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CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2119 Dec. 28, containing 284 ABI records and 71 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update implements a tariff-rate quota for steel and aluminum products from the European Union as part of an agreement to remove Section 232 tariffs on goods from the EU (see 2112280036 and 2112290029). CBP said it also created HSU 2118 Dec. 27, with 140 ABI records and 70 HTS records. The update "was created to rectify Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2116 and 2117," CBP said in a CSMS message Dec. 28 (see 2112280039).
New tariff-rate quotas on EU aluminum and steel agreed to in lieu of Section 232 tariffs will open Jan. 3 at 12:01 a.m., CBP said in a pair of quota bulletins Dec. 29. Entries submitted prior to 8:30 a.m. EST on that date will be counted “in the first opening” at 8:30, with entries being prorated if totals for any tariff number grouping exceed the limit. Entries submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. Jan. 3 won't be counted toward the opening.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The presidential proclamation on what types of steel and aluminum products, at what quantities, will be spared Section 232 tariffs says that the melted-and-poured requirement for goods under the quotas will limit transshipment and discourage excess steel capacity.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones has long argued that barring goods produced in FTZs from qualifying for USMCA tariff benefits makes no sense, if the goods would otherwise meet rules of origin, and that the restriction puts FTZ production at a disadvantage compared to Mexican and Canadian production.
Fourteen pro-trade House Democrats are asking Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to quickly advance discussions on how tariffs on Japanese and British steel and aluminum could be lifted. "[D]ownstream users continue to face astonishingly high prices in steel and aluminum," wrote the group, which is led by Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state.
Five Republican Senators filed an amicus brief on Dec. 15 with the U.S. Supreme Court, urging it to take up a case over the limits of the president's authority under the Section 232 national security tariff statute. The brief, signed by Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Mike Lee, R-Utah; and Ben Sasse, R-Neb., argues against a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit opinion spurning time limits imposed in the statute. The time limits are crucial to ensuring that "Congress makes the major policy decisions regarding the regulation of foreign commerce," the lawmakers said.
A recent Government Accountability Office report on Section 232 tariff exclusions on steel and aluminum noted that the Commerce Department has tweaked a number of procedures in its exclusion application and decision-making process, but has not updated the guidance on its website to let the public know. It recommended that the department do so.