Congressional GOP leadership is approaching miscellaneous tariff bill and Generalized System of Preferences legislation as priorities for passage in 2018, in which case GSP coverage would lapse after its Dec. 31 expiration, industry officials said in emails. Republicans recently signaled that both MTB and GSP renewal legislation, yet to be introduced, would be included in an expected continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government past Dec. 22, but have indicated this week to industry that the funding package won’t include any such provisions, according to a retail industry official and an apparel industry official.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 4-10:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 13-17 in case they were missed.
An importer’s late Generalized System of Preferences refund request should be denied, even though it was caused by a misunderstanding with its customs broker, CBP said in a recent ruling. Industrial Chemicals argued the late filing for a refund for duties it paid during the recent lapse in the GSP program was a protestable “mistake of fact or other inadvertence” and should be excused, CBP said. In ruling HQ H286298, issued Oct. 13, CBP held that there was no mistake on the agency’s part when it enforced the statutory 180-day deadline for filing retroactive GSP claims.
A group of more than 350 companies and trade associations urged Congress in a Nov. 14 letter to renew the Generalized System of Preferences by its expiration at the end of the year, noting termination would cost U.S. companies more than $2 million per day in tariffs. “GSP supports American manufacturing by reducing costs of imported inputs, machinery and equipment, and helps American families make ends meet by lowering the costs of consumer goods imported duty free,” says the letter sent to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as well as to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and ranking member Richard Neal, D-Mass.
A group of 11 products appear set to exceed competitive need limitations (CNLs) for calendar year 2017 and lose their eligibility for duty-free access under the Generalized System of Preferences, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said. Products that may exceed CNL waivers in 2017 include the following:
The top Republican and Democratic trade lawmakers in both the House and Senate on Nov. 9 introduced the first miscellaneous tariff bill since legislation reforming the MTB process was signed into law in May 2016 (see 1605200041), the House Ways and Means Committee announced. It is also the first MTB since duty suspensions under the last MTB expired Dec. 31, 2012. Requiring manufacturers to pay tariffs on inputs not produced in the U.S. "increases their manufacturing costs and makes them less competitive internationally," said Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, ranking member Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a statement. "The MTB will temporarily suspend or reduce these burdensome tariffs.”
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in a Nov. 6 letter to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees urged renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences prior to its Dec. 31 expiration, saying previous expirations of GSP caused significant economic damage and disruption. “There is longstanding, bipartisan consensus that GSP is a valuable program that should be extended,” NCBFAA wrote. “Congress knows that GSP helps lower the costs of raw materials or component parts for U.S. manufacturers, an important factor in keeping U.S. companies competitive in foreign markets and lowering the cost of finished products to U.S. consumers. Importantly, GSP only applies to products where there is no U.S. production.”