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.”
Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., on Oct. 31 introduced the Competitive Need Limitations Modernization Act of 2017, which would peg Generalized System of Preferences 504(d) waiver approvals to present-day production statistics. Under the 504(d) process, not the standard waiver process, CNL waivers are automatically granted for a list of products not made in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, 1995, but only if a CNL would be based solely on imports of a good from a specific country exceeding 50 percent of the value of total imports of that good into the U.S. during any calendar year after 1995. Donnelly’s bill would instead make the granting of 504(d) waivers contingent on the absence of domestic production in any of the three calendar years preceding the date of import. The bill would also change the yearly deadline for the executive branch to issue and revoke CNL waivers, from July 1 to Oct. 15.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced legislation to designate certain footwear as eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences for the first time in the program’s more than 40-year history, following the May introduction of companion House legislation by Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb. (see 1705260035). Like its House counterpart, S. 2032 would qualify footwear classified in more than 20 tariff schedule subheadings in Chapter 64 for GSP treatment. Introduction of the bill drew praise from the American Apparel and Footwear Association. “Expanding [GSP] to cover shoes will support and grow well-paying American jobs, from design and marketing to logistics and retail,” AAFA CEO Rick Helfenbein said in a statement. “Duty reduction means U.S. footwear companies can reduce costs that can instead be invested in American workers, product innovation, and savings that can be passed on to consumers.” AAFA Executive Vice President Steve Lamar in a separate statement urged quick Senate passage of the footwear bill and overall GSP renewal legislation.
Thirty-eight House lawmakers wrote an Oct. 27 letter urging House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and ranking member Richard Neal, D-Mass., to advance long-term Generalized System of Preferences renewal legislation “as quickly as possible,” with a looming program expiration date of Dec. 31. Led by Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Jim Himes, D-Conn., the lawmakers said GSP slashed about $730 million in tariffs last year, and nearly two-thirds of GSP imports were raw materials, components and machinery, helping U.S. manufacturers and workers compete in a “tough global economy.”