The U.S. agreed on April 19 to enter consultations on its Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum with the European Union and India. The action follows its announcement April 17 that it would consult with China on the matter. In all cases, the U.S. says the tariffs are not safeguards, as the countries allege, and that they are not subject to World Trade Organization dispute settlement because they are matters of national security.
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Commerce Department issued its final determinations in the countervailing duty investigations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Italy (C-475-837) and Turkey (C-489-832). Suspension of liquidation is currently not in effect for entries on or after Jan. 3, 2018, and Commerce will only require cash deposits of estimated CV duties on future entries if it issues a CV duty order.
The Commerce Department issued its final determinations in the antidumping duty investigations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Italy (A-475-836), South Korea (A-580-891), Spain (A-469-816), Turkey (A-489-831) and the United Kingdom (A-412-826).
The Commerce Department announced its final antidumping duty determinations in its investigations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Italy, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well as its final countervailing duty determinations for Italy and Turkey, in a March 20 fact sheet. The agency set AD rates at 41.1% for all South Korean exporters, at 147.63% got all UK exporters, and ranging from 11.08% to 32.64% for Spanish exporters. For Italy, the agency set AD rates ranging from 12.41% to 18.89% and CV rates ranging from 4.16% to 44.18%. For Turkey, AD rates range from 4.74% to 7.94% and CV rates range from 3.81% to 3.86%.
Despite the recent attention on Section 232 tariffs, some expect the effects of the Section 301 investigation started last year (see 1708210024) to eclipse the steel and aluminum import restrictions, panelists said at a Washington International Trade Association event March 13. Wendy Cutler, a former acting deputy U.S. trade representative, said once the White House announces what it's doing to respond to China's intellectual property transgressions, "we won't be talking about steel and aluminum."
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Department of Defense agrees with a Section 232 investigation that concludes that systematic unfair trade practices that erode the industrial base pose a risk to national security. However, Defense Secretary James Mattis' position is that any tariffs or quotas aimed at shoring up the domestic steel and aluminum industries may have "negative impact on our key allies." Mattis, in an undated memo released by the Commerce Department on Feb. 22, wrote that there is no immediate problem with sourcing steel and aluminum for military uses, since military consumption is just 3 percent of U.S. production. The Commerce Department's report, which became public last week (see 1802160020), noted that as well.
Worldwide tariffs on steel and aluminum or worldwide quotas on imports of those metals are two of the Commerce Department’s three recommendations on how to respond to plant closures and job losses in the domestic steel and aluminum industries. A flood of steel and aluminum, dumped at prices that undermine U.S. producers, is threatening the industrial base, and therefore national security, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told the White House in January. On Feb. 16, he shared the details of those reports with reporters on a conference call, and posted redacted versions of both reports on the department’s website.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Jan. 31, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.