MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 21-002 – March 12, 2021

U.S. and E.U. Agree to Suspend Additional Tariffs for Large Aircraft Disputes

On March 4, 2021, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued an announcement of a joint statement by the United States and the European Community to suspend the tariffs related to the World Trade Organization aircraft disputes. This temporary suspension of four months covers all the additional aircraft duties as well as all non-aircraft duties assessed under this dispute. No effective date was included in that announcement.  A copy of the joint statement can be found on the USTR’s website.  

However, on March 11, 2021, the Office of the USTR issued a Federal Register Notice (FRN) announcing that all the additional duties assessed England for the aircraft dispute duties are suspended as of March 4, 2021. That FRN can be found by clicking here.

The USTR has also issued an announcement that the rest of the EU aircraft dispute duties will be suspended as of March 11, 2021. Here is a link to that notice which should be published in an FRN in the next few days.

The suspension will apply to goods entered on or after 12:01 (eastern) on March 11, 2021.  The suspension will last until 12:00 Midnight (Eastern) on July 11, 2021.

CBP Issues New Fact Sheet on Requesting a WRO Modification or Revocation

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a new fact sheet that gives an overview on how a party can request a modification or even a revocation of a Withhold Release Order (WRO). A modification is when a foreign entity has dealt with all of the International Labor Organization’s 11 indicators of forced labor. CBP can suspend the WRO against that foreign entity.

The fact sheet also explains the steps and the information to request a revocation of a WRO against a foreign entity. There are 4 steps to the process with the first step identifying the evidence for the request. This fact sheet can be found on CBP’s website.

DHS to Issue Requirements on International Mail Data Elements for STOP Act

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced its intentions to require electronic data elements for all international mail shipments coming to the United States. This will be done under the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act to help stop the flow of synthetic drugs coming into the United States. We will follow the develop of the regulations and the processes for this program so that our customers can be prepared and not face an interruption of their mail sources from overseas. The announcement can be found on DHS website.