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USITC To Begin Monitoring Imports of Strawberries and Bell Peppers at USTR’s Request

USITC

USITC To Begin Monitoring Imports of Strawberries and Bell Peppers at USTR’s Request

The U.S. International Trade Commission (“USITC”) announced on December 2, 2020, that it would begin monitoring imports of bell peppers and strawberries pursuant to Section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930, following a request from the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) Robert E. Lighthizer. The USITC will monitor imports of the subject products for a 90-day period and will have three weeks to prepare and submit a recommendation to the president with the appropriate trade remedies.

Interested parties may submit written submissions for the record no later than January 15, 2021. The USITC stated that at this time it is seeking submissions to enable its monitoring activities only. Specifically, the USITC is interested in information concerning imports, principal source countries, and the potential impact of the imports on the domestic industry.

Additionally, the USITC expressed its interest in information regarding the condition of the domestic industry, production, employment, profits and losses, and other factors outlined in section 202(c) of the Trade Act. To the extent practical, data and information submitted should include the period 2016-2020 and any subsequent period.

The products in question fall under the following categories of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States:

-Fresh or chilled strawberries: 0810.10;

-Fresh or chilled bell peppers:

-0709.60.4015,

-0709.60.4025,

-0709.60.4065,

-and 0709.60.4085

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Nithya Nagarajan is a Washington-based partner with the law firm Husch Blackwell LLP. She practices in the International Trade & Supply Chain group of the firm’s Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation industry team.

Turner Kim is an Assistant Trade Analyst in Husch Blackwell LLP’s Washington, D.C. office.

Camron Greer is an Assistant Trade Analyst in Husch Blackwell LLP’s Washington D.C. office.

complaint system

EU Releases New Complaint System to Address Trade Deal Violations and Market Barriers

On November 16, 2020, the European Commission (“EC”) debuted their new complaints system for stakeholders to report harmful trade barriers and violations to European Union (“EU”) trade agreements. The “Single Entry Point” complaints system allows member states, companies, trade associations, civil society groups and EU citizens to report any market access barriers and non-compliance of Trade and Sustainable Development (“TSD”) commitments which are part of EU trade agreements or under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (“GSP”).

Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said that the EC “has made enforcement a top priority” and that, notably, under the new system, complaints related to “sustainable development commitments” will receive the same level of attention as complaints related to market access barriers.

As outlined in the published operating guidelines, received complaints will be prioritized based on three criteria:

1. The likelihood of success for resolving the issue;

2. The legal basis for the complaint;

3. The seriousness or degree of economic/systemic impact of the alleged market access barriers or violations of TSD/GSP commitments.

The new system has two separate complaint forms, one for market access barriers and another for non-compliance with TSD/GSP commitments. Both of the forms require that the complainant provide the legal basis and a full description of the issue being reported. Additionally, if the commission finds that enforcement action is necessary, they will inform the complainant and issue an enforcement action plan tailored to the specific violation or trade barrier.

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Nithya Nagarajan is a Washington-based partner with the law firm Husch Blackwell LLP. She practices in the International Trade & Supply Chain group of the firm’s Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation industry team.

Turner Kim is an Assistant Trade Analyst in Husch Blackwell LLP’s Washington, D.C. office.

Camron Greer is an Assistant Trade Analyst in Husch Blackwell LLP’s Washington D.C. office.

aluminum

U.S. Re-Imposes 10% Tariff on Specific Aluminum Imports from Canada

On August 6, 2020, the White House issued a proclamation stating that the U.S. would re-impose 10% tariffs on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum under subheading 7601.10 from Canada starting August 16, 2020.  The subject products make up the majority of U.S. aluminum imports from Canada.

President Donald Trump explained that the re-imposition of tariffs was necessary in his view, stating that:

“Canada is the largest source of United States imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum, accounting for nearly two-thirds of total imports of these articles from all countries in 2019 and approximately 75 percent of total imports in the first five months of 2020. The surges in imports of these articles from Canada coincides with a decrease in imports of these articles from other countries and threatens to harm domestic aluminum production and capacity utilization.”

The proclamation went on to state that “the United States will monitor for import surges of articles that continue to be exempt from the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704, to ensure that exports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum to the United States are not simply reoriented into increased exports of alloyed, further processed, or wrought aluminum articles,” the proclamation said, meaning that tariffs on additional aluminum articles could follow in the future. Additionally, under the previous agreement between the two countries, Canada is allowed to place retaliatory tariffs on U.S. aluminum products.

The White House has not stated whether or not it will reinstate the 25% tariffs on imports of steel.

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Nithya Nagarajan is a Washington-based partner with the law firm Husch Blackwell LLP. She practices in the International Trade & Supply Chain group of the firm’s Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation industry team.

Turner Kim is an Assistant Trade Analyst in Husch Blackwell LLP’s Washington D.C. office.

Camron Greer is an Assistant Trade Analyst in Husch Blackwell LLP’s Washington D.C. office.