Correction: The Court of International Trade's denied protest jurisdiction isn’t relevant in Trebbianno's lawsuit seeking refunds of Section 301 tariffs because the exclusions were not a CBP decision (see 2007270051), said Chris Kane of Simon Gluck, who represents Trebbianno, in a post on LinkedIn.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 20-26:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from July 20-24 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will grant extensions to 14 exclusions from the second list of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China that were due to expire July 31, it said in a notice. The 55 exclusions that weren't extended, all listed in U.S. Note 20(o) to subchapter III of chapter 99 and filed under subheading 9903.88.12, will expire July 31. The 14 extended exclusions will now expire Dec. 31, USTR said.
An importer has filed suit at the Court of International Trade seeking refunds on Section 301 tariffs based on exclusions issued after the relevant entries liquidated. Trebbianno, which does business as Showroom 35, seeks refunds of $270,040.90 in duties it paid on its imports of handbags, wallets and purses that were subsequently included under retroactive exclusions issued by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
A “key thing” about the Trade Act Section 301 tariff exclusions on Chinese goods that have been granted or extended is that most are set to expire Dec. 31, Nicole Bivens Collinson, president-international trade and government relations with Sandler Travis, said during a Sports & Fitness Industry Association webinar July 23. If President Donald Trump is reelected, she believes, his administration “will view that as a mandate” for eradicating tariff exclusions permanently, she said.
Correction: The July 14 executive order ending Hong Kong's special trade status doesn't result in Hong Kong goods being subject to Section 301 duties and antidumping and countervailing duties (see 2007150054).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated July 23. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
A recent executive order suspending Hong Kong's special trade status won't result in additional tariffs on goods from Hong Kong, a senior administration official said in a July 23 email. “The July 14, 2020, Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization does not provide for new U.S. tariffs on goods from Hong Kong,” the official said. “The Administration will continue to evaluate and adjust our policies as conditions warrant.”