Recent Trade Compliance News

US Labor issues USMCA high-wage components of the labor value content requirements

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On July 1, 2020,  the US Department of Labor published in the Federal Register an interim final rule (IFR) issuing regulations necessary to administer the high-wage components of the labor value content requirements as set forth in section 202A of that United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (the “Act”).  The interim final rule is effective on July 1, 2020. Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by August 31, 2020.

See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-07-01/pdf/2020-14014.pdf

CBP issues USMCA Uniform Rules of Origin regulations

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On July 1, 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published in the Federal Register an interim final rule [USCBP-2020-0036; CBP Dec. 20-11], which amends the CBP regulations to implement the rules of origin provisions for preferential tariff treatment of the Agreement Between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA).

See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-07-01/pdf/2020-13865.pdf

July 1, 2020 HTS (with USMCA related update) available

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The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) enters into force on July 1, 2020, and the US International Trade Commission (USITC) has updated the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) to reflect USMCA-related and other revisions. The text of the most recent HTS and the accompanying duty rates are available on the USITC website at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.

See https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/featured_news/revised_hts_reflecting_usmca_related_updates_now.htm

US Census announces Schedule B and HTS updates in AES

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On July 1, 2020, the Bureau of Census announced that the Schedule B, Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), and HTS Codes That Are Not Valid for AES tables have been updated to accept the changes to the July 1, 2020 codes. AES will accept shipments with outdated codes during a grace period for 30 days beyond the expiration date of June 30, 2020. Reporting an outdated code after the 30-day grace period will result in a fatal error.

See https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/documentlibrary/index.html#concordance 

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/documentlibrary/concordance/hts-not-for-aes.txt

USTR grants additional exclusions for Tranche 3 ($200 Bn)

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On June 24, 2020, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice that announces the USTR’s determination n to grant an additional exclusion request, as specified in the Annex to this notice, and corrects technical errors in previously announced exclusions. The product exclusions will apply as of September 24, 2018, the effective date of the $200 billion action, and extend to August 7, 2020. The amendments announced in this notice are retroactive to the date that the original exclusions were published.

See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-06-24/pdf/2020-13596.pdf

US Commerce Department authorizes the release of certain technologies to Huawei Listed Entities in standards-development activities

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On June 15, 2020, the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an interim final rule (“Interim Final Rule”) effective on June 18, 2020 to authorize the limited release of certain items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to Huawei and its affiliates listed on the BIS Entity List (“Huawei Listed Entities”) in the context of international efforts to develop technical standards for 5G and other new technologies.  In a statement, the Commerce Department explained the change will “ensure Huawei’s placement on the Entity List in May 2019 does not prevent American companies from contributing to important standards-developing activities despite Huawei’s pervasive participation in standards-development organizations.” BIS is seeking comments on the Interim Final Rule, which must be submitted on or before August 17, 2020.

See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-06-18/pdf/2020-13093.pdf