While the reasons that Section 301 tariff exclusions were granted are murky to trade lawyers, in general, more information is better when submitting requests, trade lawyers said during a panel at the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference June 28. Pictures of your product, emails from domestic companies saying they can't provide the quantity you're looking for, and the number of U.S. jobs that are imperiled if you have to pay 25 percent more for this product are all good pieces of information to provide, they said.

CTA declined comment Tuesday on legislation in the House and Senate and backed by the National Retail Federation that would boost congressional oversight of U.S. Trade Representative decisions to impose or hike import tariffs, including Section 301 duties of the type now in effect on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. House Ways and Means Committee member Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., introduced the measure (HR-3477) Tuesday as a companion to S-899 introduced in March by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. “The time has come for Congress to reclaim its constitutional authority over trade,” said Murphy. “Imposing tariffs without a concrete strategy is harming American families, consumers, and businesses, and it’s undermining longstanding relationships with our allies.” Murphy is the lawmaker who confronted USTR Robert Lighthizer at a Ways and Means hearing in February with questions about a tech firm constituent she said had been “upended” by the List 3 tariffs (see 1902280010). Her legislation would require USTR to report to Congress on the goals and strategy behind proposed tariff actions, and Congress would be able to block the tariffs through a joint resolution of disapproval, subject to presidential veto. “We agree with the need to deliver fair and balanced trade deals, but taxing Americans isn’t the answer -- especially without a single vote from Congress,” said David French, NRF senior vice president-government relations. USTR didn't comment Wednesday. The proposed List 4 tariffs run afoul of the 1974 Trade Act, because neither sections 301 nor 307 "authorizes the additional $300 billion in List 4 tariffs," commented CTA last week (see 1906180038).

An internal “review” at Micron Technology found the memory-chip supplier could “lawfully resume shipping a subset of current products” to Huawei because they aren't subject to Commerce Department export administration regulations and entity list restrictions, said CEO Sanjay Mehrotra on a fiscal Q3 earnings call. Micron reinstated those shipments about two weeks ago, he said Tuesday.

An internal “review” at Micron Technology found the memory-chip supplier could “lawfully resume shipping a subset of current products” to Huawei because they aren't subject to Commerce Department export administration regulations and entity list restrictions, said CEO Sanjay Mehrotra on a fiscal Q3 earnings call. Micron reinstated those shipments about two weeks ago, he said Tuesday.

An internal “review” at Micron Technology found the memory chip supplier could “lawfully resume shipping a subset of current products” to Huawei because they aren't subject to Commerce Department export administration regulations and entity list restrictions, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said on a fiscal Q3 call. Micron reinstated those shipments about two weeks ago, he said on June 25. Micron suspended all Huawei shipments immediately after release of the May 16 notice from Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security placing the Chinese telecom gear giant and 68 of its non-U.S. affiliates on the Entity List (see 1905240044), Mehrotra said. Micron did so to “ensure compliance” with the restrictions and begin its review, he said.

House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said after a June 25 hearing on Mexican labor reform that the Democrats asking for changes to the NAFTA rewrite are asking for changes that are "relatively narrow." "Our hope is we can move with dispatch, get our concerns resolved, strengthen the agreement and move forward," he said, adding that trade deal votes "never get easy, putting them off."

CBP has assessed about $27.8 billion in duties under the major trade remedies started during the Trump administration as of June 19, according to CBP's trade statistics page. That includes $19.3 billion in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The first tranche of Section 301 tariffs took effect on July 6, 2018 (see 1807050033); the second took effect on Aug. 23, 2018 (see 1808070046); and the third, on Sept. 24, 2018 (see 1809240015). CBP also has assessed about $5.8 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and $1.8 billion under tariffs on aluminum. The Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines and solar cells (see 1801230052), imposed Jan. 23, 2018, account for $857.7 million in assessed tariffs.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., introduced a bill, the Reclaiming Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2019, that would require that any tariffs implemented on national security grounds -- whether through Section 232 or another mechanism, such as the national emergency on immigration -- be approved by Congress. The bill, introduced June 25, would allow tariffs to be in place for 120 days without congressional approval. It has a Senate companion bill, S. 899, introduced by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 17-21 in case they were missed.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes the Trump administrations use of “unilateral” Section 301 tariffs as a “policy response” to China’s allegedly unfair trade practices, it commented June 14, in remarks posted Monday in docket USTR-2019-0004. The Chamber urges the administration to return to the negotiating table and strike “a high-standard, comprehensive, enforceable” trade agreement with China that “puts an end to tariffs already in place and forestalls further disruptions to the livelihood of all Americans,” it said.