Australia's tariff rate quota limits for 2024 for beef, dairy products, avocados, peanuts and tobacco were announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in a Federal Register notice released Jan. 8.
The chairman and ranking member of the House Select Committee on China asked the commerce secretary and the U.S. trade representative to use "all existing trade authorities" to hike tariffs on Chinese legacy chips, including those already incorporated into consumer goods, they said in an emailed news release.
Greta Peisch is departing her job as general counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and USTR Katherine Tai announced Juan Millan will serve as acting general counsel. The general counsel position must be Senate-confirmed.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2024 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the restoration of AGOA benefits for Mauritania and their removal for the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger and Uganda, as well as a lengthy list of 10-digit-level changes for fruits and vegetables, chemicals, medicaments and recycled aluminum. Changes were effective as of Jan. 1 unless otherwise noted.
Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., introduced a bill last month that would cover Uruguay under the trade benefits in the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act. "Uruguay is one of America’s best friends in South America and is a shining example of how economic freedom promotes prosperity," Salazar said in a news release. She said she wants to increase economic exchange between the two nations.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2024 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the restoration of AGOA benefits for Mauritania and their removal for the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger and Uganda, as well as a lengthy list of 10-digit-level changes for fruits and vegetables, chemicals, medicaments and recycled aluminum. Changes were effective as of Jan. 1 unless otherwise noted.
Presidential proclamations for Section 232 steel tariff rate quotas for EU countries, and for tariff rate quotas for aluminum, were published Dec. 28, with no changes to aggregate volume from the last two-year deal. The new quotas will last through the end of 2025.
Liquidation of imports of remanufactured auto parts from Tecnologia Modificada, a Caterpillar, Inc., subsidiary in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, may resume now that a rapid response labor complaint from the Office of U.S. Trade Representative has been resolved.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that "after careful consultations," she has decided not to interfere with the International Trade Commission's Section 337 decision that Apple infringed on two patents owned by Masimo Corp. and Cercacor Laboratories, Inc. The ITC ruled Oct. 26. Apple last week said it would stop sales of two of its models of the Apple Watch (see 2312180066).
More than 400 products that are excluded from Section 301 tariffs will continue to enter under normal duties through May 31, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Dec. 26. The exclusions had been scheduled to end at the end of this year.