Importer Retractable Technologies on Jan. 7 dropped its lawsuit at the Court of International Trade against the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's 100% Section 301 duty hike on needles and syringes. The company voluntarily dismissed the action without prejudice and declined to comment on the decision (Retractable Technologies v. United States, CIT # 24-00185).

Textile industry representatives questioned the logic of the Section 301 investigation on Nicaragua's human rights and labor rights violations, arguing that while they deplore the despotism of Nicaragua's leaders, none of the actions burden or restrict U.S. commerce. Rather, if the government were to decide that Nicaragua's violations merited the withdrawal of tariff benefits for its apparel exports, that action is what would burden U.S. commerce.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Jan. 8 heard oral argument in the massive Section 301 litigation, primarily probing the litigants' positions regarding how to interpret the term "modify" in the statute and whether the statute allows the U.S. trade representative to impose duties in response to retaliatory measures from China (HMTX Industries v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-1891).

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Jan. 8 heard oral argument in the massive Section 301 litigation, primarily probing the litigants' positions regarding how to interpret the term "modify" in the statute and whether the statute allows the U.S. trade representative to impose duties in response to retaliatory measures from China (HMTX Industries v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 23-1891).

The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:

The International Trade Commission posted the 2025 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements a variety of 10-digit-level changes for fruits and vegetables, chemicals and other products. Changes were effective as of Jan. 1 unless otherwise noted.

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While it's still CBP's goal in the next 16 days to release a notice of proposed rulemaking on requirements for data submissions and on restrictions for goods eligible for de minimis, agency officials acknowledged that one or both might not be ready in time.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: