October 2023

Customs and Trade News Weekly Snapshot

Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade law news:       

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)  

  • CBP launched a new electronic petition application. View here. 
  • CBP issues final rule on regulatory implementation of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise. The final rule adopts interim amendments made in a previous decision. The amendments: 
    • Establish CEEC as a permanent component of the agency 
    • Shift certain trade functions to the Centers 
    • Provide centralized decision-making authority to the Centers 
  • AD/CVD petition filed regarding aluminum extrusions – The petition filed Oct. 4 alleges that aluminum extrusions from China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam are being sold at less than fair value in the U.S. and/or benefiting from countervailable subsidies.  
  • CBP seizes potentially harmful agricultural products from Asia – the shipments contained edible birds’ nests and peanuts that were mislabeled as other products. 
  • CBP
By |2023-10-09T08:26:19-04:00October 9, 2023|Snapshot, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Breaking Trade News: American Producers of Aluminum Extrusions File Trade Petitions Alleging Unfair Dumping and Subsidies from 15 Countries

The U.S. Aluminum Extruders Coalition and the United Steelworkers (USW) union filed petitions claiming unfair trading imports of aluminum extrusions from China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

Full list of exporters here, full list of U.S. importers here.

The filing is in response to increasing volumes of allegedly unfairly priced imports of aluminum extrusions that have been growing since 2019, notwithstanding that Aluminum Extrusions made in the U.S. face significantly higher costs due to restrictions on the importation of primary aluminum.

The petitions aim to demonstrate that aluminum extrusion producers in these countries are selling extrusions in the U.S. at less than fair value and that such sales are harming the U.S. Aluminum Extrusion industry. The petitions note dumped rates up to 256%.

The petitions also claims that producers in China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey unfairly benefit from countervailable subsidies, such as tax breaks and discounted land.

The President of the Aluminum Extruders Council, Jeff Henderson, stated:  “For years, American extruders and workers have lost huge amounts of sales to unfairly traded, dumped and subsidized imports of aluminum extrusions. It’s time to take a stand for American manufacturing and take on these illegally traded products.”

The Commerce Department will determine whether to initiate the investigations within 20 days. The USITC will reach a preliminary determination of material injury or threat of material injury within 45 days. The deposit of duties will likely be required by the late fall […]

By |2023-10-06T13:59:01-04:00October 6, 2023|Import, Investigation|0 Comments

Government Shutdown Avoided… For Now…

On Saturday night, President Biden signed a stopgap funding bill, avoiding a government shutdown right before the deadline.

The continuing resolution (CR) will continue funding the government for 45 days. While the extension allows more time for Congress to agree on a long term spending agreement, some Washington experts are advising industry to prepare for a shutdown in November.

While many employees in key agencies for international trade will be deemed “essential,” meaning they will continue working through a shutdown, agencies will still experience operational changes that will cause delays.

Below is a breakdown of how key agencies will be impacted by a future shutdown.

 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

According to the Department of Homeland Security’s contingency plan, cargo security and port of operations will remain active during a shutdown. However, certain activities such as training and auditing are not required to be carried out during this time. In addition, back-office support positions are not likely to be deemed essential and will be furloughed. Refunds, audits, ruling requests, etc. would be delayed until the shutdown ends. 

There remains uncertainty around which specific offices will be deemed essential. For example, Forced Labor Communications may be furloughed, resulting in delays in reviewing Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) and Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) allegations.

U.S. Department of Commerce

According to the Department of Commerce’s contingency […]

By |2023-10-02T09:12:24-04:00October 2, 2023|news|0 Comments
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