CBP released its Sept. 26 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 52, No. 39), which includes the following ruling actions:
Two U.S. manufacturers seek the imposition of new antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum wire and cable from China, they said in a petition filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission Sept. 21. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CV duty orders and the assessment of AD and CV duties on importers.
The American Keg Company recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on refillable stainless steel kegs from Germany, Mexico and China, and new countervailing duties on refillable stainless steel kegs from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on refillable stainless steel kegs that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is setting fiscal year 2019 country allocations for imports under tariff-rate quotas for refined sugars and “certain sugar-containing products” under U.S. Note 8 to Chapter 17 of the tariff schedule. For refined sugars, of a total of 20,344 metric tons raw value, USTR is allocating 10,300 MTRV to Canada, 2,954 MTRV to Mexico, and 7,090 MTRV of refined sugar to be administered on a first-come, first-served basis. For imports of sugar-containing products, USTR is allocating 59,250 metric tons to Canada, and 5,459 to other countries on a first-come, first-served basis. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced total FY19 TRQ amounts in June (see 1806280043).
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1815 on Sept. 21, containing 1,230 Automated Broker Interface records and 306 harmonized tariff records, it said in a CSMS message. This update includes modifications related to the imposition of the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on China (see 1809210026), as well as changes to Chapter 63 related to a new subheading for bed nets. The update also includes some updates related to the enactment of H.R. 4318, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018 (see 1809140004). "Please be aware that only a portion of the records have been added thus far, and have been included in this update. This effort is ongoing and will continue until all changes have been completed," CBP said. The MTB changes are effective Oct. 13.
Importers can still use the “U.S. Import Certification of Admissibility” for Mexican seafood products until 11:59 p.m. EDT Oct. 14, CBP said in a CSMS message. Starting Oct. 15, importers will be required to use Certifications of Admissibility from the National Marine Fisheries Service, CBP said. "Eligible entries from Mexico under the designated [Harmonized Tariff Schedule] codes must be accompanied by certification or the entire shipment will be denied entry," CBP said. The requirement stems from a court-ordered injunction against the importation of fish and shellfish caught in Mexican fisheries using gillnets (see 1807260039). The NMFS certification requirement applies to all imports from Mexico under more than 70 tariff subheadings covering various types of seafood because the applicable subheadings are so broad (see 1808270014).
Importers of products covered by the new third set of 10 percent Section 301 tariffs on China will file under two new tariff provisions in Chapter 99 beginning at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sept. 24, according to a notice published Sept. 21 by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. New subheading 9903.88.03 will cover the vast majority of new products subject to tariffs that fall in 8-digit subheadings fully subject to Section 301 tariffs. New subheading 9903.88.04, on the other hand, covers a set of 11 8-digit subheadings that are only partially covered and have exceptions at the 10-digit level.
With the “great news” that Element Electronics persuaded the Trump administration to remove liquid crystal display (LCD) panels and motherboards under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 9013.80.90 and 8529.90.13 headings from the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs set to take effect Sept. 24 (see 1809170051), Element’s Winnsboro, South Carolina, LCD TV assembly factory “will remain open!,” it emailed retail customers Walmart and Target. “Thanks again for supporting Element -- the only major television brand assembling TVs in America.” Element had said in public hearings that it would be forced to shutter the factory and terminate the remaining 126 jobs there if tariffs on the components it sources from China went through because the prohibitively higher costs would have forced the company to import finished TVs from China rather than assemble them in Winnsboro.
A group of domestic manufacturers filed a petition on Sept. 18 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on mattresses from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin an AD duty investigation. The investigation was requested by Corsicana Mattress Company, Elite Comfort Solutions, Future Foam Inc., FXI, Inc., Innocor, Inc., Kolcraft Enterprises Inc., Leggett & Platt, Incorporated, Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC, and Tempur Sealy International, Inc.
China will impose new tariffs on oak wood veneer, non-electrical machines, makeup, copper and natural gas, which are all among the top-volume items in 3,571 U.S. imports that will be subject to 10 percent retaliatory tariffs at 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 24. Another 1,636 tariff lines will be subject to an additional 5 percent tariff, with bleached wood pulp, cow hides, optical media and needles and catheters among the highest-volume goods. Together, the two lists accounted for about $60 billion in imports last year. China's tariffs come in response a newly released list of goods from China to face Section 301 tariffs in the U.S. starting Sept. 24 (see 1809170051).