The Court of International Trade on Sept. 5 said a CBP headquarters ruling on see-through pop-up tent "pods" that differed in outcome from a previously decided protest didn't require public notice-and-comment because the protest wasn't a "prior interpretive ruling or decision." Judge Timothy Reif dismissed one of importer Under the Weather's counts in its customs classification case on the pods, finding that the prior protest approval wasn't the result of "considered deliberations," didn't have "prospective effect" and wasn't "interpretive."
The House of Representatives will not be voting on a de minimis restriction as part of its "China week," according to a list of 31 bills published by its leadership Sept. 3. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had said in July that he expected changes to de minimis to be part of the package (see 2407080049).
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 28 denied both the government's and importer HyAxiom's motions for judgment in a customs classification case on PC50 supermodules, which are a part of a stationary hydrogen fuel cell generator known as the PureCell Model 400. Judge Timothy Stanceu said a factual determination is needed on whether the PC50's "principal function" is gas generation.
CBP will grant Lorte Technologies, Inc.'s protest on the tariff classification of its pulse oximeters from China, according to a June 18 decision posted by CBP on Aug. 19. The agency ruled that, even though part of the pulse oximeters could fall under the classification for tachometers, considering the whole instrument would place the oximeters under a different classification category for medical instruments.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies "Trade Guys" said that while there is some pressure on Congress to get the Generalized Systems of Preferences benefits program renewed, and restrict de minimis, competing pressures make it unlikely bills will become law this year.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America, which advocates for protecting American manufacturing, said the new Senate Finance Committee bill to restrict de minimis moves "things in the right direction," even more than the bill that passed the House Ways and Means Committee in the spring.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that applying Section 301 tariffs to the contents of packages that previously benefited from de minimis, as proposed in the House (see 2407080049), would increase revenue from tariffs by about $23.5 billion in the 2024-2034 period, but would only require reprogramming of ACE and more money for data storage and ACE maintenance, not new CBP officers. The CBO estimated that improving ACE would cost $3 million, and that CBP would need $2 million annually to maintain the system.
President Joe Biden is again increasing the quantity of solar cells allowed under a Section 201 safeguard tariff-rate quota, he said in a proclamation issued Aug. 12. Retroactively effective for entries on or after Aug. 1, imports up to a 12.5 GW limit will now be allowed in duty-free, up from 5 GW prior to that date.
Womenswear company Alexis will pay nearly $7.7 million to settle a whistleblower False Claims Act case, which alleged that the company underpaid customs duties on its apparel imports, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced Aug. 9.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., formally unveiled a widely anticipated bipartisan bill Aug. 8 that would restrict foreign goods from eligibility for de minimis shipments.