A domestic manufacturer filed a petition on June 26 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco and Russia. Commerce will now decide whether to begin a CV duty investigation. The investigation was requested by The Mosaic Company.
A U.S. manufacturer seeks the imposition of new antidumping and countervailing duties on twist ties from China, it said in a petition filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission March 26. 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.
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 June 22-28:
The Supreme Court June 29 declined to hear Ford Motor Co.’s appeal of a case on the propriety of its tariff engineering of vans to obtain a lower rate for passenger vehicles. The high court’s order denies Ford’s petition for certiorari without any explanation, per its usual practice, leaving in place a June 2019 Federal Circuit decision. The appeals court had held that Ford vans imported with passenger seats, then stripped down right after importation to turn them into cargo vans, are classifiable as cargo vans because their use after importation is a factor in their tariff classification, even if the relevant subheadings aren’t “use” provisions (see 1906070061). Ford and several allied trade groups had said that expansion in the consideration of use in tariff classification creates uncertainty for importers by making tariff classification more unpredictable (see 1908070066).
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2005 June 29, containing 124,980 Automated Broker Interface records and 24,925 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes changes necessary to implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and to support the automation of softwood lumber assessments. The update also covers modifications mandated by the 484 F Committee (the Committee for Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules) and recent Section 301 tariff exclusions. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.L.Keeling@cbp.dhs.gov.
President Donald Trump on June 30 released the annexes to Presidential Proclamation 10053, including provisions to implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, scheduling it for publication in the July 1 Federal Register. Among the annexes are new General Note 11 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which lays out USMCA rules of origin. The proclamation also adds new special program indicators (SPIs) “S” and “S+” throughout the tariff schedule for goods eligible for USMCA treatment. These changes take effect July 1.
CBP is issuing an interim final rule to implement rules of origin provisions for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that will take effect July 1. The interim rule creates new Part 182 to the customs regulations for USMCA, and amends existing NAFTA regulations under 19 CFR Part 181 so that they no longer apply to entries on or after July 1. Most of 19 CFR Part 182 is vacant, but CBP says it will fill out the regulations over the coming year. Comments on the interim regulations are due Aug. 31.
The International Trade Commission recently released a list of some of the upcoming changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule that will take effect on July 1. The list, provided by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, details changes to 10-digit statistical suffixes agreed to by the interagency 484(f) Committee. Affected tariff provisions cover dried tart cherries, rice, wines, propane, diagnostic reagents, disinfectant wipes, viral transport media, face masks and other personal protective equipment, crystalline glassware, stainless steel kegs, mobile clinic vehicles, infrared thermometers, foldable mattress foundations and ancient coins, among other things. The list is not a complete record of all changes that will take effect July 1, and does not include any tariff schedule changes necessary to implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam (A-580-908, A-583-869, A-549-842, A-552-828), and countervailing duty investigation on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from Vietnam (C-552-829).