%, with exceptions only for goods that are currently sourced only from China.
Import quotas for polyester staple fiber under a safeguard announced Nov. 8 will start at zero in year one, then go to 453,592 in the second year, 907,185 in the third and 1,360,777 in the fourth and last year the safeguard is planned to be in effect, according to an annex to President Joe Biden's proclamation released Nov. 13 ahead of its publication in the Federal Register. The quotas and associated adjustments to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule take effect on Nov. 23 for imports of polyester staple fiber admitted temporarily free of duty under bond that are entered under subheading 9813.00.0520 (see 2411120039).
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 4-10: