Element Electronics has worked “diligently” to source LCD panels and motherboards “from various countries throughout Asia but is only able to source them from China,” commented the TV maker in docket USTR-2018-0026 in perhaps its last opportunity to convince the Trump administration to spare the company Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on those components. Element said again it will be forced to close its Winnsboro, South Carolina, LCD TV assembly factory (see 1807200056) if the administration imposes tariffs on the LCD panels and motherboards it imports from China under the 9013.80.90 and 8529.90.13 line items.

The Washington Tax and Public Policy Group opened a new division to focus on trade issues, the lobbying firm said in a news release. The new division, WTG Global, is led by Brian Diffell, who joined the firm in 2013 after working as a congressional staffer. Among issues WTG Global will work on are Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, Section 301 tariffs and NAFTA, it said.

CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1813 on Aug. 21, containing 22 Automated Broker Interface records and five harmonized tariff records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes changes related to the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China that took effect Aug. 23 (see 1808160049), CBP said. CBP intended to issue the message previously and was "unaware this message did not post successfully initially," it said. Modifications were also made in support of partner government agency message set functionality, it said.

The Trump administration should pursue a “plurilateral agreement among the world’s largest economies” to curb China’s allegedly unfair trade practices, commented IBM in docket USTR-2018-0026 in opposition to the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. IBM thinks that a global agreement with China’s “largest trade and investment partners” could help “establish broad new norms,” it said.

Imposing 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on wireless home audio systems imported from China “would cause disproportionate and severe economic harm to U.S. interests, while failing to address” China’s allegedly unfair trade practices. So commented Sonos in docket USTR-2018-0026, adding its name to the dozens of entities voicing opposition to the proposed duties on connected devices and networking products imported to the U.S. under the 8517.62.00 tariff line, including CTA, which said it fears a $1.8 billion annual hit to the U.S. economy (see 1808170014).

IBM urges the Trump administration to pursue a “plurilateral agreement among the world’s largest economies” to curb China’s allegedly unfair trade practices, commented the company in docket USTR-2018-0026 in opposition to the third tranche of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. IBM thinks that a global agreement with China’s “largest trade and investment partners” could help “establish broad new norms,” it said.

A Trump administration order imposing the third tranche of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on imports from China “could come any day, and retailers have been bringing in record amounts of merchandise ahead of that in order to mitigate the impact on their customers,” reported the National Retail Federation Monday. “Retail sales are growing stronger than expected this year thanks to tax cuts and job creation, but tariffs are the wild card that threaten to throw away a significant portion of those benefits.” U.S. consumers “appear to be spending money on goods ahead of the tariff price increases that will eventually come,” said NRF. “But there could be a rocky road ahead as the impact of tariffs begins to be more fully felt.” U.S. retail ports handled 1.9 million 20-foot-long containers or their equivalents in July, a 2.8 percent increase sequentially from June and 5.6 percent increase from July 2017, it said. August was estimated at 1.92 million containers, up 4.8 percent year-over-year, it said. August was the third month in a row to set a new record for the number of containers imported during a single month, it said.

The Information Technology Industry Council, like CTA, questions whether President Donald Trump's "action" proposing a third tranche of 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports "is legal" under the 1974 Trade Act, emailed spokesman Jose Castaneda Monday. ITI has made no “final decision” whether to pursue “litigation” against the administration to block the tariffs from taking effect, he said.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 4-7 in case they were missed.

The Information Technology Industry Council, like the Consumer Technology Association (see 1809070025), questions whether President Donald Trump's proposed third tranche of 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports "is legal" under the 1974 Trade Act, spokesman Jose Castaneda said in a Sept. 10 email. ITI has made no “final decision” whether to pursue “litigation” against the administration to block the tariffs from taking effect, he said.