Plug-in devices that connect to Wi-Fi and allow users to operate other devices by controlling whether electrical current flows from the wall outlet differ from wearable smart devices for classification purposes, Customs and Border Protection said in a Jan. 21 ruling, released last week. SDI Technologies argued the “SmartPlugs” deserve a similar classification as Fitbit fitness trackers that connect to mobile phones through Bluetooth. The Fitbit trackers were classified in heading 8517 due to the data transmission functions, but the plugs provide for different functions. “To the extent that data is transmitted from the application to the SmartPlug, it is in service of the primary function of controlling the electrical current to the connected appliance,” the agency said. “The transmission of data is not a function of the SmartPlugs,” it said, concluding the devices “provide electric control of electrical devices connected to them and thus are properly classified under heading 8537.” The applicable subheading, 8537.10.9, includes a 2.7 percent duty rate, and is subject to Section 301 tariffs on China, the agency said.

Plug-in devices that connect to Wi-Fi and allow users to operate other devices by controlling whether electrical current flows from the wall outlet differ from wearable smart devices for classification purposes, Customs and Border Protection said in a Jan. 21 ruling, released last week. SDI Technologies argued the “SmartPlugs” deserve a similar classification as Fitbit fitness trackers that connect to mobile phones through Bluetooth. The Fitbit trackers were classified in heading 8517 due to the data transmission functions, but the plugs provide for different functions. “To the extent that data is transmitted from the application to the SmartPlug, it is in service of the primary function of controlling the electrical current to the connected appliance,” the agency said. “The transmission of data is not a function of the SmartPlugs,” it said, concluding the devices “provide electric control of electrical devices connected to them and thus are properly classified under heading 8537.” The applicable subheading, 8537.10.9, includes a 2.7 percent duty rate, and is subject to Section 301 tariffs on China, the agency said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether the third set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 1, set to expire April 18, should last another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on Feb. 16. The comments are due by March 16, it said. The USTR has granted extensions to only six exclusions so far (see 1912190060).

Indonesia has given its customs officials the authority to stop counterfeit goods at the border, and just in 2020, has already seized $1 billion rupiah, or $73,000, worth of counterfeits that were set for export, according to Iwan Freddy Hari Susanto, charge d'affaires for the Indonesian Embassy. He was testifying Jan. 31 at a hearing on Indonesia's eligibility for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, and was describing numerous actions the country has taken to improve protections for intellectual property rights holders.

The coming decrease to Section 301 tariffs on goods from China classified in subheading 9903.88.15 will apply to merchandise admitted to a foreign-trade zone depending on “the rate of duty and tax in force on the date of filing the application for privileged foreign status,” CBP said in a CSMS message. The tariffs on goods on the Section 301 4A list will fall from 15 percent to 7.5 percent on Feb. 14 (see 2001160019). Despite an industry request for blanket authority to allow for immediate delivery procedures (see 2001290037), CBP said that “immediate delivery procedures are not applicable.”

The Office of the U.S Trade Representative is set to publish a notice Feb. 5 some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China (see 2001020013). 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.

Indonesia has given its customs officials the authority to stop counterfeit goods at the border, and just in 2020, has already seized $1 billion rupiah, or $73,000, worth of counterfeits that were set for export, according to Iwan Freddy Hari Susanto, charge d'affaires for the Indonesian Embassy. He was testifying Jan. 31 at a hearing on Indonesia's eligibility for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, and was describing numerous actions the country has taken to improve protections for intellectual property rights holders.

The escalating coronavirus crisis is disrupting display panel production in China, leading to supply shortfalls and rising prices, reported IHS Markit Friday. Panel factories located in Wuhan, ground zero for the deadly outbreak, produce LCD and OLED panels for TVs and other products.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new set of product exclusions from the 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The exclusions cover products from the third list of Section 301 goods. The new exclusions are reflected "in 2 10-digit HTSUS subheadings, which cover 52 requests, and 117 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 156 separate exclusion requests," according to the notice.

Eliminating Thailand's eligibility for the Generalized System of Preferences program, because of a complaint from pork producers, would hurt U.S. importers more than Thai businesses, one witness said, and would be unlikely to convince the country to allow pigs fed with ractopamine to be imported. China and the European Union also ban meat that was fed the growth-enhancing drug. Dan Anthony, testifying on behalf of the GSP Action Committee, told the panel of government officials that they should put great weight on the potential harm to U.S. importers as they make their decision. He gave the example of a 25-person company that imports from Thailand, and had to pay $60,000 to $70,000 a month in tariffs during the two years GSP was not in force. Once it was renewed, the North Carolina company hired 17 full-time employees, and today, employs 70 people.