Customs Law

 You may have seen recent press reports over the interpretation of the so-called "roll-up" provisions of the RVC calculation for certain motor vehicles under the USMCA. This is a complicated issue and there are varying interpretations of the law and the facts, so I figured I could provide some context. For this to make sense, you might want to have the current version of the Uniform Regulations on Rules of Origin handy.  The underlying issue is what counts toward the value of non-originating materials when calculating the Regional Value Content of a passenger vehicle or light truck. The starting point for that is Section 14 (p. 39721) of the aforementioned regulations. Section 14(1) begins with a clear and declarative statement: Roll-Up of Originating Materials (1) The value of non-originating materials used by the producer in the production of a passenger vehicle, light truck and parts thereof must not, for the purpose of calculating the regional value content of the good,

 The CIT has issued a few procedural decisions that are worth mentioning. First, in Universal Steel Products , which we discussed here , the three-judge panel issued an order granting partial judgment on those claims that have been decided. See the prior post for the details of those claims. Partial judgment is possible under CIT Rule 54(b) . In this case, the Court found that the previously decided claims were separate from any issues remaining before the Court and that there was no reason to delay entry of judgment. This is valuable for the plaintiff who is now able to file an appeal. There is a lingering issue of whether the increased tariffs on steel imported from Turkey to 50% from 25% was procedurally flawed because it occurred outside the the statutory timeframe for relief. That issue is stayed pending the final determination in Transpacific Steel .  Next, the CIT issued two default judgments in penalty cases. The first involved a company called E.G. Plastics, Inc. the second i

 There are many pages of text in Meyer Corporation v. United States , a recent decision of the U.S. Court of International. One hundred twenty, to be exact. I will try to give you the gist here. And, it turns out, the gist might matter. There are two issues in this case. First, whether imported cookware is entitled to duty-free entry under the Generalized System of Preferences. Second whether the importer legally claimed that the sale price from the related vendor to a related reseller represented the transaction value under the "first sale doctrine." The GSP issue is easier to explain, so let's start there. The clad cookware subject to this case was made in Thailand. At the time of entry, the merchandise was classifiable in 7326.93.0045 and qualifies for GSP duty-free entry if it satisfies the rule of origin. Under that rule, 35% of the value of the merchandise must originate in materials from or direct processing in Thailand. In this instance, a major input material was