The International Trade Commission recently posted Revision 3 to the preliminary edition of the 2021 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes include implementation of extended and revised Section 201 safeguards on large residential washers, as announced in a proclamation issued by former President Donald Trump in mid-January (see 2101150049). Minor changes are also made to an exclusion from Section 301 China tariffs for supported catalysts with zinc oxide as the active substance.
Section 301 (too broad)
A three-judge Court of International Trade panel will oversee all cases tackling the legality of lists 3 and 4 Section 301 China tariffs, Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu said in an order signed Feb. 5. Judges Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves -- the three most senior active judges on the court -- were assigned to hear one of the largest mass filings in the court's history.
More than 12.7 million counterfeit face masks were seized by CBP during fiscal year 2020, part of more than 950 seizures of either FDA-prohibited drugs or test kits, or counterfeit or fraudulent products aimed at fighting COVID-19, the agency said in its annual fiscal year report, released Feb. 4. About 51% came from China; 24% were discovered in the mail; and 53% were sent by express couriers. For general intellectual property seizures, 90% were in either international mail or express shipments.
The Court of International Trade on Feb. 4 denied a broad challenge to Section 232 tariffs on steel products (see 1912040033), finding against a group of steel importers that had challenged the initial proclamation that set the tariffs, as well as procedural steps that formed the basis for the action. One of several recent cases challenging the tariffs, this one differed in its focus on the Commerce Department report that preceded the tariffs, as well as the proclamation's failure to set an explicit expiration date. The trade court found in favor of the government on both issues, holding that the Commerce report was not a final agency action that could be challenged in court and that the law behind Section 232 does not require the president to decide a date when the tariffs will end.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Jan. 25-29 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he doesn't know when Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative nominee, might get a hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee. He told reporters on a press call Feb. 2 that it's likely that Finance will question the Health and Human Services secretary nominee ahead of Tai. He also said he doesn't know how the impeachment trial for Donald Trump could affect the timing. Grassley said he supports President Joe Biden's approach of trying to get Europe, other countries in North America, South Korea and Japan “on the same wavelength with regard to China,” and when he has the opportunity to talk to Tai, he'll be asking about “how long they're going to wait to follow up on phase two” of trade talks with China. He said he doesn't expect the issue of Section 301 exclusions to be on his list of topics to bring up. “I just haven’t had a lot of contact in the last six months with these business interests [with expired exclusions], maybe my staff has,” he said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 25-31:
Trade groups representing importers, exporters and companies involved in trade logistics are asking Congress to ask the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to retroactively extend Section 301 exclusions for products whose exclusions expired last year, automatically extend exclusion for pandemic response goods, and reinstate the exclusions process. The 166 groups, which make up the Americans for Free Trade coalition, sent a letter to Congress Jan. 29 with the requests.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Jan. 31. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
Economics Professor Mary Lovely, who studies multinationals' operations in China, told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission that the trade war didn't make the U.S. less reliant on China, and that export controls designed to isolate China have not been effective, either. She noted that China is still the top exporter to the U.S., and their goods make up 17% of U.S. imports. The Commission met online Jan. 28.