International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 11-15 in case they were missed.
Senate Finance Committee Democrats and House Ways and Means Republicans have floated the idea of advancing packaged legislation including Generalized System of Preferences renewal alongside a miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) or African Growth and Opportunity Act-related bill before the end of 2017, according to a trade lobbyist close to the committees. Committee staffers haven’t stated “emphatically that they would” move forward with such an action, but “it makes sense,” the lobbyist said. Trade industry executives in June said groups were eyeing the possibility of an MTB set to be considered as early as November to serve as a potential vehicle for GSP renewal (see 1706200050).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 21-25 in case they were missed.
Articles imported within sets may be eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences, even if other components of the set are not, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued Aug. 23. In a test case on whether sets of Thai pots and Chinese lids imported by Meyer Corp. qualify for GSP, CIT held that the pots are GSP-eligible, and that the lids are not, despite the entire sets being classified in a single tariff provision for kitchen articles of stainless steel.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 7-11 in case they were missed.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is moving forward with its review of the Generalized System of Preferences and is ready to consider petitions to modify both the list of GSP-eligible products and the beneficiary status of GSP countries, it said. USTR is also extending to a second day a previously announced hearing of the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee's (TPSC's) GSP Subcommittee on Bolivian compliance with GSP eligibility criteria related to child labor, to examine several other country practice petitions accepted in prior years (see 1707070021). The agency outlined the following deadlines in its GSP review (submissions are due at midnight on each deadline):
The International Trade Commission sent its final report on miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) petitions to Congress on Aug. 8, the ITC said. In the report sent to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees, the ITC classified 1,825 petitions as meeting MTB statutory requirements with or without modification, 54 petitions as not containing information required by the statute or that weren’t filed by a likely beneficiary, and 645 petitions as not recommended for inclusion in an MTB. The largest product categories were chemicals, accounting for 1,464 petitions; machinery and equipment, accounting for 457 petitions; and textiles, apparel and footwear, accounting for 456 petitions, the ITC said.
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:
Customs brokerage Thomas Ferramosca Associates recently sent a letter to House lawmakers calling for legislation to allow firms to claim drawback on duty-liable imported goods withdrawn from foreign-trade zones for direct export. In a July 18 letter to Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and to the congressman representing the Staten Island, New York, brokerage’s district, Rep. Dan Donovan (R), Tom Ferramosca Jr. said that allowing for direct export qualifications could be an “enticement” for companies to produce and export more from the U.S., in part because “the more that’s exported, the more that can be claimed against merchandise sold in the U.S. with potential duty liability.” If allowed drawback benefits, FTZ goods classified as “privileged foreign” or “non-privileged foreign” provide “the greatest opportunities” to boost U.S. manufacturing, expand exports and stimulate job growth, the letter says.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 17-23: