The United Kingdom lifted antidumping duties on welded tubes and pipes of iron or non-alloy steel from Belarus or Russia, a July 1 notice said. Certain antidumping duties originating from an AD quota on certain welded tubes and pipes of iron or non-alloy steel from Belarus, China and Russia along with a tariff rate quota on steel goods will be suspended under the notice. The announcement includes a list of affected companies from Russia that will see their antidumping rate drop to zero. All affected tube and pipe exporters from Belarus will have their antidumping rate drop from 38.1% to 13.1%.
The European Commission amended its common rules for imports from certain third countries relating to volumes of tariff rate quotas in a July 5 implementing regulation. Country-specific and residual TRQs were incorrectly published in the original regulation, prompting the fix from the commission, the notice said. The notice lists TRQ volumes of metallic-coated sheets from Korea, India, the United Kingdom, China, India and other countries.
The United Kingdom suspended antidumping duties on cold-rolled flat steel goods from Russia, a July 1 notice said. The suspended duties originate from a general antidumping duty order on certain cold-rolled flat steel products from China and Russia and a tariff rate quota on steel goods. The notice includes a list of affected exporters and their now-lowered rates. All other exporters of the subject merchandise from Russia will see their antidumping duty rates fall from 36.1% to 11.1%.
The maximum number of items an importer or exporter can claim under the certificate of origin provision in the China-Switzerland Free Trade Agreement increased from 20 to 50, the Chinese customs agency announced in a June 29 news release, according to an unofficial translation. The change is effective Sept. 1.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control will officially remove the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations, OFAC said in a notice. The sanctions were originally imposed under the Trump administration but sparked opposition from human rights advocates. President Joe Biden revoked them in April (see 2104020046). The removal takes effect July 6.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, a Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, was cool to fellow Texas delegation member Sen. John Cornyn's proposal to study the possibility of allowing goods made in foreign-trade zones to be considered originating under USMCA.
The Census Bureau is considering a proposed rule that would require export filers to declare the country of origin for foreign products included in certain transactions. The agency considered the change about five years ago but has recently returned to the idea and expects to issue a proposal “soon,” said Omari Wooden, a senior Census official. “It’s something that's on the horizon,” Wooden said, speaking during the American Association of Exporters and Importers annual conference June 30. “You'll probably be seeing more information about that soon.”
South Korea Customs published a June 30 guidance for the implementation of free trade agreement customs duties for travelers' belonging from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Turkey and the European Free Trade Association, according to an unofficial translation. The application of simple customs procedures for travelers' carry-on items will be expanded to travelers from the EU, the U.K., Turkey and the EFTA. The declaration of origin written in the attached form will be accepted from these travelers. A purchase receipt or certificate of origin when applying for preferential treatment submission will now be allowed.
CBP issued an interim final rule that implements several provisions included within the USMCA. The rule, which took effect July 1, implements USMCA language on import and export requirements, "general verifications and determinations of origin, commercial samples, goods re-entered after repair or alteration in Canada or Mexico, and penalties," among other things. Another interim final rule to implement other USMCA provisions will also be issued "at a later date," said CBP.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced a bill that would require a study of whether Canadian and Mexican manufacturers are able to get tariff breaks on non-North American inputs to their goods, and if so, does that affect the cost-competitiveness of products manufactured in the U.S. for domestic and export markets. Cornyn led an unsuccessful effort to convince the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in 2020 that goods produced inside foreign-trade zones should be treated as products of the U.S. (see 2012020031).