CIT Upholds List 3 and 4 Section 301 Tariffs
On Friday March 17 the United States Court of International Trade upheld the List 3 and List 4 tariffs imposed on Chines imports. More than 3600 Importers brought litigation challenging the United States Trade Representatives (“USTR”) statutory authority to impose these tariffs. Duties on certain Chinese imports were first imposed by the USTR in 2018 at the direction of the President. The imports subject to duties were subsequently expanded to include three more lists. In 2020, the more than 3600 plaintiffs brought litigation alleging that the USTR’s imposition of duties on more than 10,000 products on Lists 3 and 4 were unlawful.
The Court sustained the Final List 3 and 4 production subject to section 301 duties following the Court’s earlier decision sustaining the USTR’s authority to impose the tariffs.
Delay of Section 232 Aluminum Smelt and Cast Reporting Requirements
The new reporting requirements for reporting the countries of smelt and cast for imports of aluminum and aluminum derivative products effective April 10, 2023 have been delayed thirty days until May 10, 2023. Please see the attached notice for more information. Contact our office if you have any questions.
White House expanded the list of aluminum & steel products subject to additional Section 232 duties commencing February 8.
On January 24, the White House expanded the list of aluminum and steel products that will be subject to Section 232 duties commencing February 8. Our office will attempt to notify you if we believe your goods may be subject to this expansion; however, we encourage you to contact us if you suspect you will be affected.
The 10% Section 232 duties will apply to certain aluminum products, except those from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and any exclusions the Department of Commerce may announce in the future.
The 25% Section 232 duties will apply for certain steel products except those from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and any exclusions the Department of Commerce may announce in the future.
For more information, please reference the following files:
- Annex I Derivatives of Aluminum Articles
- Annex II Derivatives of Steel Articles
- Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Derivative Aluminum and Steel Articles into the U.S.
If you have any questions, please contact our office at your convenience.
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President Donald Trump signed today Phase I of a partial trade deal with China.
China has promised to buy not less than $200 billion in goods and services over the next two years, Phase I will provide the President negotiating leverage for dealing Phase II of the trade deal expecting to have all tariffs come off after the successful completion of phase II. Like in Phase I, there can be several rollbacks in duties for Phase II of the deal The President is not expecting a Phase III.
Phase I requires China to do more to stop the sale of pirated goods and to apply criminal penalties to anyone caught stealing commercial secrets. Beijing is required to deliver an action plan in thirty days after today on how it will meet its commitments.
China has to stop pressuring American companies that invest in China to share technology when entering joint venture partner agreements. Technology transfers must be based on market terms that are voluntary and reflect mutual agreement and companies that should be able to operate without any force or pressure from a Party to transfer their technology to persons of the other Party.
Other stipulations of Phase I include that China must stop supporting or directing the acquisition of overseas investment aimed at buying up U.S. technology companies. The deal includes a dispute mechanism that makes the deal fully enforceable to the point that any rolled back additional duties could be reinstated.
Link to the full text of Phase I of the agreement
China will have the incentive to negotiate outstanding issues in order to eliminate the additional duties. Ahead of the signing ceremony, the Trump administration revoked its decision to label China a currency manipulator.
This just in, the draft of the soon to be published Federal Register Notice it states that effective February 14, 2020, The U.S. Trade Representative will reduce the level of additional duties from 15 percent to 7.5 percent on products of China covered by Annex A of the August 20 F.R. Notice (List 4a).
USMCA Agreement Reached
Democratic members of the House of Representatives and the White House came to an agreement this morning to move forward on the USMCA trade agreement. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Richard E. Neal and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a joint press conference announcing the two sides had come to terms on issues including workers’ rights, the environment, and prescription drugs.
Major news outlets are reporting that trade officials from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are scheduled to meet in Mexico City this afternoon to celebrate the new agreement. The USMCA is set to modernize the old NAFTA agreement and, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), will “support mutually beneficial trade leading to freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in North America.”
In a statement given shortly after the announcement, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said, “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we have reached a historic agreement on the USMCA. After working with Republicans, Democrats, and many other stakeholders for the past two years we have created a deal that will benefit American workers, farmers, and ranchers for years to come. This will be the model for American trade deals going forward.”