A bipartisan pair of senators fleshed out a trade facilitation framework released in early June (see 2406100015) with legislative text that authorizes spending to create a true single window and modernize ACE, as well as details of how duty drawback could change.
Customs Duty
A Customs Duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs Duty Rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight.
Canadian traders should prepare for increased scrutiny from the country’s customs agents for a range of imports in the coming months, and should consider conducting an “internal compliance review” to make sure they’re complying with all duties and trade laws, Baker McKenzie said in a July 25 client alert.
A coalition of business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the E-Merchants Trade Council, the National Foreign Trade Council and the Express Association of America, is pushing back against the de minimis legislation that was approved in the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year, arguing that it would be "a massive cost to the federal government," shift trade to the mail, and create congestion at airports and a wave of abandoned packages.
The Court of International Trade on July 23 said CBP didn't have the authority to extend an order from the court enjoining liquidation of various entries to imports entered by Acquisition 362, doing business as Strategic Import Supply. Judge Mark Barnett dismissed the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, finding that because Acquisition 362 wasn't a party to a separate case challenging the antidumping duty rate assessed on the company's goods, it wasn't subject to the court's order suspending liquidation of various tire entries.
Importers Yellow Bird and Vantage Point filed a complaint at the Court of International Trade July 18 arguing that a 1955 Jaguar race car, driven in competitions by multiple Australian racing drivers, is a collector's item, not a used motor vehicle (Yellowbird Enterprises v. U.S., CIT # 24-00121).
Trade ministers from the U.S., the EU, France, Italy, the U.K., Canada, Germany and Japan reiterated that they are committed to revising the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement, monitoring and negotiating functions, and to restoring a fully functioning dispute settlement system by year-end.
The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on brake drums from China and Turkey (A-570-174/C-570-175, A-489-853/C-489-854). The CVD investigations cover entries for the calendar year 2023. The AD investigation on Turkey covers entries April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024, and the AD investigation on China covers entries Oct. 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024.
The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on low-speed personal transportation vehicles from China (A-570-176/C-570-177). The CVD investigation covers entries Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2023. The AD investigation covers entries Oct. 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024.
A U.S. producer seeks the imposition of new antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of tungsten shot from China, it said in petitions filed July 9 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders on tungsten shot.
The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigation on large top mount combination refrigerator-freezers from Thailand (A-549-853). The agency will determine whether imports of Thai refrigrator-freezers are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The investigation covers entries from Thailand during the period April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024.