tariffs

July 6, 2022, will mark the four-year anniversary of the institution of Section 301 tariffs against approximately $370 Billion in imports from China into the United States.  In light of this anniversary, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) is commencing the first phase of its Four-Year Review Process, which will allow representatives of domestic industries which benefit from the trade actions to submit comments on whether or not the Section 301 tariffs should continue.  In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2022 (unpublished version available here), USTR is requesting interested parties to address whether the imposition of the tariffs has been beneficial.  Comments from domestic interested parties must be submitted in a 60-day window prior to the four-year anniversary.  The first round of comments will be accepted between May 7, 2022, and July 5, 2022, for the List 1 tariffs which are set to expire on July 6, 2022.  Comments related to the List 2 tariffs will be accepted between June 24, 2022, and August 22, 2022, as those tariffs are set to expire on August 23, 2022.

On March 22, 2022, the United States and the United Kingdom announced in a joint statement that the U.S. will halt Section 232 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from the U.K, effective June 1, 2022, and that the U.K. will also lift retaliatory tariffs on over $500 million worth of U.S. exports to the U.K.  The Section 232 tariffs were instituted in March 2018 on all imports of steel and aluminum from multiple countries. 

In Husch Blackwell’s December 2021 Trade Law Newsletter, you’ll learn about the following updates in international trade and supply chain law:

  • President Biden issued a Proclamation to update the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and re-affirmed the changes to the section 232 tariffs that took effect Jan. 1
  • An update on U.S. Department of Commerce decisions

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On January 1, 2022, the new Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) will take effect with a number of significant updates for importers and exporters.  The World Customs Organization (WCO) made approximately 350 amendments which will impact a substantial number of products and product groups being imported into the U.S. In addition to new classifications, importers should also take note of the updated tariff descriptions, legal notes, and product descriptions. The new changes are expected to account for the continued advances in technology and developing global priorities. The updated version can be found here along with the official change record.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced in a notice that 81 COVID specific product exclusions would be extended for an additional 6 months, with all COVID exclusions receiving an additional 16-day transition period. The exclusions on the 81 products was set to expire on November 14, 2021, but will now be pushed back until May 31, 2022, allowing these medical – care products to remain free from additional duties upon importation. The announcement comes after USTR requested public comments on August 27, 2021 on whether the exclusions should be further extended.

In Husch Blackwell’s October 2021 Trade Law Newsletter, you’ll learn about the following updates in international trade and supply chain law:

  • The U.S. and EU struck a deal on steel and aluminum tariffs
  • The U.S. Department of Commerce published a new set of AD/CVD regulations governing a multitude of administrative proceedings
  • The Port of

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On Saturday, the United States and the European Union reached an agreement on section 232 duties being imposed because of global steel and aluminum excess capacity concerns.  The trading partners have agreed that the U.S. will adjust tariffs on steel and aluminum to allow elimination of certain U.S. section 232 duties, and the EU will suspend its retaliatory tariffs.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that the Department of the Treasury has reached an agreement with Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom regarding the treatment of Digital Services Taxes (“DSTs”). The Department of Treasury reached the agreement in conjunction with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) global agreement. In coordination with the Department of Treasury, USTR plans to work together with these governments to ensure implementation of the agreement and rollback of existing DSTs.

On September 30, 2021, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) filed a motion requesting a voluntary remand to review 502 Section 232 exclusion request denials it issued to Voestalpine High Performance Metals Corporation and Ergo Specialty Steels, Incorporated (collectively “Voestalpine, et al.”) beginning in 2018.  Specifically, Commerce in its motion acknowledges that it lacks documentation explaining why it rejected all 502 requests.  This motion for voluntary remand comes only a couple months after Commerce requested the same type of voluntary remand in six separate Section 232 appeals.

On Sept. 20, the U.S. Department of Commerce published a new set of anti-dumping and countervailing duty regulations governing a multitude of administrative proceedings including:

• Changes to new shipper reviews;
• Scope ruling requests;
• Anti-circumvention inquiries;
• Covered merchandise referrals from U.S. Customs and Border Protection under the Enforce and Protect Act; and …