Customs

Cassidy Levy Kent advises clients from North America, Europe and other jurisdictions on all aspects of U.S., Canadian and EU customs law.

Our services include: advice on classification; valuation; country of origin; marking and labeling; tariff preference; qualification for USMCA, EU FTA, and other free trade and special programs to mitigate duty exposure; drawback; import bonding; and foreign trade zone issues. In the current Section 301 and Section 232 retaliatory duty environment, we represent clients in exclusion request proceedings before the responsibly U.S. Government agencies. We also assist clients seeking in the development and implementation of customs compliance programs designed specifically for their business.

Our attorneys have practiced before U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and EU Member State authorities for decades, and we have experience successfully managing a wide range customs compliance and enforcement proceedings — from CBP and CSBA audits and disclosures to customs civil fraud and criminal investigations.

We advise and assist clients with all administrative and judicial challenges to CBP, CBSA and EU actions, including protests and appeals at local port and headquarters levels, seeking resolution at the agency level wherever possible. We also represent clients in judicial proceedings, including appeals before the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) in the United States, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and Federal Court in Canada, and EU civil and criminal courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Insights

Commerce Seeks Comments on Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Import Tariffs and Quotas Exclusion Process

The Department of Commerce today published a notice requesting comments from the public on the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion process. In particular, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking public comments on “the appropriateness of the information requested and considered [by the Department] in applying the exclusion criteria, and the efficiency and transparency of the process employed.”

As of March 23, 2020, 179,128 exclusion requests have been received, 157,983 for steel and 21,145 for aluminum. Of those requests, 34,970 were rejected and 33,297 received objections. Decisions have been posted on 114,009 requests, with 78,569 granted and 25,440 denied.

BIS’s request for public comment concerns a variety of topics intended to either streamline or simplify the administrative process.  BIS included the following in its notice:

  • expanding or restricting eligibility requirements for requestors and objectors;
  • the factors considered in rendering decisions on exclusion requests
  • the definition of ‘‘product’’ governing when separate exclusion requests must be submitted;
  • potential blanket approvals or denials of exclusion requests for product types that have received no objections or have never been granted;
  • issuing an interim denial memo to requesters who receive a partial approval of their exclusion request until they purchase the domestically available portion of their requested quantity;
  • requiring objectors to submit factual evidence that they can in fact manufacture the product in the quality and amount, and during the time period, to which they attest in the objection;
  • in the rebuttal/surrebuttal phase, requiring that both requestor and objector demonstrate in their filings that they have attempted to negotiate in good faith an agreement on the said product (e., producing legitimate commercial correspondence).

Comments can be submitted on the Federal rulemaking portal and must be submitted by July 10, 2020.

Commerce Announces National Security Investigation Concerning Surge of Imported Mobile Cranes

Today the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the initiation of an investigation into whether the quantities or circumstances of mobile crane imports into the United States threaten to impair the national security.

 

According to Commerce’s press release, the initiation comes as a result of a petition filed by a domestic producer of mobile cranes.  Commerce states its intent to conduct the review expeditiously following notification of a request for comments in the Federal Register.