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

Administration  

  • During a White House event, President Trump said that the 145% tariff on Chinese goods would soon come down “substantially,” but not to 0%. 
  • President Trump said that he could resume reciprocal tariffs on countries as soon as 2-3 weeks.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

  • To implement the Executive Order addressing low-value imports from China, CBP announced that the agency will be releasing updates to the certification environment for testing. These changes are scheduled to be deployed to production at 12:01 a.m. ET on May 2.
  • In a CSMS message, CBP reminded brokers and importers that, starting May 2, goods from China that were previously eligible for the de minimis exemption must now use a Type 11 or Type 01 entry.
  • CBP seized a shipment of counterfeit designer jewelry with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $9,222,800, had the goods been genuine.

Bureau of Industry and Security 

  • BIS issued a Federal Register notice requesting comment on the Section 232 national security investigation of imports of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and their parts. Comments are due May 16. 
  • BIS announced that it has initiated a 232 investigation to evaluate the effects of processed critical minerals and their derivative products on U.S. national security.

Department of Commerce 

  • Commerce initiated a less-than-fair-value and countervailing duty investigations on certain monomers and oligomers from Korea and Taiwan.
  • Commerce issued its final affirmative determinations in the AD/CVD investigations on imports of high chrome cast iron grinding media from India. The AD rates will be 9.58%, and the CVD rates will be 3.16% for Indian exporters.
  • Commerce issued its final affirmative determinations on countervailing subsidies provided to producers and exporters of ceramic tile from India. 

Department of Justice

  • The (DOJ) announced the filing of a complaint against Barco Uniforms Inc. and its suppliers, alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act by failing to pay duties on apparel imported from China.

Court of International Trade (CIT)  

  • The CIT denied a motion from importers to put an emergency block on President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
  • CIT ruled that Hoshine Silicon (Jia Xiang) Industry Co. has constitutional and statutory standing to challenge a withhold release order on silica-based products made by its parent company, but ultimately dismissed the case, finding that it was brought after the statute of limitations had run out.

United States Trade Representative (USTR)

  • USTR published its Section 301 determination on U.S. shipbuilding. The agency proposes beginning fee collection on foreign-built vessels docking at U.S. ports on October 14. Members of the public may submit a comment on the proposal, comments are due May 19. 

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)

  • The FMC’s chief administrative law judge ordered ocean carrier ZIM Integrated Shipping Services to pay Samsung $3.68 million for charging demurrage fees that violate the Shipping Act.
  • The FMC announced it has classified the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company (Chipolbrok) as a controlled carrier of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and is adding it to the Commission’s Controlled Carrier List.

Industry News 

  • Twelve U.S. states filed a lawsuit alleging President Trump exceeded his authority in imposing tariffs under IEEPA. The lawsuit also challenges CBP’s series of Cargo Systems Messaging Service guidance documents implementing the tariffs under the Administrative Procedure Act.

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