Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade law news:     

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)  

  • CBP published a bulletin to announce its initiation of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations: Aluminum extrusions from the People’s Republic of China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, the Republic of Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 
  • CBP announced that it has processed all outstanding imports subject to the Continuing Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, otherwise known as the Byrd Amendment.  
    • During the period of its implementation of the act, CBP disbursed $3.6 billion of antidumping and countervailing duties to affected domestic producers injured by foreign dumping and subsidies. 
  • CBP seized more than $800K in counterfeit merchandise in Puerto Rico 
    • Officers and import specialists seized 44 shipments from various express consignment facilities in Puerto Rico containing products violating intellectual property rights. If the items were genuine, the combined Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is estimated at $873,000. 
  • Officers in Cincinnati seized three shipments containing 795 pieces of counterfeit designer watches and jewelry. The items, if genuine, would have had a combined Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $3.16 million. 
  • CBP officers seized a shipment of China-bound deuterium cylinders in Norfolk on October 18 for violating nuclear nonproliferation licensing laws. 
  • CBP provides interim guidance to the Port, Center of Excellence and Expertise (Center), and San Juan Field Office (SJFO) personnel on an update to entry summary cancellation policy.  
    • Effective immediately, the agency will grant the option to have the original entry summary canceled and taken off a daily or periodic statement while it is in CBP control as long as there is a valid bond, and the replacement entry summary is scheduled for payment. 
    • This action will be beneficial to the trade, since CBP will no longer demand payment to be tendered on both the original and the replacement entry when a cancellation request is submitted. 
  • ACE entry summary update: On November 4, CBP will deploy the Entry Summary Query enhancement to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) production environment.  
    • The update enables filers to query entry summaries that have been filed in ACE. Additionally, it enables surety companies to query entry summaries for which they have an associated active bond.   

 World Trade Organization 

  • The WTO issued the 2023 edition of Trade Profiles, an annual publication providing key data on merchandise trade and trade in commercial services for 197 economies. 
    • Each two-page profile provides a breakdown of the economy’s major exports and imports and its main trading partners. 

 U.S. Department of Commerce 

  • The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported third quarter real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.9%, exceeding expectations. The increase in GDP is in large part due to Americans spending and making more.  
  • U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that registration is now open for SelectUSA’s 10th Investment Summit to be held June 23 – 26, 2024, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. 
    • The SelectUSA Investment Summit is the highest-profile event dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States, with a focus on the U.S. investment environment, industry trends, and creating business opportunities. 
  • At the direction of President Biden, the Department of Commerce will establish a U.S. artificial intelligence safety institute to lead efforts on AI Safety. 
  • The Department of Commerce received six scope ruling applications in the AD/CVD aluminum extrusion investigation proceeding. 
  • Drawn stainless steel sinks from the People’s Republic of China: Final results of the expedited second sunset review of the antidumping duty order. 

United States Trade Representative (USTR)  

  • USTR announces departure of Ambassador Jayme White 
    • Ambassador White helped lead USTR’s engagement with partners in the Western Hemisphere, Europe and the Middle East, and on key labor and environmental issues. Her last day will be November 1. 
  • Cara Morrow will return to the office effective immediately as Senior Advisor. Morrow will oversee key parts of President Biden’s worker-centered trade agenda, which will include close coordination with the Office of Western Hemisphere, the Office of Europe & the Middle East, the Office of Labor Affairs, and the Office of Environment & Natural Resources. 
  • USTR announces successful resolution of rapid response mechanism labor matter at Mexican airline 
    • The announcement marks resolution of a USMCA facility-specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) petition regarding the situation at Aerotransportes Mas de Carga (Mas Air), a Mexico City-based airline that provides cargo transportation service, where workers were previously denied their freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. 

 Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) 

  • Four arrested and multiple Russian nationals charged in connection with two schemes to evade sanctions and send U.S. technology used in weapons systems to Russia. 
  • BIS announced the imposition of a civil penalty of $44,750 against a Pennsylvania company to resolve three violations of the antiboycott provisions of the Export Administration Regulations.  
    • The company voluntarily disclosed the conduct to BIS, cooperated with the investigation by BIS’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance (OAC), and took remedial measures after discovering the conduct at issue.  
    • As part of the settlement with BIS, the company admitted to alleged violations involving the furnishing of information about business relationships with boycotted countries or blacklisted persons and the failure to report the receipt of a request to engage in a restrictive trade practice or foreign boycott against a country friendly to the United States. 
  • Brooklyn resident and two Russian-Canadian nationals charged with massive sanctions evasion and export control scheme 
    • The defendants allegedly evaded sanctions, shipping equipment to Russia vital for their precision-guided weapons systems, some of which has been used on the battlefield in Ukraine. 
  • BIS released two Federal Register Notices announcing interim final rules (IFR) for Export Controls on Semiconductor Manufacturing Items (SME IFR) and Implementation of Additional Export Controls: Certain Advanced Computing Items; Supercomputer and Semiconductor End Use; Updates and Corrections (AC/S IFR).  
    • These two rules revise and further advance the U.S. national security objectives of the IFR released on Oct. 7, 2022. 

 U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) 

  • Treasury hardens sanctions with 130 new Russian evasion and military-industrial targets 
    • These actions take aim at Russia’s domestic industrial base, which is seeking to reinvent itself as the maintainer of Russia’s war machine. With these designations, Treasury is disrupting producers, exporters, and importers of nearly all of the high-priority items identified by the international coalition imposing sanctions and export controls on Russia. 
  • Sanctions list updates: 
    • Burma-related designations; Counter narcotics designations removals; Issuance of Burma-related Directive 1.  
    • Russia-related Designations, Updates and Removal; Counter Terrorism Designation Update; Issuance of Russia-related General Licenses. 
    • Russia-related Designation.  

Administration 

  • President Biden issued an Artificial Intelligence Executive Order 
    • The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more.  

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

  • Electronic filing of compliance certificate data now being tested 
    • The CPSC has launched a beta pilot to test importers’ and brokers’ ability to electronically file data from certificates of compliance for CPSC-regulated consumer products at the time of entry. Findings will be used to inform a future rulemaking to make e-filing permanent, which the CPSC expects to take place by early 2025. 

International Updates 

  • The U.S. and the European Union have pushed back a deadline for concluding negotiations on a steel trade agreement 
    • In October 2021 the U.S. lifted its Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products imported from the EU. The EU, in turn, suspended its related retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. These actions were designed to give the two sides time to negotiate a long-term deal. A recent meeting of U.S. and EU officials confirmed that the Oct. 31, 2023, deadline for concluding those negotiations would not be met. However, a joint statement said the two sides “look forward to continuing to make progress…”  

Industry Updates 

  • US Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to steel import tariffs based on the argument that former President Donald Trump exceeded his authority in imposing them in 2020.

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