The ability to import low-value packages duty-free will end for goods from around the world on Aug. 29, the president declared in an executive order July 30.
An entry of gold jewelry from Oman qualifies for duty-free treatment under the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, importer Empire Jewelry argued in a July 28 complaint to the Court of International Trade. The importer noted that CBP doesn't disagree as to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading that applies to the case, subheading 7113.19.5090, but rather whether the jewelry originates in Oman under the terms of the FTA (Empire Jewelry v. United States, CIT # 24-00127).
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2528 on July 25, containing 10 Automated Broker Interface records and two Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. In support of the PGA Message Set, the USDA APHIS tariff flag AQ1 has been removed from HTS 2827.39.90.10 and 2827.39.90.50.
A domestic producer recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting antidumping and countervailing duties be imposed on freight rail couplers imported from the Czech Republic and India. Commerce now will decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers. The Coalition of Freight Coupler Producers, composed of McConway & Torley LLC and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, requested the investigation.
The U.S. government's "newfound" theory of jurisdiction in two importers' case against the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is "both convoluted and wrong," the importers, Learning Resources and Hand2Mind, argued in a reply brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, D.C. Cir. # 25-5202).
CBP has set a target date of Sept. 27 for implementation of an ACE enhancement that would automatically reject manifest filings with insufficient cargo information, such as insufficient cargo descriptions, consignee information or shipper information, according to CBP's Notional Development & Deployment Schedule for July.
The Commerce Department recently initiated antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations on oleoresin paprika from India (A-533-938/C-533-939). The AD investigation period is April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. The CVD investigation period is calendar year 2024.
Conservative advocacy group the New Civil Liberties Alliance filed another lawsuit challenging the legality of the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, arguing that IEEPA categorically doesn't allow for tariffs and that the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump aren't "necessary" to address the declared emergencies. The alliance filed its suit on July 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on behalf of outdoor cooking product maker FIREDISC, the Game Manufacturers Association and wood product maker Ryan Wholesale (FIREDISC, Inc. v. Donald J. Trump, W.D. Tex. # 25-01134).
A domestic producer recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells imported from India, Indonesia and Laos. Commerce now will decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers. The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, which includes First Solar, Mission Solar Energy, and Qcells, with Talon PV Solar Solutions as a supporter, filed the petition.
The Court of International Trade on July 18 granted the government's motion for default judgment against importer Rayson Global and its owner Doris Cheng for negligently failing to pay ordinary, Section 301 and antidumping duties on its innerspring entries. Judge Timothy Stanceu granted the motion, after previously rejecting it for insufficiently pleaded facts, ordering Rayson and Cheng to pay a nearly $3.4 million penalty and all unpaid duties, taxes and cash deposits on the unliquidated entries in the case (U.S. v. Rayson Global, Inc. and Doris Cheng, CIT # 23-00201).