The ability to import low-value packages without paying duties is a benefit to consumers and businesses, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups that use de minimis are arguing, as they lobby against bipartisan efforts to curtail de minimis eligibility.
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.
U.S. allies want to see a more predictable and consistent American strategy over a range of trade policies, including electric vehicle tax credits, said Helen Zhang, director of the International Strategy Forum, speaking during a launch event for an Atlantic Council report on pressing issues within the U.S.-China technology race. She said it has been “very difficult” for American trading partners to “keep up” with the changing U.S. policies, particularly those that impact American imports of critical minerals.
Looming elections in the U.S. put pressure on negotiations with the EU on sustainable steel and aluminum, limiting talks because new elections would make announcing potential tariffs as part of the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum unpopular or maybe "not possible at all," Charlotte Unger, a research fellow for the American-German Institute (AGI), said during a webinar June 27 (see 2306270059).
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America recently urged CBP to pull back proposed new data elements on CBP Form 7501 for steel and aluminum imports, noting the information is already provided to the Commerce Department through that agency's import licensing programs and could be obtained from Commerce directly without any added burden to the trade.
A witness representing a nongovernmental organization focused on the environment called on the Senate Finance Committee to take up legislation that would ban imports of products that are made on illegally deforested land, including in the Amazon rainforest, at a committee hearing on cattle supply chains and Amazon deforestation June 22.
Chinese online shopping platform Temu has no procedures to comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which “all but guarantees” imports from the company violate the UFLPA, the House Select Committee on China said this week. In a new report, the committee said both Temu and Chinese online retailer Shein “rely heavily” on the de minimis exception when shipping packages to the U.S., allowing them to avoid CBP scrutiny of potential forced labor violations.
The House of Representatives passed a bill that signs off on the Biden administration's preliminary free trade agreement with Taiwan but is widely seen as a message to the White House that it has overstepped its authority by cutting out Congress.
CBP will “stand ready” to implement any changes Congress may make to forced labor enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Eric Choy, executive director of CBP’s Trade Remedy and Law Enforcement Division, said in remarks June 21.
CBP’s final rule on continuing education for customs brokers makes few changes to the agency’s underlying proposal, though much remains to be decided during the implementation process, including specific criteria for approving continuing education courses and accreditors.