CBP has not updated ACE yet with the extensions granted to six Section 301 exclusions that were set to expire on Dec. 28, the agency said in a CSMS message. “CBP expects the update to be soon after 1/2/2020 and will provide an update when programming is complete and ready to accept transmission of HTS 9903.88.05 on entries with entry dates beyond 12/28/2019,” CBP said. Twenty-five of the original set of Section 301 exclusions expired on Dec. 28 (see 1912190060).

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 23-27 in case they were missed.

President Donald Trump tweeted that he will sign “our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15” at the White House. "High level representatives of China will be present" and Trump is planning to go to Beijing "at a later date" to begin talks around Phase Two, he said. An administration official previously said the signing would be done between the U.S. trade representative and China's vice premier, and would happen in the first week of January (see 1912130035).

Sonos announced a $50 U.S. price hike on its Amp and Port products to $649 and $449, effective Jan. 9. It urged customers in an email Friday to take advantage of current pricing. All other pricing remains the same, it said. The Amp and Port, not part of the speaker line, are sold in Sonos' pro channel for integrators. On a November earnings call, Sonos Chief Financial Officer Brittany Bagley (see 1911210045) forecast a $30 million hit to fiscal 2020 profit from the 15 percent Section 301 List 4A tariffs that took effect Sept. 1. This month, Sonos posted in the Office of U.S. Trade Representative public docket (see 1912190035) that it couldn't move production of the wireless mesh network speakers for which it’s seeking an exclusion from List 4A Section 301 tariffs outside China “in any reasonable or efficient manner.” It estimated it would cost more than $15 million and take about two years to find alternative sourcing in a third country to “ensure that quality and sourcing standards are met."

Although tariffs were imposed to protect American factories from China's unfair trading practices, the import protection was overshadowed by the higher input costs tariffs created, a new report from the Federal Reserve says. The report estimated that the industries most exposed to tariffs had a reduction in manufacturing employment of 1.4 percent compared with companies with low exposure to tariffs. Retaliatory tariffs also contributed to the drag on factories, the report found.

Stainless steel beer kegs used by Anheuser-Busch (AB) to transport beer are eligible for duty-free treatment as Instruments of International Traffic but would be subject to applicable trade remedies if the kegs enter U.S. commerce, CBP said in a June 13 ruling that the agency recently posted. Customs lawyer Michael Roll requested the ruling on behalf of AB as to the treatment of the kegs, which are of Chinese, U.S., Spanish, Mexican and German origin. AB will fill the subject kegs with beer outside the U.S. and will import them mostly through 22 U.S. ports, the company told CBP.

In the Dec. 11 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 53, No. 45), CBP published notices that propose to revoke or modify rulings and similar treatment for rigid plastic coolers and multiple types of chemical compounds.

Richard O'Neill was named partner at Neville Peterson, where he was previously an associate attorney, the law firm said in an emailed news release. O'Neill's work is focused on “all aspects of international trade and Customs law, including tariff classification, appraisement, country of origin and trade preference programs, Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs, Free Trade Agreements, export controls and trade remedies,” the firm said.

Mobile Defenders is seeking an exclusion from the 15 percent Section 301 tariffs on the iPhone repair parts it has paid on imports from China since the List 4A duties took effect Sept. 1, it posted Friday in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative public docket. “Mobile Defenders has not identified a source outside of China that is able to meet U.S. demand for these repair components in the coming year,” said the parts wholesaler. Smartphones themselves escaped tariff exposure when the Trump administration pulled the Dec. 15 List 4B duties off the table with the U.S-China phase one trade deal. Though availability of iPhone parts remains concentrated in China, sourcing of replacement components for other smartphones is scattered among various countries throughout the world. Census Bureau statistics accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool showed that besides China, Canada, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam are the main countries of origin for smartphone replacement parts imported to the U.S. under the 8517.70.00.00 subheading for which Mobile Defenders seeks a tariff exemption on goods from China. U.S. importers faced $318.9 million in tariff exposure on the smartphone parts they sourced from China in September and October, the first two months the List 4A duties were in effect, said DataWeb. China was responsible for 47.7 percent of all smartphone-parts imports to the U.S. in August, but that share slipped to 40.5 percent as U.S. importers shifted their sourcing elsewhere to reduce their List 4A tariff exposure, said DataWeb. Besides Mobile Defenders, Apple itself was the only other importer to seek an exemption on 8517.70.00.00 iPhone parts from China since USTR began accepting List 4A applications Oct. 31.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec.16-20 in case they were missed.