USTR Solicits Comments on Whether to Increase China
301 Tariffs on Certain Tungsten Products, Wafers and Polysilicon – Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman
& Klestadt LLP

Further to its recent
notice, the USTR announced on September 19, 2024 that it is seeking
comments on whether to increase China 301 tariffs to 25% for 3
subheadings covering certain tungsten products and 50% for 2
subheadings covering wafers and polysilicon. Further background can
be found here.

The specific items are as follows:

Tungsten

• 8101.94.00
  (Tungsten, unwrought (including bars and rods obtained simply
  by sintering)).
• 8101.99.10
  (Tungsten bars and rods (o/than those obtained simply by
  sintering), profiles, plates, sheets, strip and foil).
• 8101.99.80
  (Tungsten, articles nesoi).

Wafers / Polysilicon

• 2804.61.00
  (Silicon containing by weight not less than 99.99 percent of
  silicon).
• 3818.00.00
  (Chemical elements doped for use in electronics, in the form
  of discs, wafers etc., chemical compounds doped for electronic
  use).

 A portal for
public comments will be open from September 23 – October 22, 2024.
The USTR specifically invites comments on

• The
  extent to which the proposed modification would enhance the
  effectiveness of the tariff actions in obtaining the
  elimination of or in counteracting China’s acts, policies, and
  practices related to technology transfer, intellectual
  property and innovation; and

The likely effects of
the proposed modification on the U.S. economy, including
consumers. 

Please do not hesitate
to contact any of our attorneys if we can assistance in the
preparation of such comments or to further discuss the overall
impact of the China 301 action on your company’s operations.
 

Industry Advisory: All FMC Statutes and Regulations
Remain in Full Effect in the Event of Terminal Closures Related to
Possible Work Stoppage – Federal Maritime Commission

Regulated entities
are reminded that all statutes and regulations administered by the
Federal Maritime Commission remain in effect during any terminal
closures related to potential work stoppage at ports in the East
Coast and Gulf of Mexico regions.

The Commission is
directing its Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations, and Compliance
to investigate any reports of unlawful conduct of regulated
entities. The FMC will prosecute violators to the fullest extent of
the law.  

Common carriers and
marine terminal operators (MTOs) must continue to comply with all
statutory and regulatory requirements, including rules governing
tariffs, service contracts, MTO schedules, the application of and
invoicing for demurrage and detention, and all other fees and
surcharges assessed. Demurrage, detention, and all other fees and
surcharges must be reasonable, clearly defined, and serve a
specific measurable purpose.

FMC regulations require
that demurrage and detention fees serve as legitimate financial
incentives to encourage cargo movement. Pursuant to these
requirements, the Commission will scrutinize any demurrage and
detention charges assessed during terminal closures.

Demurrage and
detention invoicing must be lawful. The Commission’s rule on
such invoicing, implementing provisions of the Ocean Shipping
Reform Act of 2022, became effective on May 28, 2024.
 Invoices that do not include required information, or that
are sent to the wrong entity, are not valid.

To report unlawful
actions or to file a complaint, individuals or entities can:

• File
  a complaint proceeding  for adjudication before the FMC’s
  Office of Administrative Law Judges.
   
• Submit
  a Charge Complaint requesting
  refund of waiver of an erroneous or unlawful charge assessed
  by a common carrier for rapid review by the Commission.
   
• Request
  informal assistance to resolve a dispute. The Commission’s
  Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute
  Resolution Services (CADRS) will
  facilitate communications and seek to quickly resolve disputes
  between a shipper and a common carrier or MTO. Unlike an order
  issued in a legal proceeding, resolutions reached through
  CADRS are voluntary.
   
• Report
  allegations of violations with the Commission’s Bureau of
  Enforcement, Investigations, and Compliance. Based on the
  information received, a formal investigation may be launched.
   
• Provide
  concerns and information for the benefit of the Commission’s
  knowledge at complaints@fmc.gov.

Additional
information about options for raising and addressing disputes can
be found in this instructional video.
 

USTR Issues Federal Register Notice Announcing a
Docket for Public Comments on Proposed Tariff Increases Following
the Four-Year Review – U.S. Trade Representative

In a Federal Register
notice issued today, USTR establishes a 30-day period for public
comments on proposed modifications announced on September 13, 2024 to
the tariff actions in the Section 301 investigation of China’s
Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer,
Intellectual Property, and Innovation. The docket will open on
September 23, 2024 and close on October 22, 2024.  Procedures
for filing comments are detailed in USTR’s Federal Register notice,
which is available here. 
 

Federal Register Notices:

• Antidumping
  or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews:
  Certain Softwood Lumber Products From Canada: Notice of Final
  Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review
• Investigations;
  Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain
  Cochlear Implant Systems and Components Thereof; Notice of
  Institution of Investigation
• Silicomanganese
  From India, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela; Scheduling of Expedited
  Five-Year Reviews
• Circular
  Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From China; Scheduling of
  Expedited Five-Year Reviews
• Laminated Woven
  Sacks From Vietnam; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Reviews
• Antidumping
  or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews:
  Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet From South Africa: Final Results
  of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
• Circular
  Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the Sultanate of Oman:
  Final Results of the Administrative Review of the Antidumping
  Duty Order; 2021-2022
• Certain
  Softwood Lumber Products From Canada: Amended Final Results of
  Antidumping Duty Administrative Review in Part; 2022
• Antidumping
  or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews:
  United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Article 10.12:
  Binational Panel Review: Notice of Request for Panel Review
• Investigations;
  Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain
  Pick-Up Truck Folding Bed Cover Systems and Components Thereof
  (III); Notice of a Commission Final Determination of Violation
  of Section 337; Issuance of a General Exclusion Order and Two
  Cease and Desist Orders; Termination of the Investigation
• Antidumping
  or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews:
  Certain Tungsten Shot From People’s Republic of China:
  Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the
  Countervailing Duty Investigation
• Investigations;
  Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Crystalline
  Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China
• Antidumping
  or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Raw
  Flexible Magnets From the People’s Republic of China and
  Taiwan: Final Results of the Expedited Third Sunset Reviews of
  the Antidumping Duty Orders
• Brass Rod
  From Israel: Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders
• Ceramic
  Tile From India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty
  Determination, Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances
  Determination, in Part, and Alignment of Final Determination
  With the Final Antidumping Duty Determination
• Prestressed
  Concrete Steel Wire Strand From Mexico: Final Affirmative
  Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order
• Certain
  Pasta From Italy and the Republic of Türkiye: Continuation of
  Antidumping Duty Orders and Countervailing Duty Orders
• Sales at
  Less Than Fair Value; Determinations, Investigations, etc.:
  Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates From the People’s
  Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty
  Determination and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical
  Circumstances
• Aluminum
  Lithographic Printing Plates From Japan: Final Affirmative
  Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value
• Aluminum
  Lithographic Printing Plates From the People’s Republic of
  China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at
  Less-Than-Fair-Value and Final Affirmative Determination of
  Critical Circumstances
   

Cotton Board Rules and Regulations: Adjusting
Supplemental Assessment on Imports (2024 Amendments) – USDA

AGENCY: Agricultural
Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: The
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is amending the Cotton Board
Rules and Regulations, decreasing the value assigned to imported
cotton for the purposes of calculating supplemental assessments
collected for use by the Cotton Research and Promotion Program.
This amendment is required each year to ensure that assessments
collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported
products will be the same as those paid on domestically produced
cotton. In addition, AMS is updating the Import Assessment Table to
account for changes since the last assessment adjustment in 2023.

DATES: This
direct final rule is effective November 15, 2024, without further
action or notice, unless significant adverse comment is received by
October 16, 2024. If significant adverse comment is received, AMS
will publish a timely withdrawal of the amendment in the Federal
Register

SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION:
 

USITC Releases The Year in Trade 2023 – U.S.
International Trade Commission

The U.S.
International Trade Commission (USITC) today released The Year in Trade 2023 (Inv.
No. 163-003), its annual overview of developments regarding the
operation of the U.S. trade agreements program for 2023.

The USITC’s The Year
in Trade is one of the government’s most comprehensive reports
available regarding activities related to U.S. trade policies,
agreements, and trade laws. This report is the 75th in a series of
annual reports submitted to the U.S. Congress under section 163(c)
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2213(c)) and its predecessor
legislation.

The publication
provides a summary of U.S. international trade laws and actions
under these laws, activities of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
and select multilateral institutions, and developments regarding
U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) and U.S. bilateral trade
relations with major trading partners in 2023. In addition, topics
covered in The Year in Trade 2023 include:

• an
  overview of the global trade environment; 
• U.S.
  safeguard, antidumping, countervailing duty, intellectual
  property rights infringement, national security, and section
  301 investigations and actions during 2023;
• U.S.
  trade preference programs, including the U.S. Generalized
  System of Preferences, the Nepal Trade Preferences Act, the
  African Growth and Opportunity Act, and the Caribbean Basin
  Economic Recovery Act, including initiatives for Haiti;
• WTO
  dispute settlement and other significant activities in the
  WTO; 
• developments
  under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
  Development, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and
  trade initiatives under negotiation, including the
  Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and the
  Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity;
• implementation
  and enforcement of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
  and other U.S. FTAs in force; and
• trade
  patterns and developments in trading relationships with
  selected major U.S. partners—the European Union, Canada,
  Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, and Kenya.

The report and
accompanying dashboard on the report home page provide an overview
of U.S. trade in merchandise and services during 2023. Statistical
tables highlight U.S. bilateral trade with major partners and trade
under U.S. preference programs and FTAs.

The Year in Trade
2023 (USITC Publication 5547, September 2024) will be posted on the
USITC’s Internet site at https://www.usitc.gov/sites/default/files/publications/332/pub5547.pdf. 

The home page of the report is available at: www.usitc.gov/publications/332/year_in_trade_2023.
 

The home page
displays interactive figures and tables of underlying data on U.S.
merchandise and services trade by country and by sector; U.S.
imports under different trade preferences programs; information on
Commission antidumping, countervailing duty, safeguard, and section
337 investigations; and information on WTO dispute settlement cases
involving the United States. 

For more information
about previous The Year in Trade reports, please refer to the
Commission’s Investigations Database System (IDS): https://ids.usitc.gov/.
 

Rubio Introduces Bill to Prevent Communist China
from Evading U.S. Tariffs – Senator Marco
Rubio

Under the Trump
Administration, Chinese-manufactured imports were subject to large
tariffs. China countered with a multi-pronged strategy to evade
U.S. tariffs and trade restrictions. 

Recently, Chinese
manufacturers have exploited a loophole in U.S. trade law by
shifting manufacturing facilities to third countries with favorable
U.S. trade terms, such as Mexico, Vietnam, and Malaysia. This
“country hopping” has allowed Chinese companies to evade tariffs
and flood the U.S. market with cheap goods.

U.S. Senator Marco
Rubio (R-FL) introduced the Stopping Adversarial Tariff Evasion Act
to close this loophole and ensure tariffs apply to goods
manufactured by a foreign adversary no matter where the production
happens. 

• “America’s
  manufacturing sector has faced growing challenges from unfair
  foreign competition, particularly from Communist China. The
  Chinese Communist Party has eroded our industrial base for
  decades, and now it is bypassing the laws put in place to halt
  it. My legislation would ensure goods produced by our
  adversaries are treated as such, no matter where they’re made.
   
• “We
  must protect our industries and workers from these predatory
  practices before it’s too late. America cannot afford to
  surrender its economic future to Beijing.” – Senator Rubio

Flashback … Senator
Rubio introduced a report detailing the successes and failures of
Communist China’s “Made in China 2025” industrial policy, including
the country’s domination of supply chains. He also introduced legislation to
tackle “country hopping” in auto manufacturing.
 

BBB Tip: "Brushing” Scam Indicates a Serious
Problem for Victims – Better Business
Bureau

Free boxloads of
merchandise from Amazon or other companies right on your doorstep!
What could be bad about getting the Santa treatment all year long?
Plenty! Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns consumers that this
recent scam has a scary downside. You are not the one who hit the
jackpot; a scammer is the real winner.

Read article here
 

Temu Can’t Be Trusted With Your Data. We Need States
To Step In – Newsweek.com

Read article
here