The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 10-16:
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted (here):
Agricultural trade could have a greater chance than other sectors in North America of being reshaped through NAFTA renegotiations, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) lobbyist Jon Kent said July 11 during a webinar. “That’s, I think, where we’re most concerned about maintaining the status quo, and there’s a reasonable amount of contention between all three countries” party to the agreement, Kent said. Promoting free data flows will be another major issue of renegotiation, and the high-tech industry is likely to weigh in “very affirmatively” on the topic, but the U.S. will seek to adjust several parts of the agreement merely “around the edges,” he said.
The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee’s Generalized System of Preferences Subcommittee will convene a public hearing Sept. 26 to examine Bolivia’s compliance with GSP eligibility criteria related to child labor, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Public reporting by the Labor and State departments indicates that the government of Bolivia in 2014 adopted a Code for Children and Adolescents, which lowered the working age for children to 10 years old for self-employed workers and 12 years old for those in an employment relationship, under certain situations, USTR said. U.S. government reporting also notes concerns about Bolivia’s efforts to enforce national labor laws and create effective protections for working children as provided in its labor laws, the agency said. USTR will accept requests to testify at the public hearing until Sept. 5.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 26-30 in case they were missed.
CBP said it created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1705 on June 30, containing 476 Automated Broker Interface records and 96 harmonized tariff records (here). Modifications include changes to the Generalized System of Preferences from a recent presidential proclamation (see 1706290047), CBP said. The modified records can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.L.Keeling@cbp.dhs.gov
The International Trade Commission on July 1 posted revisions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (here). The new HTS implements the results of the U.S. Trade Representative's 2016-17 review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), adding several "travel goods" to the program for all GSP beneficiaries. The ITC is also implementing the second round of tariff cuts under the expanded World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, adding new tariff numbers for a variety of products, including cuts of beef, and removing outdated classification provisions for jadeite and rubies. All changes take effect July 1, unless otherwise specified.
CBP said it created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1704 on June 28, containing 2,564 Automated Broker Interface records and 463 harmonized tariff records (here). CBP also said it is expecting a now unsigned presidential proclamation with changes to the Generalized System of Preferences to take effect July 1, but "we are unable to make the necessary modifications until the proclamation is official." The proclamation is unsigned "due to recent differences between the draft documentation and the final legislation," CBP said. The agency will update the system once the proclamation becomes official, it said. The White House issued a proclamation (here) after CBP sent out the CSMS message.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is authorizing tariff benefits for travel goods in Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheading 4202 under the Generalized System of Preferences, USTR said (see 1706290053). “According to the information provided in the course of USTR’s review, making travel goods GSP-eligible for all GSP beneficiaries is expected to be neutral with respect to overall U.S. import levels, and therefore also to the U.S. trade balance, though this action may shift some of the overseas production of these products from non-GSP countries to GSP countries,” USTR said in a statement. The White House also released a presidential proclamation on GSP and other duty-free treatment (here).
The U.S. Trade Representative is authorizing duty free treatment for certain travel goods of heading 4202 under the Generalized System of Preferences, it said in a list of the results of its 2016-2017 GSP Review (here). The list also includes USTR’s decisions to add other products to GSP, including certain rolled grains and essential oils of lemon, as well as USTR’s decisions on competitive need limitation and de minimis waivers. The changes take effect July 1.