CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Steel and aluminum tariffs and the announcement of tariffs on Chinese goods are pushing the world toward a global trade war, World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevedo said March 28 on BBC. But there's still time to avoid a trade war, he said, because, for the most part, countries have merely announced tariffs, not imposed them, and are negotiating. "The fact is, that when you announce certain types of measures, and others deem that those measures are not in compliance with their obligations, and threaten to retaliate, that is a problem. It is a big problem. I don’t think anybody believes this is something minor, even in the U.S. administration," he said. "People are beginning to understand, I hope, how serious this is, and the kind of impact it could have on the global economy," he said, and that's why, he thinks, the U.S. is negotiating with countries around the world to find ways to avoid imposing steel and aluminum tariffs.
An additional two presidential proclamations related to Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel were published March 28 in the Federal Register. One new detail was released on how companies can make arguments that the steel or aluminum they import should be excluded from tariffs. The proclamation said the commerce secretary can take "into account the regional availability of particular articles, the ability to transport articles within the United States, and any other factors as the Secretary deems appropriate."
The Court of International Trade will hear arguments March 29 on whether it should issue a temporary block of recently imposed Section 232 steel tariffs as they apply to a Miami-based importer. Severstal Export Miami, a subsidiary of the Russian steel manufacturer PAO Severstal, argues that the tariffs are unconstitutional because they weren’t actually meant to address national security -- a fact purportedly belied by President Donald Trump’s own tweets -- and unenforceable for failure to provide fair notice to companies with shipments already on the water.
South Korea agreed to change "how it conducts verification of origin for U.S. products," and establish a working group to resolve future origin verification issues, as part of a deal to renegotiate U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement announced March 25. The changes come on top of an agreement by South Korea to open its auto market by lifting caps on imports that don't match South Korean safety standards (see 1803260005), according to additional details of the agreement in principle released by the U.S. Trade Representative the evening of March 27. The preliminary deal also makes other changes on auto industry trade, including that:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 19-25:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 19-23 in case they were missed.
The European Commission will open a safeguard investigation on 26 steel products, officials announced March 26, as some steel imports have been increasing over the last two years. "This trend may be even stronger now that the access to the US market has been limited and steel products from other parts of the world previously destined to the US may be redirected to Europe, disturbing the market and skewing prices." If the investigation's results support it, the EU could impose tariffs or quotas to protect its steel producers. The EU aims to complete the investigation within nine months, but left open the possibility of instituting provisional measures while the investigation is underway. The EU had earlier said it might raise tariffs on U.S. goods if the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs harmed EU producers (see 1803160026). The U.S. tariffs do not apply to the EU, but that exemption is temporary, and dependent on U.S. views on EU cooperation on trade.
The International Trade Commission on March 23 issued Revision 2 to the 2018 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The main reason for the update was to implement new Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel products (see 1803230060). The ITC also made technical corrections and changes related to recently imposed Section 201 safeguard duties on solar cells and residential washers. The changes, most of which took effect March 23, are as follows:
The International Trade Commission on March 23 issued Revision 2 to the 2018 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes, many of which take immediate effect, include provisions required to implement Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel products that took effect March 23 (see 1803230014). The ITC said it is aware of some technical issues with the documents and is "working to resolve it as quickly as possible." International Trade Today will have more details on the changes in a subsequent issue.