Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee, said that incentives to move medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and medical supply manufacturing out of China and to the U.S. and “reliable trade partners” is something House Republicans would like to see as part of the next COVID-19 relief package.
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.
A recent revision to the tariff schedule changes treatment of goods returned after assembly from Canada or Mexico under subheading 9802.00.80, allowing products of the U.S. assembled in Canada or Mexico to enter duty free under USMCA.
House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, one of the four players directing the shape of a USMCA technical corrections bill, said that the “language was a little different than the intent” when it came to the treatment of foreign-trade zones in USMCA's implementing bill. Brady and the leaders of the Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees see getting a technical corrections bill passed as “a high priority,” he said in a recent interview.
Former U.S. trade representatives Carla Hills, Susan Schwab and Michael Froman said the next director-general of the World Trade Organization will have an uphill climb to achieve changes they all believe are needed at the institution. The three spoke during a Washington International Trade Association webinar July 16. Froman said the fundamental problem is “a lack of global consensus around trade. And there’s a lack of political will to get things done.”
CBP does not have the authority to extend deadlines for filing protests so that importers can claim refunds of Section 301 tariffs on goods granted exclusions well after liquidation, though a path to refunds may be possible via the reconciliation process, Ana Hinojosa, executive director of CBP’s trade remedy and law enforcement division, said during the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee's July 15 meeting.
CBP “is evaluating” the “operational approach to implementing the President’s direction” in light of the executive order ending Hong Kong's special trade status (see 2007150054), a CBP spokesperson emailed July 16. “The EO instructs agencies to commence appropriate actions within 15 days,” the spokesperson said. “We’ll be able to share more information soon.”
Some new provisions within the USMCA seem to make claims of U.S. goods returned under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 9801 for U.S. origin goods much less important than was the case under NAFTA. Kevin Riddell, director-trade and regulatory compliance at Tremco Group in Canada, highlighted the changes, which allow for USMCA claims on U.S. origin goods, in a recent LinkedIn post. While Riddell said he hadn't tried to enter U.S. goods under the new USMCA provisions, a CBP spokesperson confirmed that “a USMCA claim may be made on goods of U.S. origin, provided it satisfies its applicable rule of origin and all other requirements of the Agreement have been met.”
Next year's funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security aims to fix staffing shortages at ports of entry, International Mail Facilities, and Express Consignment Facilities by adding funding for 750 new CBP officers, 200 agricultural specialists, 30 operational support staff and 70 mission support staff. It also dedicates $8 million for trade agreement, remedies and enforcement personnel “to strengthen enforcement actions and processes that prevent the importation of products made with forced labor,” the report accompanying the bill said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether recently granted (see 2007090035) and coming tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 4 should be extended beyond Sept. 1, it said in a notice. While USTR recently issued a request for comment on the previous five sets of exclusions expiring Sept. 1 (see 2006250001), it is also considering extensions for “exclusions granted under the sixth notice and a forthcoming seventh notice of product exclusions.” The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on July 15. The comments are due by Aug. 14, it said. The evaluation's focus will be on whether, despite the first imposition of these additional duties, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
President Donald Trump's 2018 proclamation increasing the Section 232 tariffs on steel from Turkey violated "the animating statute and constitutional guarantees," a three-judge Court of International Trade panel said in a July 14 decision. The judges found that the proclamation fell outside the required time limits for making changes and Trump "acted without a proper report and recommendation by the [Commerce] Secretary on the national security threat posed by imports of steel products from Turkey."