Walmart is working with suppliers to manage pricing after the Trump administration hiked Section 301 tariffs to 25 percent last week on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods (see 1905090018), said Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs on a fiscal Q1 earnings call Thursday. Increased tariffs “will increase prices for customers,” said Biggs. With the administration's threat Monday to impose 25 percent tariffs on Chinese imports not previously dutied in the Section 301 investigation (see 1905140025), Walmart will monitor any upcoming U.S.-China trade talks, and is “hopeful that an agreement can be reached” to avert imposition of the fourth tranche of tariffs, said Biggs. Walmart's goal “is to always be the low-priced leader, and we will actively manage pricing and margins as warranted with our customers and shareholders in mind.” Walmart's supply-chain teams are focused on “executing appropriate mitigation strategies,” including possibly sourcing goods from alternative countries of origin, he said. In Q1, Walmart revenues rose 1 percent vs. a year ago to $123.9 billion, tempered by currency headwinds, the company said. Walmart U.S. Q1 revenues were $80.38 billion. Traffic in U.S. stores, now called transactions, rose 1.1 percent, Walmart said, while Q1 tickets grew 2.3 percent over the year-ago quarter. E-commerce sales were “robust,” at 37 percent growth, and contributed 140 basis points to the U.S. segment’s comp sales increase, said Biggs. From Q1 forward, Walmart is including e-commerce transactions that were previously reported in the “ticket” category as “comp transactions,” Biggs said, encompassing in-store, clubs and e-commerce businesses. CE products weren't referenced among categories highlighted for contributing to Walmart U.S.’ 3.4 percent comparative sales bump in Q1, but toys and “wireless” were highlighted in the company’s earnings presentation. The company also credited momentum in food and consumables, pharmacy sales that benefited from “branded drug inflation,” Easter, home and lawn, and garden sales for its “highest Q1 comp in nine years.” In the quarter, the company announced new goals to support recycling in its private brands packaging in Walmart U.S., Canada and Mexico, as part of broader plastic waste reduction goals, said CEO Doug McMillon. Goals include making private brand packaging 100 percent recyclable, reusable or industrially compostable by 2025, to have 20 percent recycled content in its packaging, and making it easier for customers to recycle by including “customer-friendly” labeling on product packaging; Walmart is challenging branded suppliers to set similar targets, he said.

Though allegations that China’s “retreat” from previous commitments in the trade talks with the U.S. were the Trump administration’s grounds for hiking the List 3 Section 301 tariffs to 25 percent and proposing a fourth tranche of duties on remaining Chinese imports not previously dutied, it was the U.S. side that actually reneged, suggested a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson May 16. “It takes sincerity to make a consultation meaningful,” the spokesperson said during a press conference. “Judging from what the U.S. did in previous talks, there are two things we have to make clear,” he said. “First, we need to follow the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Second, words must be matched with deeds. Flip-flopping is the last thing we need.” During the various rounds of trade negotiations, the U.S. “repeatedly rejected rules in consultations and brought difficulties to the talks, while China, on the other hand, has been acting in a constructive spirit all along,” he said. “The international community bears witness to all this.” The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t comment.

Though allegations that China’s “retreat” from previous commitments in the trade talks with the U.S. were the Trump administration’s grounds for hiking the List 3 Section 301 tariffs to 25 percent and proposing a fourth tranche of duties on remaining Chinese imports not previously dutied, it was the U.S. side that actually reneged, suggested a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson May 16. “It takes sincerity to make a consultation meaningful,” the spokesperson said during a press conference. “Judging from what the U.S. did in previous talks, there are two things we have to make clear,” he said. “First, we need to follow the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Second, words must be matched with deeds. Flip-flopping is the last thing we need.” During the various rounds of trade negotiations, the U.S. “repeatedly rejected rules in consultations and brought difficulties to the talks, while China, on the other hand, has been acting in a constructive spirit all along,” he said. “The international community bears witness to all this.” The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t comment.

CBP has responded to fast-moving developments in international trade with predictability and transparency, said Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner-trade, while speaking May 16 at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event. With the Section 301 tariffs and other trade remedies, the agency has given the trade community the necessary information "as quickly as we can provide it," Smith said. "Just last week, in response to a setback in the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks, CBP responded rapidly to the 15 percent increase in China 301 duties. We consulted closely with USTR and the International Trade Commission to streamline the operational impact of the administration's policy goals, provided guidance to CBP field employees and the trade community and expedited programming changes" to ACE "to ensure that trade continued to flow."

Importers should have their customs broker file a protest on liquidated entries that are subject to pending exclusion requests on the Section 301 or Section 232 tariffs, C.H. Robinson said in a notice to customers posted May 15. "Entries typically liquidate 314 days after entry date," the company said. "However, we have seen some entries liquidate sooner. If you have a product exclusion request pending, and your entry liquidates before it has received a determination, request that your broker submit a protest to CBP with the notation 'Section 232 (or 301) product exclusion pending.' That notation will allow time for the product exclusion to be determined." That way, if the exclusion is approved, "the protest can be amended to include the exclusion number or information and a duty refund to be issued," and "if denied, the protest can be withdrawn." A CBP official recently said the agency will be unable to give any refunds once a protest period expires even if an exclusion is later granted (see 1905090059).

CBP on May 14 added the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with the fourth group of exclusions from the first tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS message. Filers of imported products that were granted an exclusion should report the regular Chapter 84, 85 or 90 Harmonized Tariff Schedule number, as well as subheading 9903.88.08 for products subject to Section 301 duties on products from China but that have been granted an exclusion by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “Do not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when HTS 9903.88.08 is submitted,” CBP said.

As the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative considers which European products to target in retaliation for launch subsidies to Airbus aircraft, it's getting divergent messages from U.S. aerospace interests. Boeing says it's not a time for half-measures or gradual steps, after 15 years of negotiations and legal action at the World Trade Organization. Instead, USTR should put 100 percent tariffs on Airbus planes, wings, tails and fuselages, said the aircraft maker's chief executive for regulatory and legislative affairs, Theodore Austell. He argued that if it's not at 100 percent, "we're unlikely to get their attention."

Smartphones are the largest of eight classifications of consumer tech products that would bear the biggest brunt of the 25 percent Section 301 tariffs proposed Monday on $300 billion in imports not previously dutied during the U.S.-China trade war (see 1905130066), CTA’s top trade strategist told us Tuesday. “The import values of the products that hit our members are massive,” emailed Vice President-International Trade Sage Chandler.

China’s recently issued exclusion process for duties on more than 5,000 tariff lines of U.S. products (see 1905130043) shows it is prepared for a “long-term fight” and may be getting ready to “hunker down” in the trade war with the U.S., said Pete Mento, vice president for Crane Worldwide Logistics.

Only 453 8-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings would not be covered by Section 301 tariffs on products from China, should the duties be imposed on the proposed fourth tranche of goods without any changes from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s list. That’s only about 4 percent of the over 11,000 8-digit subheadings in the HTS, with the remainder being subject to tariffs of up to 25 percent.