President Donald Trump said in a tweet on Aug. 10 that a deal with Mexico is nearly in hand. Canada will have to wait, and he plans to put heavy pressure on Canadian officials to make concessions, because "their Tariffs and Trade Barriers are far too high," he said. "Will tax cars if we can’t make a deal!"
The International Trade Commission will begin an investigation into what barriers the United Kingdom has to small and medium businesses seeking to export from the United States. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer sent a letter Aug. 3 requesting that a report be reproduced no later than July 31, 2019. The letter said barriers could include burdensome customs procedures, low de minimis thresholds for duties or value added tax, arbitrary standards and lack of transparency on regulations. Lighthizer suggested the ITC consult its report from 2014 on similar barriers in the European Union.
The Toy Association is actively working with CBP and the Consumer Product Safety Commission on e-commerce issues, it said in a newly released letter sent to the Senate Finance Committee on July 6. "The significant increase to the de minimis threshold, coupled with online platform as storefronts and efficiencies in logistics, have opened up entirely new business models of direct to consumer sales from factories in China and other countries," the TIA said. "We remain supportive of initiatives to improve enforcement and targeting of infringing goods by CBP and CPSC, especially for low-value shipments. The de minimis exemption cannot be an exemption from regulatory compliance and enforcement -- intellectual property, safety or otherwise. Importantly, because the average cost of a toy is approximately $10, the de minimis exemption value of $800 is a considerable number of toys, allowing for shipments well beyond personal use."
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 16-20 in case they were missed.
Goods under the $800 de minimis level are not subject to Section 232 tariffs, a CBP spokesperson said July 18. CBP previously said that tariffs don't apply to de minimis shipments covered under the Section 301 tariffs (see 1807050033). The agency recently ruled against the use of foreign-trade zones to get around limits on de minimis entries (see 1807180022).
CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan highlighted some planned additional benefits to participation in the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, in prepared remarks for the July 18 Senate Finance International Trade Subcommittee hearing on U.S. ports and trade. The ongoing transitioning of the Importer Self-Assessment program into CTPAT Trade Compliance "includes the extensive development of new benefits," he said. CBP has a loose deadline of the end of 2018 for transitioning ISA participants into CTPAT (see 1709070010), and a phased rollout of new CTPAT standards is expected to begin in October (see 1806070058).
The Section 321 entry exemptions do not apply to bulk shipments sent to foreign-trade zones that are broken up for individual consumption entries below the $800 de minimis level prior to a consumer order, CBP said in May 8 ruling the agency released on July 17. Much of the decision hinges on the definition of "importation," as expected (see 1806050049). The ruling came in response to an internal advice request from Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, it said. CBP recently said the new Section 301 tariffs won't apply to Section 321 entries (see 1807050033).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing a new de minimis exemption from Lacey Act declaration requirements for importers. Under the proposed rule, importers would not have to submit declarations for products with minimal amounts of plant material. The agency is considering setting thresholds based on either weight or volume at either the product or entry line level. APHIS is also proposing to codify certain declaration requirements in its regulations, including a deadline of three days after importation for the submission of declarations, and seeks comments on a separate exemption for composite wood products. Comments on both exemptions are due Sept. 7.
CBP will begin to apply a 25 percent Section 301 duty on goods found on a list of 818 8-digit tariff subheadings with country of origin China that are entered on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern time July 6, said Alex Amdur, CBP director-antidumping and countervailing duty policy and programs, on a call held July 5 to answer questions from the trade community. Based on country of origin, not country of export, the tariffs will be applied based on the date of entry, and goods with an entry date prior to July 6 will not be subject, including in cases in which the filers “elect” such an entry date.
The Environmental Protection Agency is setting new reporting requirements that would apply to importers and exporters of mercury, mercury compounds and products containing mercury. Under the final rule, persons who import or manufacture mercury or mercury-added products, intentionally use mercury in a manufacturing process, distribute mercury or mercury-added products in commerce, store mercury after manufacture or import, or export mercury or mercury-added products would be required to electronically report every three years the amount of mercury they handle and certain use-specific information, such as the country of origin of their imports.