RANCHO MIRAGE, California -- Lawyers are seeing a rise in cases filed against customs brokers for failing to meet their fiduciary duties, said Cameron Roberts, a Roberts & Kehagiaras trade attorney. Many of the cases involve importers who allege their brokers didn’t correctly advise them about issues related to forced labor, Section 301 tariffs and certain agriculture imports, he said. “All of these issues are being put at the foot of the broker,” Roberts said, speaking during the Oct. 15 Western Cargo Conference.
Section 301 (too broad)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative clarified that 80 products covered by COVID-19-related Section 301 exclusions (see 2109270031) are also part of the broader question of extending formerly granted Section 301 exclusions (see 2110070041). The office said that this review is based on different factors than the pandemic-related extension, "and may result in different effective dates. Accordingly, interested persons that commented on a product pursuant to the notice on extending exclusions for COVID-related products may also wish to submit comments for the product pursuant to the notice on possible reinstatement of China Section 301 exclusions."
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Oct. 4-8 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Importers shouldn't cancel entries to "take advantage of pending or potential decreases in Section 301 duties and/or approval/extension of exclusions in violation of the applicable regulations," CBP said in a CSMS message. Cancellation requests are allowed in some instances but must comply with the appropriate regulations, it said.
The U.S. summary of a weekend call between U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and China's Vice Premier Liu He, the lead negotiator of the phase one agreement, did not use the word tariffs, though it said the two countries would "consult on certain outstanding issues."
CBP has assessed about $123.5 billion in duties under the major trade remedies started during the Trump administration, as of Oct. 7, according to CBP's trade statistics page. That includes $108 billion in duties from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, and $1.1 billion in Section 301 tariffs on goods from the European Union. CBP also has assessed about $8.8 billion under the Section 232 tariffs on steel and $2.7 billion under tariffs on aluminum. The Section 201 trade remedies on washing machines and washing machine parts account for about $277 million and the solar cells tariffs account for $2.7 billion in assessed tariffs.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a request for comments on the possible reinstatement of certain exclusions in the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. The notice, which reiterates previously published details about where and when to petition, will be published in the Federal Register Oct. 8. Comments may be submitted in writing online starting Oct. 12, and must be submitted no later than Dec. 1 to be assured of consideration.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 27 - Oct. 3:
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Sept. 27 - Oct. 1 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Two Chinese scholars specializing in international trade said they found U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai's Oct. 4 speech (see 2110040008) encouraging, even though she criticized Chinese adherence to market principles and the effect that has on companies around the world.