Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., Martha Barcena, told the World Affairs Council of Charlotte that Mexico's labor reform is being implemented according to the planned schedule, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are prepared to comply with what we agreed [to] in the USMCA,” she said during an Oct. 29 speaker series event. “Of course, that doesn't mean there will be no complaints, maybe from some people, or some unions. There will always be complaints.”
Importers who use USMCA have been hoping for a technical fix bill so that merchandise processing fees can be refunded when post-entry claims are made, but the prospects of getting the bill done in the first six months of the treaty seem to be fading. “I haven’t had any discussions with [Oregon Democrat Sen. Ron] Wyden on this subject,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said of the committee's ranking member. He also said he doesn't know if there continues to be opposition to unanimous consent to the technical fixes.
FBB Federal Relations partner Ray Bucheger told members of the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Associations that while the message on the Hill is discouraging on extending current Section 301 exclusions, his firm is working on legislation for the companies that received exclusions too late to get refunds for the tariffs paid.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that the trade facilitation agreement that the U.S. and Brazil signed Oct. 19 is very similar to the USMCA trade facilitation chapter, and that traders should expect more incremental progress in coming months. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done,” Lighthizer said during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce program Oct. 20. “We have ongoing negotiations on ethanol. Brazilians like to talk about sugar. There’s a variety of things in the agriculture area.”
The International Trade Commission on Oct. 14 issued Revision 23 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The latest edition implements extensions to exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on products from China under new subheadings 9903.88.60 and 9903.88.61 (see 2010010038). A few technical corrections are also made to General Note 11 on USMCA.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is welcoming applications for those who would be willing to serve on binational panels under USMCA to review final determinations in antidumping or countervailing duty cases against Canada or Mexico, or by Canada or Mexico against U.S. parties. These applications would be for service April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022, USTR said in a notice released Oct. 16. Submissions should be made at regulations.gov under docket number USTR-2020-0039.
Even though companies that make cars in North America are going to have to change sourcing to meet stricter rules of origin under USMCA, the director of international public policy for Toyota and the head of Canada's auto parts trade group say they expect carmakers to do so to keep the tariff benefits. Toyota's Leila Afas noted that automakers don't have to comply with trade agreements to import, but said, “I believe many will choose to comply with USMCA.” Afas and others discussed USMCA issues during an Oct. 14 webinar hosted by Rice University.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Oct. 8. The following headquarters ruling was modified recently, according to CBP:
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Oct. 5-9 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.