As reported above, President Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum products pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
As of now, the Section 232 tariffs are being applied to covered imports of all origins, with the exception of Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil and the member countries of the European Union (EU), who have been temporarily excluded until May 1, 2018, pending negotiations with the United States. The White House will decide whether to continue the exemption “based on the status of the discussions” by May 1, 2018.
Several countries have expressed concerns about the new tariffs and are considering retaliatory measures. China has already imposed retaliatory measures, and announced tariffs on a variety of products including “fresh fruits, dried fruits and nut products, wines, modified ethanol, American ginseng, and seamless steel pipes” (15% tariffs) and “pork and its products, recycled aluminum and other products” (8% tariffs) yesterday.
Likewise, the European Commission released information about a potential two-phase response following public consultations with European stakeholders:
• For a first phase, the EU identified the potential imposition of additional duties on various U.S. products including sweetcorn, grain rice, cranberries, orange juice, bourbon, cigarettes, t-shirts, pants, bed linen, footwear, various steel products, sailboats, vessels and yachts.
• For a second phase, the EU identified the potential imposition of additional duties against imports of U.S. bourbon, beauty products, paper towels and toilet paper, textiles, pants, footwear, tableware, kitchenware, ceramic articles, certain glass products, various steel products, batteries, certain motor vehicles, vessels, motor boats, and bedding articles.
The European Commission reportedly intends to impose retaliatory duties within the 90 days of any U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum. The EU also has announced its intent to notify the World Trade Organization at least 30 days in advance of any retaliatory duties.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The ACE is the primary system through which the trade community reports imports and exports and the government determines admissibility. The GAO determined that agencies requiring documentation to clear or license cargo have access to the ACE, but there is considerable variation in how each regulatory agency actually is using the system.
In 1994, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initiated the development of ACE, and Congress broadened the effort by mandating the creation “single portal” International Trade Data System in 2006. One purpose of the system is to ensure effective enforcement of trade laws and elimination of redundant information. CBP stated that ACE is intended to provide this single portal. After several delays, CBP reported that it implemented most of the ACE’s core capabilities in February 2018, although full implementation remains pending.
