Members of the House Ways and Means Committee majority, who will lead the extension or expansion of the first Trump term income tax cuts, are expressing some hesitancy about using tariffs as a pay-for.
Importer MTD Products dropped its case at the Court of International Trade seeking exclusions from Section 301 China tariffs on its spark-ignition reciprocating or rotary internal combustion piston engines. The company filed a complaint in June, claiming that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative established exclusions for engines of its type classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings 8407.90.1020 and 8407.90.1010 (see 2406060034). Counsel for the importer didn't respond to a request for comment (MTD Products v. United States, CIT # 22-00174).
The U.S. and an importer reached a settlement in a 2021 classification dispute regarding Chinese-origin light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. Under the deal, the importer’s lights won't be subject to Section 232 tariffs, with a 25% additional duty, but will be subject to Section 301 tariffs (Super Bright LEDs v. U.S., CIT # 21-00099).
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Outgoing Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., last week formally introduced a bill restricting de minimis eligibility for textiles and apparel from anywhere in the world, as well as goods subject to Section 301 tariffs (see 2408020031). The bipartisan bill goes beyond the version that passed the House Ways and Means Committee, in that it adds apparel to the list of restricted items, and it would levy a $2 fee on de minimis packages, to help CBP fund its inspections of the low-value packages. The Biden administration is planning to issue a proposed rule before Jan. 20 that would remove Section 301 goods from de minimis, but it can't add the fee through rulemaking.
NEW YORK -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission's intent to require information from certificates of compliance to be filed in ACE next year is alarming brokers, according to Erin Williamson, vice president of customs brokerage at GEODIS USA.
Nvidia CMP 170 HX graphics processing units should be excluded from Section 301 tariffs on China, importer Atlas Power argued in a Nov. 13 motion for judgment at the Court of International Trade (Atlas Power v. United States, CIT # 23-00084).
Trade attorneys continue to wait and wonder what kind of tariff changes will come next year, with one observer using a tariff slide that said "Tariff Armageddon."
NEW YORK -- The executive director of CBP's Office of Trade Relations told U.S. Fashion Industry Association conference attendees this week that CBP thought crossing the 1 billion de minimis packages threshold was big, but then volume increased about 40% in the 2024 fiscal year. Felicia Pullam said CBP cannot handle that kind of massive increase and is confident it's stopping dangerous contact lenses, vapes, toys with lead paint, counterfeit airbags, medicines and other illicit goods.
The U.S. asked the Court of International Trade to amend the preliminary injunction in a suit challenging certain Section 301 action on needles and syringes to reflect the government's stipulation that they will refund any Section 301 duties found to have been unlawfully collected on importer Retractable Technologies' entries. Retractable consented to the move (Retractable Technologies v. United States, CIT # 24-00185).