Ramped up import enforcement efforts are likely here to stay under President Joe Biden, Sidley Austin's Ted Murphy said in an email. The multi-agency effort to crack down on import violations is expected to continue unencumbered and Murphy views these efforts as not administration-specific, particularly dealing with questions of forced labor, Section 301 tariff evasion and USMCA compliance.
Section 301 (too broad)
The White House is freezing rules that have been published, but have not taken effect, as well as proposed rulemaking and interim final rules, for 60 days from Jan. 20, so that the new administration can review the policies. The Trump administration issued a similar order in 2017 (see 1701230031), as did previous administrations.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Jan. 11-15 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 11-17:
The U.S. and Vietnam held “consultations” Dec. 23 on allegations that Hanoi deliberately devalued the dong against the dollar to the detriment of American commercial interests, it was disclosed in the Section 301 investigative report from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ruling out tariffs on Vietnamese goods in the final days of the Trump administration (see 2101150053). The report shared nothing about the substance of the previously unknown talks, held roughly a week before USTR convened a virtual hearing Dec. 29 into Vietnam’s alleged currency misbehavior. Agency representatives made no mention of the consultations during the hearing.
The U.S. Trade Representative won't immediately impose new tariffs or take other action as a result of the Section 301 investigation into Vietnam's currency valuation practices, the agency said in a news release. While "USTR is not taking any specific actions in connection with the findings at this time," it "will continue to evaluate all available options," it said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will not impose Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Vietnam imports in the remaining days of the Trump administration for Hanoi’s allegedly improper devaluation of the dong against the dollar, though it did find Vietnam’s practices “actionable” under the statute, and “will continue to evaluate all available options,” the agency said Jan. 15. The decision to forgo tariffs was sure to bring welcome relief to the hundreds of companies, trade associations and business groups that argued vehemently against them in recent weeks, including in a Dec. 29 virtual hearing (see 2012290036).
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2101 on Jan. 12, containing 389 Automated Broker Interface records and 72 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The changes reflect extensions for COVID-19 treatment Section 301 exclusions (see 2012230076) and increased tariffs on European Union goods (see 2012310010).
November Census Bureau import data newly released through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool documents Vietnam’s significant and growing role in the consumer tech supply chain. Vietnam as a sourcing country made substantial import share gains in product categories experiencing historic spikes in consumer demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially TVs with screen sizes under 35 inches, DataWeb shows. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is considering whether to impose Section 301 tariffs on goods from Vietnam (see 2101110035).
A Republican congresswoman who has been the biggest critic of the Section 232 exclusion process told National Foreign Trade Council webinar listeners that, “I’m hoping for the best under this administration. We’ve suffered a lot under [Section] 232 and 301.” Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., added that “I can’t wait to see it start unraveling.” Walorski, who claimed Jan. 12 that “we were kind of in this battle” with President Donald Trump over the broadness of the China tariffs, voted against certifying Biden's Electoral College victory last week.