At Neville Peterson LLP, we’ve transitioned to a remote working environment, and remain fully operational during the Coronavirus National Emergency. Now, more than ever, it is essential for businesses and their service providers to remain in contact and available to provide assistance. This is our latest update on the state of trade during these trying times.

United States Trade Representative: USTR’s announcement that it was accepting comments concerning additional Chinese products which should be excluded from Section 301 tariffs if they are relevant to the “medical response to Coronavirus” has attracted close to 400 responses in just a few days, most of them insubstantial. However, the new exclusion announcement creates an extraordinary opportunity for companies – even ones whose previous exclusion requests were denied – to seek an exclusion if they can relate their products in some way to the medical response to coronavirus.

   Food and Drug Administration (FDA): The Food and Drug Administration on March 24 issued an exceptionally broad Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to allow the importation of medical/surgical masks and respirators, even if they do not have FDA approval and even if a Section 510(k) premarket notification is not on file. Parties seeking to import non-FDA-approved masks and respirators under this exemption need to show that their goods are certified to certain foreign standards, provide FDA with notification of their intent to use the EUA, and must communicate certain information on their websites, and in writing to the health care institutions and professionals who will use the devices.

          Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – CBP has issued a Cargo Systems Messaging Service  announcement (#42124872) concerning procedures for entering masks and respirators pursuant to the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

CBP  has also indicated that importers planning to enter goods related to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency should try to provide CBP with advance notice of their shipments, wherever possible. This includes entries which may have been detained pending release. Notifications should be provided to officials at the port of entry. But as many CBP officers are working remotely, the agency has set a toll-free number to reach the Centers of Excellence  and Expertise (CEE) on these matters – 1-866-295-7624.

Customs is considering, but has not taken action on, proposals to extend the periods for making payments of estimated duties. Company specific requests for extensions of time to pay duties may be sent to .

However, Customs’ mere suggestion of delays in payments has spurred a reaction from domestic trade groups such as the American Iron and Steel Institute, which urged CBP to continue collecting tariffs on goods, particularly those accused of being unfairly traded and subject to antidumping, countervailing duty or sanctions tariffs.

            As retailers and customers cancel orders, importers are left with a lot of “dead freight” en route to the United States. They face duty payments on goods which provide them no immediate prospects of revenue. One option is to place these goods in Customs bonded warehouses or foreign trade zones instead of making entry, but space in those facilities is likely to become scarce. Our firm is working with trade groups and CBP to propose a temporary duty-deferral system based on CBP’s reconciliation program. Companies interested in supporting the proposal should contact our firm.

            U.S. International Trade Commission: The ITC has delayed all Administrative Law Judge hearings in Section 337 investigations for the next 60 days. The agency has indicated that it will re-evaluate the delays after 45 days.                                                                                          

            Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA): Also working remotely, ITA accepts filings only under its electronic ACCESS portal. The ITA has suspended requirements that attorneys in antidumping and countervailing duty cases make personal service of confidential versions of filings on other parties to the proceeding. For now, filing in ACCESS will be deemed sufficient service on other parties. The change is in effect through May 12, but is one many practitioners hope the agency would consider making permanent.

            Normally stingy with requests for extension of time, ITA has been generously granting extensions to parties who need them.

            Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) — BIS has canceled its April 1-2 Annual Export Control Forum in Los Angeles. The forum scheduled April 15-16 for Harrisburg PA has been postponed. Other scheduled forums are likely to be postponed as well.

            Supreme Court – The Justices remain open for business, although numerous oral arguments have been postponed. The American Institute for Imported Steel (AIIS) yesterday filed its petition for certiorari in its ongoing lawsuit seeking to have Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which the President has invoked to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum products, declared an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power. Call us if you’d like a copy.

            If you have any questions regarding these issues, please contact any Neville Peterson LLP professional.