CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A number of prominent trade groups, along with Winnebago, the motor home and powerboat maker with 6,000 employees, questioned the wisdom of a tariff hike from 7.5% to 25% on lithium-ion batteries outside the electric vehicle sector (Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8507.60.0020).
Solar manufacturers asked for retroactive relief on Section 301 tariffs on manufacturing equipment, buyers and producers disagreed on medical product tariffs and many manufacturers supported the equipment listed, and asked for more equipment or parts for equipment that was not identified by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as it recommended a new round of exclusions limited to manufacturing equipment.
Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., introduced a bill to suspend the 15% tariff on titanium sponge imports from trusted trade partners.
Witnesses at the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act eligibility review hearing contradicted an earlier comment from the Ethiopian government, which argued that Tigray has been relatively peaceful since November 2022, and basic services such as electricity, water, phone service, education and healthcare have been restored in the region. "Following widespread and substantial reforms of the food assistance structure, which allowed for enhanced oversight and beneficiary selection, USAID resumed food assistance across Ethiopia," Ethiopian representatives wrote.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2407 on June 20, containing 17 ABI records and 4 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. "This update contained Section 301 exclusion updates that included extending HTS numbers 9903.88.67 and 9903.88.68 from May 31, 2024, to June 14, 2024, and adding new HTS number 9903.88.69 effective June 15, 2024, through May 25, 2025," CBP said in a June 27 CSMS message.
CBP Executive Director for Trade Policy and Programs Brandon Lord told an audience during a Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting that its work groups had offered "very thoughtful, forward-leaning recommendations," and that he was particularly excited about their new vision of a customs brokers exam.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called on the Biden administration to act on a surge in Mexican steel imports that are violating the 2019 Joint Agreement on Steel and Aluminum. The surge is driven by the Chinese government, which is routing steel through Mexico to avoid U.S. tariffs, Brown said in a June 25 letter.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2409 on June 26, containing 261 ABI records and 79 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. "This update also includes the addition of HTS 9903.45.29 for Section 201 Bifacial Exclusions," CBP said in a CSMS message. "Additional communication with further details, information and guidance on Section 201 bifacial exclusions is forthcoming."
CBP will soon begin rejecting ACE filings for products that fail to comply with certain organic import filing requirements under the USDA’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement final rule, which requires electronic National Organic Program import certificates for organic agricultural products (see 2403190066 and 2301180051). CBP has been issuing warnings for those filings since new USDA organic enforcement regulations became effective March 19, but the agency said in a June 24 CSMS message that the warning will change to a reject in ACE’s certification environment on June 28 and in ACE’s production environment on Sept. 19.