Tag: International Business

International Business, International Trade

Tariff Turmoil

USA and Chinese flags on mountain signpost.
Photo credit: iStock.com/Darwel

By Susan Kohn Ross

The last few days have seen some startling developments regarding trade between the U.S. and China. Perhaps none of this is remarkable given the current climate, but trying to keep track has caused untold whiplash!

On May 10, we learned from USTR the timing of the 25% tariff on List 3 was changed. It is now applicable to goods entered on or after June 1, 2019. Given that CBP originally programmed its computer and the 25% on List 3 goods applied so long as the arrival date was May 10 or later, if you get caught in the payment timing cycle of having to pay the 25%, you will want to coordinate with your customs broker to file a Post Summary Correction and seek a 15% refund. Continue reading “Tariff Turmoil”

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International Business, International Trade, Regulatory

The Roller Coaster Ride Continues

Tariff, Taxes on Imported Goods
Photo credit: iStock.com/Olivier Le Moal

By Susan Kohn Ross

In yesterday’s “Talking Trade” Periscope broadcast, we made the point that the wording in the China 301 tariff notice left confusion which needed to be cleared up, and now, it has been. As is common knowledge, the 10% tariff on the goods on List 3 or Traunch 3 went up to 25% at 12:01 a.m. on May 10, 2019. How this applies is, however, a bit more nuanced. The Federal Register Notice reads: “Effective with respect to goods (i) entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 10, 2019, and (ii) exported to the United States on or after May 10, 2019…” Continue reading “The Roller Coaster Ride Continues”

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International Business, International Trade, Regulatory

OFAC Brings the Hammer

Logistics and transportation of Container Cargo ship and Cargo plane with working crane bridge in shipyard at sunrise, logistic import export and transport industry background
Photo credit: iStock.com/thitivong

By Susan Kohn Ross

In March, there was a good deal of consternation in the general press trying to understand news that President Trump had overruled the actions of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) to impose additional sanctions on North Korea. Beside the oddity of a President overruling actions by a part of the Executive branch after they had been taken, it remains a mystery what the President was seeking to overrule. Not being deterred, OFAC marched on, and in so doing, it provided multiple examples again how compliance programs need to not be just written, but also followed and enforced, and cost at least one American company $1,869,144 plus significant compliance upgrade costs. Continue reading “OFAC Brings the Hammer”

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International Business, International Trade, MSK Blog

China 301 Tariffs Took Effect – What Happens Next?

China tariffs
Photo credit: iStock.com/ANNECORDON

By Susan Kohn Ross

The U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) issued a press release on July 6, 2018 in which the process companies can use to seek exclusion from the 25% tariff imposed on the same day on goods from China was announced. The timeline requires all original exclusion requests to be filed by October 9, 2018. Each will be reviewed to insure completeness and will then be posted for public review, and 14 days from the date of any posting, all objections are due. No more than 7 days later, any applicant may file its reply. All such submissions are filed through regulations.gov and must reference Docket No. USTR-2018-0025. Continue reading “China 301 Tariffs Took Effect – What Happens Next?”

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International Business, International Trade, MSK Blog

Trade Trifecta!

USA and Chinese flags on mountain signpost.
Photo credit: iStock.com/Darwel

By Susan Kohn Ross

Some events rather significant to international traders occurred in the last few days. First, on Friday, March 23, 2018, President Trump signed the latest spending bill. It includes a provision to renew Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”) benefits retroactive to December 31, 2017, when the program last expired. GSP is now authorized through December 31, 2020.

With history as a guide, we should expect Customs and Border Protection to shortly publish a message advising when its programming is updated, the deadline by which to file refunds and similar details. In the past, so long as the entry was filed with an “A” or similar indicator, refunds were routinely issued, but importers would still be wise to make sure their list of eligible entries is current, and then to track their refunds. Since the bill was signed into law on Friday, the deadline to file refund requests will be 180 days later, which works out to September 18, 2018. Continue reading “Trade Trifecta!”

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International Business, International Trade, MSK Blog

New Tariffs: Definition & Exclusion

storehouse
Photo credit: iStock.com/Evening_T

By Susan Kohn Ross

When President Trump announced the 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs on March 8, 2018, he instructed the Secretary of Commerce to issue regulations explaining how American companies could seek exclusions from those tariffs no later than March 19, 2018, and that deadline has been met. These new regulations can be found here.

Before we discuss the new regulations, we should start with the data Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released with its programming updates to implement these safeguard tariffs. Continue reading “New Tariffs: Definition & Exclusion”

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International Business, International Trade, MSK Blog

Trump’s Cuba Course Clarified

Trade Concept
Photo credit: iStock.com/XtockImages

By Susan Kohn Ross

“Trump cracks down on Cuba” or variations on that phrase have peppered the general press since Friday, when the President announced his policy towards Cuba.  When you read what was actually written, you come away with a more tempered reaction. Yes, there will be changes, and the most critical one is yet to come, but we focus here on what was actually written.

First, the format is not an Executive Order but rather a June 16, 2017 “National Security Presidential Memorandum on Strengthening the Policy of the United States Towards Cuba” accompanied by a Fact Sheet. The memo can be found here, and the Fact Sheet here. So, nothing changes right away.

Taken together, there are two points that could impact international traders. Continue reading “Trump’s Cuba Course Clarified”

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International Trade

Privacy Shield Takes More Hits

By Susan Kohn Ross

Just in the last week, both the European Parliament and the European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”) published findings holding the currently proposed EU-US Privacy Shield to be seriously deficient, and calling for further negotiations to deal with those “holes”.

On May 26, 2016, the European Parliament passed a resolution, see EU Parliament Resolution, basically saying nice try, no cigar!  While acknowledging that great strides were made, the Parliament felt that too many gaps remained. Not surprising were the on-going concerns about the broad gathering of private data (i.e., bulk collection) by the U.S. government and what is viewed as the less than clearly defined circumstances in which that data may be used for recognized national security and law enforcement reasons, and what else? Continue reading “Privacy Shield Takes More Hits”

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International Business, International Trade

TFTEA – CBP Organizational Structure

By Susan Kohn Ross

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act presents many new guidelines for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The labyrinth of the Act is laborious to dissect and is the reason we have created this series of Alerts. This latest edition digs in to the inner workings of CBP’s organizational structure, duties, and implementation expectations. Anyone who works in international trade, whether an importer or exporter of goods or a service provider, will find this piece exceptionally interesting. Continue reading “TFTEA – CBP Organizational Structure”

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