President Donald Trump, asked about a letter from businesses and trade groups sent earlier on March 18 that said he should lift sections 232 and 301 tariffs, said he couldn't imagine why Americans would want that. “China is paying us billions and billions of dollars in tariffs and there’s no reason to do that,” reporters quoted him as saying at a press conference. "It could be that China will ask for a suspension or something. We’ll see what happens. China is having a very rough time.”
The country of origin of sticky notes made from big rolls of paper that are cut in Taiwan is based on the origin of the rolls of paper, CBP said in a Feb. 18 ruling. The cutting of the paper and adding of glue is not considered to be a substantial transformation, the agency said. Staples requested its ruling through David Newman, a lawyer representing the company.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether the set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 1 that are set to expire June 4 (see 1906030038) should last another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on April 1. The comments are due by April 30, it said. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently. The focus of the evaluation will be whether, despite the first imposition of these additional duties in July 2018, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on March 16. The following headquarters rulings not involving carriers were modified on March 16, according to CBP:
President Donald Trump, asked about a letter from businesses and trade groups sent earlier on March 18 that said he should lift sections 232 and 301 tariffs, said he couldn't imagine why Americans would want that. “China is paying us billions and billions of dollars in tariffs and there’s no reason to do that,” reporters quoted him as saying at a press conference. "It could be that China will ask for a suspension or something. We’ll see what happens. China is having a very rough time.”
The U.S. imported 3.03 million TVs from all countries in January, a 26.1% increase from December, but a 24% decline from January 2019, according to Census Bureau data accessed March 15 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. January TV imports were worth $798.23 million in customs value, up 9.8% from December, but down 24.8% from the previous January. The average January TV import was worth $263.20, which was 12.6% cheaper than in December and virtually unchanged from January a year earlier.
CBP added on March 16 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the fourth tranche and third tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS messages. The exclusions from the fourth group cover various medical supplies, while the tranche three exclusions include other products (see 2003130010). The fourth tranche product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, and will remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020. The third tranche exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 9-13 in case they were missed.
The U.S. imported 3.03 million TVs from all countries in January, up 26.1% from December, but a 24% decline from January 2019, said Census Bureau data accessed Sunday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool.
Supply chain disruptions due to China's lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic may end up not being as relevant as the worldwide economy shudders and stalls. Kurt Tong, former consul general to Hong Kong and a business consultant with the Asia Group, told reporters March 16: “You can have supply chain shocks that are being masked by the fact that there’s no demand for the goods.” He said the abrupt reversal of economic activity means “shipments are going to come down.” Tong and others were speaking on a webinar about trade and the coronavirus.