A senator from Louisiana has asked that Chinese shrimp and crawfish be added to a list of products targeted to compensate for Chinese violations of intellectual property rights. "Including crawfish and shrimp would provide a much needed economic boost to the Louisiana seafood industry," Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican, wrote in a letter April 17 to President Donald Trump. As Kennedy notes, the products are both subject to antidumping duties. So far, the products named as targets in the Section 301 investigation (see 1803220034) are largely manufacturing inputs, such as ball bearings and metals, or capital goods used by manufacturers. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is putting together a second list, of imports with twice the value of the first list, and it's unknown whether consumer goods such as food, toys or furniture would be on that list of $100 billion in goods.
The Trump administration’s imposition of 25 percent tariffs on TVs sourced from China (see 1804040019) would cause shipments of those sets to decline 2.1 percent and raise consumer pricing 23 percent, according to a new report released by industry groups. The survey report, released April 17, was prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide for the Consumer Technology Association and the National Retail Federation, both of which vehemently oppose the tariffs. The Section 301 tariffs, which aren't yet in effect, would likely have a major impact on TVs from China (see 1804090008).
The slew of trade remedies "changes everything" for importers, making programs like drawback and foreign-trade zones more valuable to companies that previously didn't need to consider such options, said Amie Ahanchian, KPMG managing director, Trade and Customs Services, during an April 16 KPMG webinar. Of the 1,333 tariff lines on the Section 301 list (see 1804040019), about 60 percent, or around 800 line items, are duty-free today, she said. That means "if you're importing these items, you may not have ever considered a customs planning strategy because there were no duties to mitigate in the current trade environment," she said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, represents a state that exports lots of soybeans to China but remains critical of the U.S.'s largest trading partner in goods. He said he recently visited five cities in China with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and other senators. What he saw there convinced him that Chinese officials "will do anything legal or illegal, moral or immoral, ethical or unethical ... to get ahead and stay ahead." He added, "They are very strategic and we're very short-sighted." Grassley, speaking at a Senate Finance trade subcommittee hearing April 11 on access to China's market, said he's one of the only Congress members still in office who voted to allow China full membership in the World Trade Organization. "It hasn't turned out the way I anticipated," he said. "I kind of feel like I should feel sorry for my vote."
Misclassification and valuation are among areas of enforcement focus for CBP's administration of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, CBP officials said during an April 10 interview. "Classification is a way to play with it, valuation as well, but these are things we will have to look at," said John Leonard, executive director of trade policy and programs at CBP. There are some different considerations involved for looking at possible transshipments because most antidumping or countervailing duty evasions involve countries around China, such as Malaysia or Thailand, but those countries are affected by the 232 tariffs too, he said. "It's hard to put it in that same context," he said.
A court challenge of any Section 301 tariffs imposed on China would be possible, but difficult, according to a Congressional Research Service report dated March 29. The Court of International Trade does have jurisdiction over Section 301 duties under 18 USC 1581(i), and has heard several cases on past Section 301 actions, the report said. But the challenger must clear a high bar to succeed, it said. Because Section 301 actions involve trade negotiations, the U.S. trade representative is given much deference by the court, possibly rendering USTR’s actions unreviewable under the Administrative Procedures Act, CRS said. “Because Section 301 investigations involve consultations with other countries and other foreign relations-related issues, a degree of discretion is afforded to the actions the USTR takes,” the report said. “What remains open to challenge before the courts, however, are allegations of statutory misinterpretations on the part of the USTR, violations of the statute’s procedures, actions that exceed the authority delegated to the USTR by statute, and similar claims,” it said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 2-6 in case they were missed.
TVs imported from China could bear an especially heavy burden under the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s list of products targeted for 25 percent tariffs under the Trump administration's Section 301 investigation (see 1804040019). “This is a big impact on TV,” Bob O’Brien, president of Display Supply Chain Consultants, said in an interview. All products classified in Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8528.72.64 would be prone to tariffs, “which is basically all TVs” imported from China, he said. He estimates 18.8 million TVs with a value of $3.9 billion were imported from China in 2017 under that classification. “This would have a huge impact on the TV supply chain.”
Soybeans, aircraft, cars and liquefied propane accounted for the largest dollar amounts of trade from the U.S. into China among goods that would be subject to new tariffs if the U.S. goes forward with Section 301 tariffs, the United Nations' International Trade Centre said in a tweet. China's list of goods potentially subject to new tariffs came in response to a U.S. proposal to add tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods (see 1804030070). President Donald Trump has since directed the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to look into tariffs on another $100 billion worth of Chinese goods.
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing April 12 on how the Section 232 tariffs are affecting the economy and jobs and how proposed Section 301 tariffs might do the same, it said in a notice. "In enforcing our trade laws, we should always take a targeted approach to address unfair practices while avoiding harm to U.S. workers and job creators," Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said.