CBP has assessed about $46.4 billion in duties under the major trade remedies started during the Trump administration as of Nov. 13, according to CBP's trade statistics page. That includes $36.8 billion in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China and $34.7 million duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from the EU (see 1910020044). CBP also has assessed about $6.4 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and $1.8 billion under tariffs on aluminum. The Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines, washing machine parts and solar cells (see 1801230052), imposed Jan. 23, 2018, account for $1.2 billion in assessed tariffs.

The additional 15 percent Section 301 List 4A duties imposed Sept. 1 on the blank CDs and DVDs that Vinpower Digital imports from China under the 8523.41.00 tariff code are causing “significant harm in a market that is severely price sensitive and works on slim margins,” said the vendor in an exclusion request posted Monday at the Office of U.S. Trade Representative docket. Vinpower bills itself as a leading global supplier of digital duplication hardware and optical media. Blank optical discs were “previously produced in the US, but the demand and price decreased to a level where it was no longer financially viable to continue producing in the USA,” said Vinpower. “The factories closed and production ceased to exist in the USA.” The vendor is “not sure” the goods can be sourced from a third country because the 8523.41.00 tariff code “incorporates a broad product range that can be generated by a larger list of manufacturers,” it said. The goods Vinpower needs encompass “a very niche product line and the overall demand for this product is shrinking,” it said. Most manufacturers “have exited the market for other endeavors or became insolvent,” it said. “Only a small handful of factories” still produce blank optical media, “and we require a more refined product that incorporates a specific expertise and capability that is currently only available in China,” it said. The lack of availability “demonstrates our need to work with one of the few nations that still boasts sizeable production of A grade” optical discs, it said.

The additional 15 percent Section 301 List 4A duties imposed Sept. 1 on the blank CDs and DVDs that Vinpower Digital imports from China under the 8523.41.00 tariff code are causing “significant harm in a market that is severely price sensitive and works on slim margins,” said the vendor in an exclusion request posted Monday at the Office of U.S. Trade Representative docket. Vinpower bills itself as a leading global supplier of digital duplication hardware and optical media. Blank optical discs were “previously produced in the US, but the demand and price decreased to a level where it was no longer financially viable to continue producing in the USA,” said Vinpower. “The factories closed and production ceased to exist in the USA.” The vendor is “not sure” the goods can be sourced from a third country because the 8523.41.00 tariff code “incorporates a broad product range that can be generated by a larger list of manufacturers,” it said. The goods Vinpower needs encompass “a very niche product line and the overall demand for this product is shrinking,” it said. Most manufacturers “have exited the market for other endeavors or became insolvent,” it said. “Only a small handful of factories” still produce blank optical media, “and we require a more refined product that incorporates a specific expertise and capability that is currently only available in China,” it said. The lack of availability “demonstrates our need to work with one of the few nations that still boasts sizeable production of A grade” optical discs, it said.

The U.S. and China are “close” to a trade agreement, President Donald Trump told the Economic Club of New York Tuesday. The Chinese are “dying to make a deal,” said Trump. “We’re the ones that are deciding whether we want to make a deal.” A “significant phase 1 trade deal with China could happen,” and “could happen soon,” he said. “But we will only accept a deal if it’s good for the United States and our workers and our great companies.” If the U.S. doesn’t make a deal, “we’re going to substantially raise those tariffs,” he said. The “real cost” would be if the U.S. “did nothing” to curb China’s allegedly unfair practices, he said. “The cost of doing nothing was killing us as a country.” The Treasury soon will reach $100 billion in Section 301 tariffs collected on Chinese imports, he said. “You haven’t seen inflation and you haven’t seen, in many cases, price increases.”

The U.S. and China are “close” to a trade agreement, President Donald Trump told the Economic Club of New York Tuesday. The Chinese are “dying to make a deal,” said Trump. “We’re the ones that are deciding whether we want to make a deal.” A “significant phase 1 trade deal with China could happen,” and “could happen soon,” he said. “But we will only accept a deal if it’s good for the United States and our workers and our great companies.” If the U.S. doesn’t make a deal, “we’re going to substantially raise those tariffs,” he said. The “real cost” would be if the U.S. “did nothing” to curb China’s allegedly unfair practices, he said. “The cost of doing nothing was killing us as a country.” The Treasury soon will reach $100 billion in Section 301 tariffs collected on Chinese imports, he said. “You haven’t seen inflation and you haven’t seen, in many cases, price increases.”

A new Port of Los Angeles report bears out the port's predictions that Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods would raise consumer prices and cause other economic harm, Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director, told a media briefing Tuesday. The study found that “on an annual basis, on the goods moving through our port complex, an additional $31 billion to $35 billion U.S. dollars is attached to what you and I spend at the store,” said Seroka.

Mattress bases largely sourced from China but assembled in Vietnam undergo a substantial transformation and are not subject to the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, CBP said in an Oct. 30 ruling. The ruling, NY N306524, came in response to a request from lawyer George Tuttle on behalf of Ergomotion. The company asked CBP to confirm that the mattress bases are “country of origin Vietnam, and not subject to China Section 301 duties," CBP said.

Imports at major U.S. retail container ports this month are expected to have their “final surge” of 2019 before the 15 percent List 4B Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods take effect Dec. 15, said the National Retail Federation Friday. “Retailers are encouraged by reports that China and the United States have agreed to remove at least some of the existing tariffs once a ‘phase one’ deal is signed,” said NRF. “We are eager to see concrete evidence that the trade war is coming to an end with a final deal that removes all tariffs.” There is “no word” from the Trump administration on the fate of the List 4B tariffs still set for December, it said. “Industry planning is in a state of confusion with the on-again, off-again tariff increases and the widening of trade disputes.”

CBP added on Nov. 7 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS message. Filers of imported products that were granted an exclusion (see 1910240004) should report the regular Chapters 29, 32, 37, 39, 40, 48, 51, 54, 56, 58, 59, 60, 68, 70, 73, 74, 75, 76, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 90 and 94 Harmonized Tariff Schedule number, as well as subheading 9903.88.33, CBP said in the message. “Importers shall not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when" subheading 9903.88.33 is submitted, CBP said.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 4-8 in case they were missed.