Inconsistent documentation cost a manufacturer of plastic pallets, trays and lids duty-free treatment on returned items, CBP said in a June 13 HQ ruling addressed to the Automotive and Aerospace Center of Excellence and Expertise, directing it to deny a protest by ZF TRW Canada (ZF).
Customs duty
A customs duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs duty rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight. U.S. customs duties are listed in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling to overturn a Court of International Trade decision that called into question the use of first sale treatment for imported goods involving non-market economy countries (see 2208110060) is largely seen as providing a welcome relief to importers, several law firms said. "For those importers enjoying the benefits of lower declared values and duties, particularly from China in light of Section 301 tariffs, there is no longer a need for concern now that, on appeal, the court has given first sale a nod," Sandler Travis lawyer Lenny Feldman said on a podcast. The original CIT decision (Meyer Corporation v. U.S., Fed. Cir. #21-1392) raised some concerns for the future of first sale treatment (see 2104200028).
President Joe Biden is less likely to suspend some Section 301 tariffs on goods from China following a recent visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to Taiwan, Sidley Austin lawyer Ted Murphy said in a blog post. "Before the visit, our view was that the Administration was leaning toward suspending some of the duties," he said. "China’s reaction to the Speaker’s visit, coupled with the fact that this is an election year, however, makes it hard to see that happening now. In our view, any action on the Section 301 duties will likely be tabled until after the November election."
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2222 Aug. 9, containing 181 ABI records and 24 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. The changes involve new duty rates for infant formula, it said in a CSMS message.
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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative often found itself weighing the possible harm to U.S. consumers from the lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs against the need to give the duties enough teeth to curb China’s allegedly unfair trade practices, the agency said in its 90-page “remand determination,” filed Aug. 1 at the Court of International Trade (In Re Section 301 Cases, CIT #21-00052). Submitting its bid to ease the court's concerns over modifications made to the third and fourth tariff waves, USTR provided its justifications for removing various goods from the tariff lists ranging from critical minerals to seafood products.
The Court of International Trade in an Aug. 1 order granted a joint motion for stipulated judgment, granting refunds to importer Transpacific Steel for Section 232 steel and aluminum duties paid in error. The importer was originally granted three exclusions with the wrong Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading listed in them. After having its resubmitted exclusion requests denied, Transpacific took to the trade court to seek the exclusions and refunds for the Section 232 duties paid. It received just that following a settlement with the U.S. (Transpacific Steel v. United States, CIT #21-00362).
The International Trade Commission posted Revision 8 to the 2022 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The update added new secondary 10-digit tariff numbers for baby formula and products of Russia.
CBP recently created Harmonized System Updates (HSU) 2219 and 2220, it said in a CSMS message. The updates include changes to duty rates on infant formula imports (see 2207220069) (in HSU 2220, created on July 22, and containing 64 Automated Broker Interface (ABI) records and 20 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records); and the treatment of solar panels from Canada (see 2207070041) (in HSU 2219, created on July 21, and containing 5 ABI records and 1 HTS record), it said.
CBP provided some guidance for how importers of infant formula can make use of the temporary suspension of tariffs on baby formula (see 2207220069). CBP "will provide duty-free treatment of the eligible infant formula products entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption from July 22, 2022 through December 31, 2022," it said. "Duty-free treatment is limited to certain infant formula products classified under the designated United States Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers. The eligible infant formula products will not be subject to any additional safeguard duties that may be imposed under subchapter IV of Chapter 99 of the HTS, or any other import quotas, tariff-rate quotas, additional duties, or any other duties, fees, exactions, or charges that otherwise would apply to such articles." Filers must "classify the infant formula products with the correct Chapter 19 or Chapter 21 HTS number, along with the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number," it said.