The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that applying Section 301 tariffs to the contents of packages that previously benefited from de minimis, as proposed in the House (see 2407080049), would increase revenue from tariffs by about $23.5 billion in the 2024-2034 period, but would only require reprogramming of ACE and more money for data storage and ACE maintenance, not new CBP officers. The CBO estimated that improving ACE would cost $3 million, and that CBP would need $2 million annually to maintain the system.

Last week, the Court of International Trade said anti-forced labor advocacy group International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) didn't have standing to challenge CBP's inaction in responding to a petition to ban cocoa from Cote d'Ivoire, alleging that it's harvested by child labor (see 2408080049). Terrence Collingsworth, counsel for IRAdvocates, told us he intends to appeal the decision but, should that fail, he is ready to bring alternative plaintiffs before the court who may more clearly establish standing.

The International Trade Commission will recommend a tariff-rate quota on imports of polyester staple fiber, as well as an absolute quota on temporary imports under bond of the product -- starting at zero -- as Section 201 safeguard remedies to be considered by President Joe Biden.

Consumers who purchase the drug omeprazole are the "ultimate" purchasers of imported prescription medication, not the retail pharmacy that may be supplying the drug, the CBP ruled June 14.

International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

President Joe Biden is again increasing the quantity of solar cells allowed under a Section 201 safeguard tariff-rate quota, he said in a proclamation issued Aug. 12. Retroactively effective for entries on or after Aug. 1, imports up to a 12.5 GW limit will now be allowed in duty-free, up from 5 GW prior to that date.

Thirty-five associations are calling for DHS, CBP and Congress to finalize the selection of those who will be serving in this current term of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), as COAC is short on members by 30% and that lack of a full roster is hindering the committee from fulfilling all the work it would like to do, the groups say.

The Canada Industrial Relations Board determined on Aug. 9 that stopping freight rail service in Canada would not result in an immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public. This means that members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) could go on strike as early as Aug. 22 should union members and the two Canadian freight railways, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) fail to negotiate a new labor contract.

A potential labor strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports this fall is encouraging many retailers to take precautions, such as bringing in merchandise earlier or shifting cargo to West Coast ports, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said last week.

As CBP deploys measures to ensure de minimis compliance among importers, there are some big-picture items that the agency and Congress need to consider to enable scalability or prevent loopholes, according to Lenny Feldman, managing partner with Sandler Travis.