On Monday, April 8, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office issued a press release in response to a World Trade Organization (WTO) finding that subsidies provided to Airbus by the European Union (EU) have caused adverse effects to the United States. The USTR announced that they are identifying EU products to which additional duties may be applied, pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
News / Industry News
Source: National Retail Federation April 8, 2019
With tariff increases delayed for the foreseeable future and the busy summer season approaching, imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are beginning to climb again, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
“Retailers are starting to stock up in anticipation of a strong summer,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Tariff increases are on hold and progress is being reported in talks between the United States and China, so the imports we’re seeing now are driven primarily by expectations for consumer demand.”
Source: Institute for Supply Management April 1 2019
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in March, and the overall economy grew for the 119th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released a second Notice of Product Exclusions to the Section 301 List 1 products currently subject to a 25% tariff.
The scope of each exclusion is governed by the 10-digit level Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers and the descriptions identified in the notice. It is important to note that these exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the official notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. If you import products that fall under these descriptions, you will be able to claim an exclusion using HTS number 9903.88.06.
Source: National Retail Federation March 8, 2019
With the retail industry in its annual lull between seasons and plans for a tariff increase on hold, imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to drop to their lowest level in almost a year this month, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
“Now that the holiday season is over and summer has yet to crank up, this is the quiet time of year for retail supply chains,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Retailers are also taking a break from the rush to bring merchandise in ahead of tariff hikes now that the increase that was scheduled for March has been delayed. We are hoping that the delay is permanent and, better yet, that tariffs of the past year will be removed entirely. But either way, imports will start to build up again soon as retailers prepare for the summer.”
In a press release dated March 4, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced “the United States intends to terminate India’s and Turkey’s designation as beneficiary developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program because they no longer comply with the statutory eligibility criteria.”
Source: Institute for Supply Management – March 1, 2019
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February, and the overall economy grew for the 118th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
On February 24, 2019, the President of the United States announced that the increase in tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Section 301 List 3 imports from China scheduled for March 2, 2019, is being postponed. The tariffs will remain at 10% for the foreseeable future as no new deadline for increasing the duties has been announced.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is now accepting entries for products that were excluded from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Section 301 List 1 Tariffs on certain products imported from China. The exclusions granted thus far, which only apply to List 1 products subject to a 25 percent tariff, are retroactive to July 6, 2018, and will be effective until December 28, 2019.
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) finalized their Section 232 investigation into automotive imports and presented their findings to the President of the United States on February 17, 2019. The president now has 90 days to decide whether to act upon any of the recommendations.
In May 2018, the DOC self-initiated the investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine whether imports of automobiles and automotive parts threaten to impair U.S. national security. If the DOC makes an affirmative determination and the president concurs, he has the authority to adjust imports, including the use of tariffs and quotas. Any action to be taken would be imposed within 15 days of the president’s decision.
The final report has not yet been released to the public. If the process is the same as the Section 232 investigation on steel and aluminum, the report would be released within the next few weeks.
For more information please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.