The International Trade Commission on June 12 posted new Revision 13 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. This latest revision implements a round of exclusions from the fourth tranche of Section 301 tariffs on products from China, under subheading 9903.88.49 and U.S. note 20(bbb) to subchapter III of chapter 99 (see 2006090018). The ITC also amended an existing exclusion from the tariffs for certain pill crushing and grinding machines of subheading 8479.82.0080, per a USTR notice issued June 8.

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

CBP added on June 4 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS message. The official Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice for the exclusions was published May 28 (see 2005220020). The exclusions are in subheading 9903.88.48. The exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the Annex to USTR’s notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020. The CSMS message also includes a summary of Section 301 duties that shows information on each tranche of tariffs and granted product exclusions.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, a House Ways and Means Committee member who also leads on trade in the New Democrats, said she's worried that the participation of “so many countries” at the World Trade Organization in e-commerce talks -- including China -- will mean that the result will not be a high-standard agreement.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, a House Ways and Means Committee member who also leads on trade in the New Democrats, said she's worried that the participation of “so many countries” at the World Trade Organization in e-commerce talks -- including China -- will mean that the result will not be a high-standard agreement.

Element Electronics landed exclusions Tuesday from the List 4A Section 301 tariffs on two classifications of LCD components it sources from China to assemble finished TVs in South Carolina for sale through Walmart and other big-box retailers (see 1906060001). The exemptions, for which Element applied in November, were for LCD main board assemblies, imported under the 8529.90.13.00 subheading, and panel assembly modules, sourced under the 9013.80.90.00 classification. Element’s filing for an 8529.90.13.00 exemption was the only request in that classification, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative public docket shows. Its request for a 9013.80.90.00 exclusion was one of 12 in that category. The exclusions are retroactive to Sept. 1 when the List 4A tariffs took effect and will remain active through Sept. 1. In seeking the exclusions, Element told USTR it was unable to source the components from anywhere but China. Element didn't comment Tuesday.

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on June 10. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:

Aluminum waste recovered from a manufacturing process in a foreign-trade zone is not subject to Section 232 tariffs or to antidumping and countervailing duties upon entry, CBP said in a May 8 ruling. Shannon Fura, a lawyer with Page Fura, sought CBP's ruling on behalf of the U.S. Granules Corp. (USGC). The company buys aluminum scrap and waste from suppliers that generate recoverable aluminum from manufacturing operations within an FTZ, it said.

While the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 gives the president clear authority to terminate Hong Kong's special status if China violates the island's autonomy, the fact that Hong Kong has its own membership in the World Trade Organization could complicate the matter, the Congressional Research Service says. In a June 5 “legal sidebar,” CRS said that not only is it not clear when the administration would end Hong Kong's special trade status, it's also not clear whether the U.S. would say it no longer acknowledges Hong Kong's membership in the WTO.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 1-5 in case they were missed.