Busy Weekend Sees Multiple Trade Agreement Announcements
Last weekend was a busy weekend for Trade. The White House, in conjunction with various trading partners, made multiple announcements regarding trade agreements that have been reached. The countries with which trade agreements were reached include Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and South Korea. All these agreements are in the very early stages of development and at this time only joint statements or joint fact sheets have been issued.
These agreements bear similar hallmarks to previous reciprocal agreements with other trading partners. The agreements with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala will see no reduction in reciprocal rate for most products. The agreements with South Korea, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein will see the introduction of an all-in rate of 15% for products whose Most Favored Nations duty rate is less than 15%. Products with an MFN rate of 15% or more will see no additional reciprocal tariffs. For all agreements, exclusions will be granted for items in specific sectors such as resources that cannot be naturally obtained in the U.S. Several of the agreements have negotiated favorable Section 232 rates as well.
In a first for these new trade agreements, products of El Salvador and Guatemala that are textile and apparel products qualifying for CAFTA-DR will enter free of reciprocal duty. For the agreement with South Korea, the Korean free trade agreement duty rate will be considered when determining whether a reciprocal tariff will apply.
Once official executive orders are issued and implementation has begun, we will provide an update.
Agriculture Updates to IEEPA Reciprocal and IEEPA Brazil Take Effect
President Trump has recently announced two updates to IEEPA tariffs regarding Agriculture products that will now be exempt from the actions.
First was a modification to the IEEPA Reciprocal tariffs. On November 14, an executive order was issued modifying the scope of Reciprocal tariffs with respect to certain agriculture products. The modifications in the order became effective retroactively on November 13. The changes included 237 new HTS numbers that were added to the 9903.01.32 exemption as well as several description specific exemptions under 9903.02.78.
More recently, on November 20, another executive order was issued modifying the scope of the IEEPA Brazil tariffs with respect to certain agriculture products. This change is also retroactively effective November 13 and includes 238 HTS numbers that will now be exempt under 9903.01.81. Additional description specific exemptions will be available under 9903.01.90.
Additional Information Requested by Fish and Wildlife Service on Fresh Squid Imports
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently announced additional information needed for imports of fresh squid from Argentina. The announcement follows closely on the heels of FWS being made aware of fishing permit requirements for shipments of fresh forms of squid. These permit requirements do not apply to processed products like noodles, pasta, or fried/battered items.
To support FWS’s efforts and expedite shipment processing, they are requesting the following information be included with all current and future declarations for species Illex argentina and/or Dosidicus gigags. Providing this information on your documentation at time of entry filling will help reduce holds and clearance delays.
The information requested includes:
- Harvesting Vessel Names
- Harvesting Vessel Fishing Authorizations
- Harvest Dates
- Harvest Areas
- Shipping Information – including transport details from the harvest nation to any processing countries.