The International Trade Commission recently issued two new revisions to the 2019 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes include new and amended exclusions from Section 301 tariffs from China, as well as a decrease in tariffs for goods on list 4A. The ITC also implemented new Section 232 tariffs on some finished goods of steel and aluminum that took effect Feb. 8, as well as a shift to a quarterly tariff-rate quota for imports of large residential washers subject to Section 201 safeguard duties.

CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2001 on Feb. 13, containing 12,922 Automated Broker Interface records and 2,380 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes the Section 301 tariff decrease for goods on list 4A (see 2001160019) and the expanded Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum goods, it said. It also includes recently released Section 301 tariff exclusions (see 2002030008).

Dishwasher pumps made of parts from China that are assembled in Serbia are considered to be of Serbian origin, CBP said in a Jan. 23 ruling. Due to the Serbian origin of the pumps, Section 301 tariffs on goods from China do not apply, CBP said. The ruling came in response to a request from Thomas Keating, of Rock Trade Law, on behalf of Johnson Electric North America.

House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said he hopes India's eligibility for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program is restored, but cautioned that India is hard to pin down on opening market access -- which is the administration's requirement for even partial restoration. Brady touched on tariffs, negotiations and implementation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as he took questions from reporters late Feb. 12 at the Capitol.

CBP and the trade community again face difficult decisions on how to move forward with mandatory continuing education for customs brokers. The toughest may be how to create a fair accreditation scheme, but that’s just one of many open questions as a joint task force again attempts to find some resolution of issues that caused continuing education to fall off CBP’s agenda nearly a half-decade ago.

The National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones appealed to CBP officials during the group's annual legislative summit on Feb. 11 on the issue of CBP's treatment of goods that are in foreign-trade zones and are subject to the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China that will be reduced on Feb. 14. CBP said in a recent CSMS message about the tariff decrease that the applicable tariff rate for goods in FTZs is based on “the rate of duty and tax in force on the date of filing the application for privileged foreign status.” That policy has prompted some industry claims of inconsistency by the agency (see 2002050038).

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 3-7 in case they were missed.

U.S. importers in December sourced 539,000 TVs from China, 46.2 percent fewer than in November and the lowest monthly Chinese TV volume since 507,000 sets were shipped here in February 2015, said Census Bureau data posted Sunday and accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool.

U.S. importers in December sourced 539,000 TVs from China, 46.2 percent fewer than in November and the lowest monthly volume since the 507,000 Chinese sets shipped here in February 2015, according to Census Bureau data posted Feb. 9 and accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Import statistics culled from DataWeb for the fourth full month that the 15 percent List 4A Section 301 tariffs were in force on Chinese goods showed the December exodus from Chinese TV sourcing accelerating at an even faster pace than in November. With it came signs of TV supply-chain diversification through third countries other than Mexico, especially for the cheapest entry-level sets.

China, India and the EU are among the regions tech and intellectual property groups recommended the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative monitor for international IP infractions. Public comments were due Friday for USTR’s 2020 Special 301 Review (see 1902080063). USTR has a Feb. 26 hearing. The Internet Association cited the EU’s new “onerous systems of copyright liability for internet services,” specifically the copyright directive. It “directly conflicts with U.S. law and requires a broad range of U.S. consumer and enterprise firms to install filtering technologies, pay European organizations for activities that are entirely lawful under the U.S. copyright framework, and face direct liability for third-party content,” IA said. IA didn’t recommend any specific countries for USTR’s priority watch list or watch list, raising concerns about China, India, Vietnam, Chile, Japan, Hong Kong and many others. BSA|The Software Alliance recommended USTR include Chile, China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam on its priority watch list; Argentina, Brazil, Korea, Mexico and Thailand on its watch list; and the EU as a region of concern. BSA cited measures that create market access barriers in the EU. The Computer & Communications Industry Association didn’t offer specific recommendations for the priority watch list or watch list. CCIA cited the EU’s recently enacted Copyright Directive and policies India is pursuing, which “pose significant negative consequences for the digital economy and depart from global norms.” Any “discriminatory practices under the guise of intellectual property that target U.S. exports should be identified and discouraged by USTR,” CCIA said. The International Intellectual Property Alliance recommended Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Ukraine and Vietnam for the priority watch list. It recommended Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Switzerland, Thailand and UAE for the watch list. IIPA suggested the U.S. engage trading partners to “remove discriminatory and restrictive trade barriers in those countries that harm exports of U.S. creative goods and services.”