The Department of Commerce (DOC) has initiated an inquiry to establish whether imports of completed aluminum foil products from Korea and Thailand that use Chinese-manufactured aluminum inputs are circumventing antidumping and countervailing duties on those goods. These duties apply specifically to aluminum foil “having a thickness of 0.2 mm or less, in reels exceeding 25 pounds, regardless of width,” that was manufactured in China. The DOC will be contacting certain companies in Korea and Thailand to analyze their production and supply chain and make a decision based on their review. 

‍

The United States and Kenya recently began talks to develop a stronger trade partnership and to help drive economic growth. Kenya is already a part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows them duty-free access to certain goods in the US market. The US Trade Representative and the Kenyan Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary plan to continue meeting and develop a roadmap for enhanced cooperation between the two countries. The main points they are looking to collaborate upon include anti-corruption practices, environmental protection, digital trading, and the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises that help sustain economic growth. They are set to begin work on these projects within the next few months. 

‍

According to the Trade Act, Section 301 actions must undergo a review every 4 years to ensure that those tariffs are still necessary and effective. During the review process, USTR will take comments and requests for continuance from members of the industry via the online portal on the USTR website.

List 1 was originally set to expire on July 6th but is still currently in effect, though no announcement has been made about its continuation yet. The 60-day period to request continuation for List 2 is open until August 22, 2022.  List 3 is scheduled to expire this September, and List 4A is set for September 2023, and both will have their own respective opportunities to submit requests for continuance. 

‍

Last month, Laurie Arnold, VP Compliance, and Leah Ellis, Compliance Operations Manager, went on a trip to Laredo, TX to visit our LRD branch. They spent part of their week in the Laredo office, discussing compliance topics and JAS policies on statements, training, auditing, and duty payments with branch Customs Broker Gustavo Aldrete and the import team.

On July 12th, Laurie and Leah braved the record-breaking high temperatures to visit the World Trade International bridge that spans Laredo, TX and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas on the Northern Mexican border. Here they developed a better understanding of the border crossing process and got to watch the cargo trucks as they brought their shipments into and out of the country.

Towards the end of their trip, they celebrated Branch Manager Antonio Pastrana’s birthday and enjoyed some cake with the Laredo team. 

‍

This August, students will begin returning to classes for the 2022-2023 school year. Let's look at some interesting facts about schooling in the US to get those brains back in action!

• Over 50 million students will be attending public schools in 2022.
  ‍
• There are nearly 98,000 public schools in the US. 
  ‍
• About 10% of students will attend private schools.
  ‍
• Back-to-school costs for 2022 are expected to average about $864 per family.
  ‍
• On average, schools spend over $13,000 per student annually. 

Judicial Remedies - Challenging CBP's Decisions & Rulings in the Court of International Trade

August 16th, 2022

2:00 PM ET - 3:00 PM ET

1 CCS Credit

‍