The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking suggestions on whether to extend the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system and whether, and if so how, to improve SIMA, while minimizing any impediments to international commerce.
Section 201 Safeguards
Section 201 or “safeguard” actions are steps the President can take to provide temporary relief for an industry through the imposition of tariffs or quotas to create a more competitive environment for said industry. Section 201 actions are considered consistent with U.S. international obligations if they conform to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Safeguards. To enact Section 201 Safeguards, a U.S. company must first file a complaint with the International Trade Commission, which then makes a determination if the industry is injured by the importation of the goods in question. If the investigation is affirmative, the President may enact the safeguards.
On July 14, 2004, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4759, the "U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act." On July 15, 2004, the Senate passed H.R. 4759, clearing the measure for the President.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued a fact sheet stating that it has determined that U.S. antidumping law (19 USC 1677a(c)(2)(A)) does not intend Section 201 duties to be deducted from the U.S. price1 in calculating AD margins (rates).
The Winter 2003 issue of the NCBFAA Quarterly Bulletin contains an article that states that miscellaneous tariff and trade bills are no longer routine, are not predictable, and may not even be possible. The article notes that such bills have increasingly become the vehicle for solving larger, tougher trade and economic issues that have nothing to do with the tedious technical language of miscellaneous tariff and trade bills. (NBFAA Quarterly Bulletin, No. 103-4, Winter 2003, www.ncbfaa.org.)