The U.S. apparently failed to implement promised tariff reductions on European Union goods in time for a Sept. 1 deadline outlined in an EU-U.S. joint statement issued Aug. 21.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Aug. 29 said President Donald Trump exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by imposing the reciprocal tariffs and tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico to combat the flow of fentanyl. Declining to address whether IEEPA categorically provides for tariffs, though spilling much ink on the topic, a majority of the court held that IEEPA doesn't confer unbounded tariff authority (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, Fed. Cir. #s 25-1812, -1813).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Aug. 29 said the president doesn't have unlimited tariff authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Seven of the court's 11 total justices presiding over the case affirmed the Court of International Trade's conclusion that President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs and tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico meant to combat the flow of fentanyl exceed the president's authority under IEEPA.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is extending by another three months certain current exclusions to its Section 301 investigation related to U.S. trade with China.
CBP is ready to process the low-value packages that used to qualify for de minimis, officials said Aug. 28, hours before the change comes into effect.
Importer Cozy Comfort filed its opening brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Aug. 25, arguing that the Court of International Trade was wrong to find that the company's product, The Comfy, is a pullover and not a blanket (Cozy Comfort v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 25-1889).
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2533 on Aug. 25, containing 18 Automated Broker Interface records and six Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. The update includes additional duties on products of India pursuant to the president’s Executive Order 14329, effective Aug. 27 (see 2508250064).
The Commerce Department recently initiated antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations on unwrought palladium from Russia (A-821-840/C-821-841). The AD investigation period is Jan. 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025. The CVD investigation period is calendar year 2024.
CBP improperly classified certain toy lips as candy under Harmonized Tariff Schedule Chapter 17 instead of "other toys" under Chapter 95, said importer Imaginings, doing business as Flix Candy, in a complaint last week at the Court of International Trade. Flix said that while the lips consist of two components, the plastic lips and a candy lollipop, the lips give the item its "essential character" and thus qualify the goods for Chapter 95 classification (Imaginings 3, d/b/a Flix Candy v. United States, CIT # 21-00403).