The Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nonprofit allied with President Donald Trump's views on trade, is arguing not to extend exclusions for Section 301 tariffs because companies have had “ample time” to move their supply chains out of China. “Any bemoaning from the import lobby that relies on China should have looked to home first. There are plenty of Americans and American businesses that can fulfill their supply chain needs,” CPA Chairman Dan DiMicco and CEO Michael Stumo wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Section 301 (too broad)
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Nov. 30-Dec. 4 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said that he hopes that a technical fixes bill for USMCA can pass this month, but its passage is hung up on whether goods manufactured in foreign-trade zones should be able to benefit from USMCA if those goods meet the rules of origin.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 30 - Dec. 6:
Importers must file protests to preserve their rights to Section 301 tariff exclusions issued after an entry has already liquidated, the Department of Justice said in a motion to dismiss a pair of lawsuits that seek to have the exclusions applied past the protest deadline. CBP’s failure to apply the exclusions was a protestable event, even if the exclusions did not exist at the time, and the Court of International Trade’s jurisdictional scheme means CIT can’t hear cases wherein the importer skipped the protest scheme, DOJ said.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is urging members to lobby their representatives for a provision that would allow companies to receive refunds for Section 301 duties paid when they learned too late that the product qualified for a tariff exclusion. If an entry had been liquidated before the exclusion was announced, CBP cannot refund the duties paid, even though the exclusions are designed to be retroactive. The group is hoping this provision can be included in the omnibus spending bill that may pass this month, it said.
House Ways and Means Committee member Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., said that although “the politics of trade are fairly tricky,” she feels confident in saying “things can't get any worse” for free trade during the Biden administration. Murphy, one of two members of the House speaking on a Cato Institute webinar about what to expect in trade with a new president, said she's encouraged by President-elect Joe Biden's choices for the secretaries of the treasury and state, and the head of the National Security Council, because all of the individuals recognize that trade is an important tool in foreign policy.
Lawyers for importers that have filed suit under the extensive ongoing Section 301 litigation have established an “informal” steering committee to manage the case, law firm Neville Peterson said in a Dec. 1 blog post, adding that the committee “confers with some regularity.” Most observers expect the U.S. Court of International Trade will pick the first-filed Section 301 complaint from HMTX Industries and Jasco Production as the lead case, and stay the roughly 3,700 other actions while HMTX is litigated, the law firm said.
President-elect Joe Biden won't remove Section 301 tariffs until he makes a full review of the phase 1 agreement and consults with Japan, South Korea and Europe “so we can develop a coherent strategy,” New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman reported Dec. 2. Biden said free-market countries need more leverage to “actually produce progress on China’s abusive practices,” such as illegal subsidies to corporations, forced tech transfers and stealing intellectual property.
Section 301 tariffs raised IBM's sourcing costs by tens of millions of dollars, and on Dec. 2 the company asked the incoming administration to “immediately” remove the tariffs on tech inputs such as mechanical parts, fans, power distribution units, power supplies, cables and printed circuit board assemblies. “A limited, early removal of the most counter-productive of the China tariffs could provide relief for U.S. manufacturing, while leaving the new Administration space to negotiate further tariff changes based on Chinese market access commitments,” said Alan Kohlscheen, IBM's import compliance executive, and Michael DiPaula-Coyle, IBM's director of international trade policy.