A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., have introduced a bill that would prohibit entry into the U.S. of both cargo and passenger ships that call on a port that was expropriated. Passenger ships are described as those that carry at least 149 people, with sleeping quarters. It also requires the U.S. trade representative to report to Congress on what the U.S. position will be during USMCA review on such expropriations.
USMCA
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is a free trade agreement between the three countries, also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico. Replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, the agreement contains a unique sunset provision where, after six years (in 2026), any of the three parties may decide not to continue the agreement in its current form and begin a period of up to 10 years where USMCA provisions may be renegotiated.
During this week's Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) quarterly meeting on Sept. 18, the group's subcommittees offered updates on their activities between June, when COAC last met (see 2406270054), and September.
Canada's trade minister, Mary Ng, said Canada will challenge the conclusions of the fifth administrative reviews of the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on softwood lumber from Canada through the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, as Canada calls the NAFTA successor.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A bipartisan group of 10 House members, led by Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., is asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to engage with Mexico's leaders on that country's constitutional reforms.
The U.S. has suspended liquidation for goods exported from Minera Camino Rojo, a mine in Zacatecas, after deciding a petition from Mineros, a mining union, had merit. The petition said that managers undermined worker support for Mineros and promoted the idea of joining a different mining union. This is the 27th time the U.S. has invoked the USMCA rapid response labor mechanism; all cases have been settled without a removal of tariff benefits.
The U.S. has asked Canada for formal consultations on the 3% digital services tax on revenues of large social media platforms, e-commerce platforms and other companies that target advertising or collect data from Canadian customers.
The U.S. said that U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng talked dairy market access, trade in softwood lumber, and cooperation in USMCA. "Tai welcomed Canada’s recent announcement concerning electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum. The two ministers also discussed their shared commitment to strengthening North American supply chain resilience, especially for electric vehicles, and stressed the importance of collaboration on issues related to non-market policies and practices of other countries," the U.S. readout said. Canada's readout said: "Minister Ng raised the issue of U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber products and discussed the need to move forward in a mutually beneficial manner that would create greater predictability and stability in the forestry sectors of both countries."
Once accelerated payment for USMCA drawback claims becomes available Aug. 20 (see 2408050055), users requesting it for eligible unliquidated claims currently on file with CBP must contact the filing office directly and request the claim be returned to trade control, CBP said in an Aug. 8 CSMS update. The claimant will be required to resubmit the claim with the AP request, CBP said.
CBP plans to add a new ACE functionality that will automate the removal and restoration of Entry Type 86 test participants, it said in the latest version of its ACE development schedule, released Aug. 5.