The International Trade Commission posted the 2021 Preliminary Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the removal of GSP benefits for many Thai products, as well as the redesignation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as eligible for AGOA, and the extension of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act until 2020. New statistical breakouts are also added for many medical products, including those used in the treatment of COVID-19, as well as for industrial turbines and hemp seed, among other goods. Changes take effect Jan. 1, 2021, unless otherwise noted.

The Solar Energy Industries Association and several solar importers filed a lawsuit Dec. 29 seeking to invalidate a recent presidential proclamation reimposing solar safeguard duties on bifacial panels and upping the safeguard tariffs on all imported solar cells. Joined by Invenergy Renewables, NextEra Energy and EDF Renewables, the SEIA says President Donald Trump failed to follow the requirements of the safeguard laws when he issued the proclamation in October.

The additional Section 301 tariffs on goods from the European Union announced late Dec. 30 (see 2012300062) will take effect “with respect to products that are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 12, 2021,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice. USTR said in a Dec. 30 news release that it would increase the tariffs as part of the ongoing World Trade Organization dispute over Airbus subsidies. The announcement disrupts settlement talks and “exceeds the amount of retaliation authorised by the WTO,” a European Commission spokesperson emailed. “The Commission is analysing the data in detail and will look at all options available on how to respond.”

CBP issued a withhold release order on “palm oil and products containing palm oil produced by Sime Darby Plantation Berhad and its subsidiaries, joint ventures, and affiliated entities in Malaysia,” the agency said in a news release Dec. 30. The WRO follows a monthslong investigation into SDP, Malaysia's largest producer of palm oil, Ana Hinojosa, executive director of CBP’s Trade Remedy and Law Enforcement Division, said during a Dec. 30 call with reporters. “It's pretty clear, we're expecting the trade community to know your supply chain,” she said.

DHL and Comstock & Theakston would like to see CBP reduce the number of hours it would require as a part of any continuing education requirements for customs brokers, the companies said in comments to the agency. The comments were in response to CBP's advance notice of proposed rulemaking that asked about whether requiring 40 hours of education over three years seems appropriate (see 2010270038). The companies also would like to see internal training apply to any required continuing education.

International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Dec. 21-24 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Witnesses overwhelmingly argued against tariffs on Vietnamese imports, during a virtual hearing Dec. 29 hosted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, with numerous business representatives saying it was the choice not to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership, not any kind of currency issue, that makes it harder for U.S. exports to penetrate Vietnam. Trade groups representing importers from Vietnam noted that their members moved sourcing from China to Vietnam precisely to avoid Section 301 tariffs, and some said putting comparable tariffs on Vietnamese imports would cause companies to relocate back to China.

The owner and CEO of a New York-based apparel company will spend six months in prison for submitting false invoices to CBP as part of a scheme to underpay duties, the Justice Department said in a Dec. 22 news release. Joseph Bailey of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced by a judge in Southern New York U.S. District Court after having pleaded guilty in January 2020 to wire fraud and entry of falsely valued goods.

Witnesses from the furniture and cabinet sector in both Vietnam and the U.S. argued that Vietnam has greatly improved its governance over illegal imports of tropical wood and, to whatever degree illegal imports still exist, that wood is not then exported to U.S. buyers.

Metal importers and a senior Republican staffer in the House of Representatives agreed that the Commerce Department's revisions to its Section 232 exclusions process are somewhat of an improvement, but they diverge in their opinions of how helpful the changes will be for the industry. The revisions were announced in an interim final rule published Dec. 14 (see 2012100047); some elements have already taken effect, and others take effect Dec. 29. However, the agency is still accepting comments on the revisions through Feb. 12, 2021.