There’s a lot of change going on in the international trade sector. So, to help our shipper customers and supply chain partners keep up with product exclusion modifications, new detention orders, tariff duty reductions, and import licensing requirements, we’ve rounded up some of the most important shipping updates going on right now:
A Reminder to the Trade Community on Section 301 Exclusions
Exclusions from the Section 301 additional duty for China originated goods expired on December 31, 2020. All goods under List 1-3 are subject to the 25% additional duty; list 4A is subject to the 7.5% additional duty. In light of the evolving nature of the battle against COVID-19, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined to extend the exclusions for medical-care products to address the COVID-19 outbreak until March 31, 2021, and the modifications will be effective from January 1, 2021, to March 31, 2021.
CSMS #45271041 – GUIDANCE: Additional Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Product Exclusions and Revisions to Exclusion Process
The purpose of this message is to provide guidance on the Department of Commerce’s December 14, 2020 interim final rule issuing new Section 232 exclusions. The U.S. Department of Commerce published Federal Register (FR) Notice 85 FR 81060, revising aspects of Commerce’s process for requesting product exclusions from Section 232 measures on steel and aluminum imports, and issuing 123 new Section 232 exclusions. These new exclusions are called General Approved Exclusions (GAEs), and exclude 123 entire Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). The exclusions are effective for article entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after December 29, 2020. GAEs may be used by any importer and have no quantitative limit. Exclusions are effective starting December 29, 2020, and no retroactive relief will be granted.
New Detention Order for Cotton, Tomato Imports from China’s Xinjiang Region
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that effective January 13, 2021 its officers at U.S. ports of entry will detain cotton and tomato products from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The agency said the Withhold Release Order (WRO) on these products is based on information that “reasonably indicates” the use of prisoner or forced labor. The WRO covers Xinjiang-origin products such as apparel, textiles, tomato seeds, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and other goods made with cotton and tomatoes. As per CBP, “Importers are responsible for ensuring the products they are attempting to import do not exploit forced labor at any point in their supply chain, including the production or harvesting of the raw material.”
Tariff Duty Reduction Reflects U.S. Agreement with European Union
As the result of the United States entering an agreement with the European Union on November 20, 2020, PP 10128 modifies the duty rates for six tariff items identified in Annex II of 85 FRN 85491. The six tariff subheadings subject to this duty reduction include 1604.20.05, 3214.90.50, 3601.00.00, 7013.41.50, 9613.11.00, and 9613.90.80. These duty reductions are retroactive as of August 1, 2020 and applicable for unliquidated entry summaries or entry summaries not final as of Aug. 1. Further duty reductions on the following five tariff subheadings (1604.20.05, 3214.90.50, 3601.00.00, 9613.11.00, and 9613.90.80) for goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption will take effect Aug. 1.
New Import License Requirement for Aluminum Products starts Jan. 25
The U.S. Commerce Department recently announced the creation of the Aluminum Import Monitoring Analysis (AIM) system to enable Commerce and the public to better detect potential transshipment and circumvention involving imported aluminum products. Under AIM, importers will be required to obtain an import license before importing aluminum products, effective January 25, 2021. The Federal Register notice is here. The new licensing system, which is available on the Commerce Department’s website, will open for pre-registration on January 4, 2021. Importers and other license applicants will need to register for an account to create a license.
The list of aluminum products subject to the new licensing requirement is available here. CBP recommended the Trade “to plan accordingly and obtain any licenses needed for entry in advance from the Commerce website.” The new aluminum license system will use the same platform as the steel licensing system (SIMA), so users with an existing steel license account do not need to create new accounts. Commerce published a final rule concerning the aluminum license, which includes details about the new system such as license requirements and the platform for the license application.
Also, for those who missed out on some of the other top stories that are currently impacting the international shipping industry, check out the following article highlights.
