On May 17, 2019, the President of the United States issued a proclamation directing the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to pursue negotiations with the European Union, Japan and any other country the Trade Representative deems appropriate in order to address the threat to U.S. national security identified by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) Secretary. A decision to impose new tariffs on imports of automobiles and auto parts will be delayed for 180 days while the USTR pursues these negotiations.
News / Supply Chain Alerts
On Friday, May 17, 2019, the United States announced the elimination of all steel and aluminum tariffs against Canada and Mexico, effective May 20, 2019. In joint statements with the United States, Canada and Mexico also agreed to eliminate all retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
Importers are experiencing large increases in their annual customs bond amounts due to the sanctions that have been implemented on their products. Generally, bond amounts are calculated at 10% of the total amount of duty, taxes and fees paid in the previous 12 months OR calculated based on duties estimated for the next 12 months. Many of the bonds that traditionally fell below the minimum $50K amount have now more than doubled. Increased anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) add an additional layer of complexity to these bond amounts and extend the time frames that entries remain open.
On Thursday, May 9, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a fourth Notice of Product Exclusions to Section 301 List 1 products currently subject to a 25 percent tariff.
On Monday, May 13, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a new proposed list of products that could be subject to an additional 25 percent tariff.
On Thursday, May 9, 2019, the Federal Register published a Notice of Modification of Section 301 Action by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office increasing the rate of the additional duty from 10 percent to 25 percent on the $200 billion in List 3 products imported from China. The increase is effective Friday, May 10, 2019.
Effective Date Specifics
The Federal Register notice amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the U.S. to provide that the tariff increase for these List 3 products will be effective with respect to goods:
- entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01am EDT time on May 10, 2019; and
- exported to the U.S., on or after May 10, 2019.
On Sunday, May 5, 2019, the President of the United States threatened to move forward with increasing the List 3 China Tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion in imports from China, effective Friday, May 10, 2019. This is a change in the administration’s position from their February 24th decision to postpone the increase indefinitely.
The president also noted that an additional 25% tariff on all remaining products imported from China (valued at $325 billion) would be implemented “shortly.” A specific date and hearing process have not been announced for this new fourth list of products.
On Thursday, April 18, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released a third Notice of Product Exclusions to Section 301 List 1 products currently subject to a 25% tariff.
Companies are encouraged to refer to the Annex to the notice of product exclusions to determine if any of your products are included in the 21 products now available for exclusion. The scope of each exclusion is governed by the 10-digit level Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers and product descriptions identified in the Annex to 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# 9903.88.07.
On March 15, 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ended their delayed enforcement period of the Importer Security Filings (ISF-5) and began issuing liquidated damage claims for the violations of the ISF requirements for Freight Remaining on Board (FROB) cargo, cargo intended to be transported as immediate exportation (I.E.), and transportation and exportation (T&E) in-bond shipments. These shipments, which are docking at United States ports, require the transmission of five (5) data elements 24 hours in advance of cargo being laden on board a vessel.
The MIQ-China team has advised that China will hold an international maritime parade on April 23, 2019, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. Navies from several other countries are expected to participate. The parade is to take place in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Qingdao city in Shandong province. The following parade-related activities are scheduled: