The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative formed a “bilateral evaluation and dispute resolution office” that will “monitor” China’s compliance with the phase one trade deal and work with a counterpart office in Beijing to resolve disputes, said the agency Friday. Deputy USTR Jeffrey Gerrish will head the office, it said. The office is part of an elaborate “arrangement” built into phase one to enforce its terms and douse any future fires (see 2001160022). Phase one was signed Jan. 15 and took effect Friday. With it came the 50% rollback to 7.5% in the rate of Section 301 List 4A tariffs on finished TVs from China and other consumer tech goods.

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on Feb. 19. The following headquarters rulings not involving carriers were modified on Feb. 18, according to CBP:

The Office of the U.S Trade Representative is set to publish a notice Feb. 20 listing some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China (see 2002190005). The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.

U.S. importers sourced 214.6 million smartphones from all countries last year, 1.7% fewer than in 2018, said Census Bureau figures accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Vietnam gained stature in 2019 as an alternative country of origin to China as the Dec. 15 threat of 15% List 4B Section 301 tariffs on Chinese smartphones loomed for most of 2019's second half (see 1908130028).

The Canadian Parliament is moving the successor to NAFTA along, so that a March ratification vote is still looking likely, news from Canada says. While the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be reviewed by the agriculture, natural resources and industry/science/technology committees, not just the trade committee, the other committees only have until Feb. 25 for that review, a report from ipolitics said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another set of product exclusions from the third group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "one 10-digit HTSUS subheading," which covers 6 requests, and "46 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 61 exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the third set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.

The proportion of smartphones imported from China dropped from almost 80% to just under 75% last year, according to government data, at the same time total imports fell 1.7%.

CBP added on Jan. 14 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. Filers of imported products that were granted an exclusion (see 2001020035) should report the regular Chapters 4, 40, 42, 44, 54, 55, 56, 58, 73, 76, 79, 82, 84, 85, 87, 90 and 94 Harmonized Tariff Schedule number, as well as subheading 9903.88.37, CBP said in the message. “Importers shall not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when” subheading 9903.88.37 is submitted, CBP said.

CBP's treatment of goods from foreign-trade zones that are subject to the recently decreased Section 301 tariffs should go through a notice a comment process because it amounts to a change in policy, the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones said in a Feb. 18 letter to the agency. “The 'level playing field' (i.e., providing U.S. FTZs and bonded warehouses equal Customs duty treatment), is a fundamental [principle] of U.S. law governing FTZs, has always been protected in the current Trade Remedy environment,” it said. A lawyer for the NAFTZ recently explained the arguments and said the letter was coming (see 2002120011).

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 10-14 in case they were missed.