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GUIDANCE: Sixth Round of Products Excluded from Section 301 Duties (Tranche 1) - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

BACKGROUND:

On July 9, 2019, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published Federal Register (FR) Notice 84 FR 32821 announcing the decision to grant the sixth round of certain exclusion requests from the 25 percent duty assessed under the Section 301 investigation related to goods from China (Tranche 1).  The product exclusions announced in this notice will apply as of the July 6, 2018 effective date and will extend for one year after the publication of the Federal Register Notice, 84 FR 32821.

As set out in the Annex to the Federal Register Notice (84 FR 32821), the exclusions are established as an exclusion reflected in 110 specially prepared product descriptions.

In accordance with the 83 FR 32181 notice, the exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the Annex, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. Further, the scope of each exclusion is governed by the scope of the product descriptions in the Annex to the Federal Register Notice, and not by the product descriptions set out in any particular request for exclusion.

The functionality for the acceptance of the sixth round of products excluded from Section 301 duties will be available in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) on July 11, 2019.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING ENTRIES SUBJECT TO PRODUCT EXCLUSIONS:

Instructions on submitting entries to CBP containing products granted exclusions by the USTR from the Section 301 measures in 84 FR 32821 are as follows:

In addition to reporting the regular Chapters 84, 85, & 90 classifications of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) for the imported merchandise, importers shall report the HTSUS classification 9903.88.11 (Articles the products of China, as provided for in U.S. note 20(n) to this subchapter, each covered by an exclusion granted by the U.S. Trade Representative) for imported merchandise subject to the exclusion.

Importers shall not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when HTS 9903.88.11 is submitted.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Duty exclusions granted by the USTR are retroactive on imports to the initial effective date of July 6, 2018.

To request an administrative refund for previous imports of duty-excluded products granted by the USTR, importers may follow the same entry filing instructions as above to file a Post Summary Correction on unliquidated entry summaries.  If the entry has already liquidated, importers may protest the liquidation.

Included in the Annex to 84 FR 32821 are corrections to typographical errors to the Annex for the fifth round of Section 301 product exclusions, 84 FR 25895.  Where 8404.40.4000 was included with the description to excluded product item (53) and 8504.40.0000 was included with the description to excluded product item (54), 8504.40.4000 has been inserting in lieu thereof.  Also, included is the correction of excluded product description item (27) HTS from 8427.10.8090 to 8427.10.8070 and 8427.10.8095. 

Reminder:  When submitting an entry summary in which a heading or subheading in Chapter 99 is claimed on imported merchandise, importers should refer to CSMS 18-000657 (Entry Summary Order of Reporting for Multiple HTS in ACE).

Imports which have been granted a product exclusion from the Section 301 measures, and which are not subject to the Section 301 duties, are not covered by the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) provisions of the Section 301 Federal Register notices, but instead are subject to the FTZ provisions in 19 CFR part 146.

For more information, please refer to the July 9, 2019 Federal Register notice 84 FR 32821.

Questions from the importing community concerning ACE entry rejections involving product exclusion numbers should be referred to their CBP Client Representative.

Questions related to Section 301 entry filing requirements should be emailed to Traderemedy@cbp.dhs.gov.


OTEXA: Announcements - Office of Textile and Apparel

07/10/2019 – The Department of Commerce is seeking comments from intellectual property rights holders, online third-party marketplaces and other third-party intermediaries, and other private-sector stakeholders on the state of counterfeit and pirated goods trafficking through online third-party marketplaces and recommendations for curbing the trafficking in such counterfeit and pirated goods. Comments must be received by July 29, 2019. See the Federal Register Notice

07/03/2019 May 2019 Textile and Apparel Import Report


Federal Register Notices:

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today determined that revoking the existing antidumping duty orders on imports of sodium nitrite from China and Germany and the existing countervailing duty order on imports of this product from China would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. 

As a result of the Commission’s affirmative determinations, the existing antidumping duty orders on imports of this product from China and Germany and the existing countervailing duty order on imports of this product from China will remain in place. 

Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Irving A. Williamson, Meredith M. Broadbent, Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, and Jason E. Kearns voted in the affirmative.  

Today’s action comes under the five-year (sunset) review process required by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.  See the attached page for background on these five-year (sunset) reviews.

The Commission’s public report Sodium Nitrite from China and Germany (Inv. Nos. 701-TA-453 and 731-TA-1136-1137 (Second Review), USITC Publication 4936, July 2019) will contain the views of the Commission and information developed during the reviews.

The report will be available by August 21, 2019; when available, it may be accessed on the USITC website at: https://www.usitc.gov/commission_publications_library.

BACKGROUND

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time.

The Commission’s institution notice in five-year reviews requests that interested parties file responses with the Commission concerning the likely effects of revoking the order under review as well as other information.

Generally within 95 days from institution, the Commission will determine whether the responses it has received reflect an adequate or inadequate level of interest in a full review.  If responses to the USITC’s notice of institution are adequate, or if other circumstances warrant a full review, the Commission conducts a full review, which includes a public hearing and issuance of questionnaires.

The Commission generally does not hold a hearing or conduct further investigative activities in expedited reviews.  Commissioners base their injury determination in expedited reviews on the facts available, including the Commission’s prior injury and review determinations, responses received to its notice of institution, data collected by staff in connection with the review, and information provided by the Department of Commerce.

The five-year (sunset) reviews concerning Sodium Nitrite from China and Germany were instituted on January 2, 2019.

On April 12, 2019, the Commission voted to conduct expedited reviews. Chairman David S. Johanson and Commissioners Irving A. Williamson, Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Meredith M. Broadbent, and Jason E. Kearns concluded that the domestic group response was adequate and the respondent group responses were inadequate and voted for expedited reviews. 

A record of the Commission’s vote to conduct expedited reviews is available from the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.  Requests may be made by telephone by calling 202-205-1802.


U.S. Department of Commerce Issues Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations of Imports of Fabricated Structural Steel from China, Canada, and Mexico - U.S. Department of Commerce

Today (7/8/19), the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its preliminary determinations in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada, China, and Mexico. In the China and Mexico investigations, Commerce made affirmative determinations, finding that exporters received countervailable subsidies at rates ranging from 30.30 to 177.43 percent, and 0.01 (de minimis) to 74.01 percent, respectively. In the Canada investigation, Commerce made a negative determination, finding that exporters received countervailable subsidies at de minimis levels ranging from 0.12 to 0.45 percent.

Based on these preliminary determinations, the Department of Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of fabricated structural steel from China and Mexico.

In 2018, imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada, China, and Mexico were valued at an estimated $722.5 million, $897.5 million, and $622.4 million, respectively.

The petitioner for these investigations is the American Institute of Steel Construction Full Member Subgroup (Chicago, IL).

The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 172 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 219 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.

Antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 488 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final CVD determinations on or about November 19, 2019.
If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about January 2, 2020. If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations in these investigations, and the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue CVD orders. If Commerce makes negative final determinations, or the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated and no orders will be issued.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on today’s decisions.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.

Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to antidumping duties. Companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks, or production inputs, are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies.


GUIDANCE: Exclusion of Particular Products from Section 201 (Solar Products) - U.S. Customs & Border Protection

This action was taken after the respective U.S industries filed petitions under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and the ITC found that these U.S. industries were injured by imported goods.  These measures have a duration of four years for solar cells and panels, and three years for washing machines and parts.  These measures cover imports from all countries, except certain developing countries.  Canada is also excluded from the washing machines/parts measures.  See Federal Register 83 FR 3541 and 83 FR 3553.

On September 19, 2018, The Trade Representative granted certain product exclusion requests with a determination in the Federal Register Notice (83 FR 47393).

As the result of an evaluation of the factors set out in the February 14 notice (83 FR 47393), the Trade Representative has determined to grant the product exclusions set out in the Annex to this notice. 

GUIDANCE

On June 13, 2019 the USTR published Federal Register Notice 84 FR 27684 announcing the exclusion of certain solar products.  The Section 201 Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification 9903.45.25 will no longer need to be filed with imports of goods described in subdivisions (15), (16), and (17) of Note 18, Subchapter III, Chapter 99, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.  

ANNEX to 84 FR 27684

Effective with respect to article entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 13, 2019, U.S. note 18 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is modified by inserting the following new subdivisions in numerical sequence at the end of subdivision (c)(iii):

“(15) bifacial solar panels that absorb light and generate electricity on each side of the panel and that consist of only bifacial solar cells that absorb light and generate electricity on each side of the cells;

(16) flexible fiberglass solar panels without glass components other than fiberglass, such panels having power outputs ranging from 250 to 900 watts;

(17) solar panels consisting of solar cells arranged in rows that are laminated in the panel and that are separated by more than 10 mm, with an optical film spanning the gaps between all rows that is designed to direct sunlight onto the solar cells, and not including panels that lack said optical film or only have a white or other backing layer that absorbs or scatters sunlight.”
 
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