France’s digital services tax (see 1912030002) sets a “troubling precedent” because the DST “unnecessarily departs from progress towards stable, long lasting international income tax policies,” and “disproportionately impacts U.S.-headquartered companies.” So testified Sam Rizzo, Information Technology Industry Council director-policy, before an Office of the U.S. Trade Representative hearing Tuesday on Trade Act Section 301, per a transcript released Friday. The tech industry worries about “an accelerating trend toward the unilateral adoption of DSTs” in other countries, said Rizzo. U.S. “policy responses” need to be “about more” than the French DST, he said. “It is about preventing the wide-scale application of targeted, unilateral taxes.” USTR proposed retaliatory tariffs of up to 100 percent on some French non-tech imports.

France’s enactment of a digital services tax (see 1912030002) sets a “troubling precedent” because the DST “unnecessarily departs from progress towards stable, long lasting international income tax policies,” and “disproportionately impacts U.S.-headquartered companies.” So testified Sam Rizzo, Information Technology Industry Council director-policy, before a Trade Act Section 301 hearing Tuesday, according to a transcript released Friday at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The tech industry worries about “an accelerating trend toward the unilateral adoption of DSTs” in other countries, said Rizzo. U.S. “policy responses” need to be “about more” than the French DST, he said. “It is about preventing the wide-scale application of targeted, unilateral taxes which stand to undermine a functioning international tax system and compromise the predictability it has afforded to companies to conduct business globally.” USTR proposed retaliatory tariffs of up to 100 percent on some French non-tech imports. Tariffs on wines "will result in a devastating revenue loss" for members of the National Association of Wine Retailers, testified Director Jeff Zacharia. Many members "anticipate that they'll have to lay off up to 25 percent of their workforce due to declines in sales revenue from tariffs on sparkling wines from France and the other tariffs in place, leading to loss of thousands of jobs," he said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told lawmakers from Georgia that he will be looking to see if there are remedies for combating “any trade distorting policies that may be contributing to unfair pricing in the U.S. market” for seasonal and perishable products, examining the Trade Act of 1974 and “other trade laws.” The Trade Act of 1974, which includes the recently used sections 201 and 301, gives the president wide leeway to deny preferential tariff treatment to any product, and to add an additional duty of up to 50 percent on any product for significant drug producing or drug transit countries. It also authorizes safeguards, which can be up to 50 percent duties on a surge of imports that is damaging domestic industry.

Nearly 70 percent of TV sets imported to the U.S. in November originated in Mexico, a stunning turnabout from a year earlier when only a third of TV imports came from south of the border, said new Census Bureau import data accessed Friday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. November was the third full month that 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs were in effect on finished TV sets from China, causing profound shifts in TV-sourcing trends.

Nearly seven in every 10 TV sets imported to the U.S. in November originated in Mexico, according to new Census Bureau import data accessed on Jan. 10 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. November was the third full month that 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs were in force on finished TV sets from China, causing profound shifts in TV-sourcing trends. The U.S. imported 3.66 million TVs from all countries in November, a 22.3 percent decline sequentially and down 40.8 percent from November 2018, DataWeb said. Unit imports for 2019's 11 months declined 4.5 percent year on year to 37.43 million sets.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative posted the transcripts from the hearing on Section 301 tariffs on France (see 2001060040) split over Jan. 7 and Jan. 8.

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated with 43 rulings on Jan. 9. The following headquarters rulings not involving carriers were modified on Jan. 9, according to CBP:

U.S. smartphone importers abruptly shifted more sourcing toward Vietnam and less from China in November, the last full month before the scheduled imposition of the 15 percent List 4B Section 301 tariffs on Chinese handsets, as was evident in newly released Census Bureau import data accessed Thursday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. The Trump administration suspended the List 4B tariffs Dec. 13, less than 48 hours before they were to take effect, after reaching a phase one trade deal with China (see 1912130042).

U.S. smartphone importers abruptly shifted more sourcing toward Vietnam and less from China in November, the last full month before the scheduled imposition of 15 percent List 4B Section 301 tariffs on Chinese handsets, according to newly released Census Bureau data accessed Jan. 9 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. The Trump administration suspended the List 4B tariffs Dec. 13, less than 48 hours before they were to take effect, after reaching a phase one trade deal with China.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he's been told it's going to take three or four days for six other Senate committees to clear the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement so that it can go to the floor for a vote. Whether it can come up the week of Jan. 21 will depend on whether the articles of impeachment have arrived by then, he noted.