US to allow deferral of some tariff payments to help cash-strapped businesses

Importers will not have to pay interest during the postponement period

(FILES) In this file photo Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House on April 2, 2020, in Washington, DC. The White House and congressional Democrats said Sunday they could reach agreement soon on expanding funds to small businesses devastated by the coronavirus, with Democrats hoping to add money for hospitals, testing and state governments. "We're very close," Vice President Mike Pence told talkshow Fox News April 19, 2020 about negotiations on replenishing the Paycheck Protection Program whose entire $349 billion funding was exhausted by last Thursday.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed hope a deal could be reached and passed by Congress in the coming days. "I think we're very close to a deal today," Mnuchin told CNN's State of the Union, as he put forward a new target number of $300 billion, beyond the $250 billion under discussion last week.
 / AFP / MANDEL NGAN
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The US will allow importers and manufacturers to defer payments on many imported goods for 90 days, a move aimed at freeing up cash for pandemic-hit businesses that is limited in scope in that it doesn’t stem ongoing punitive measures that are a centrepiece of President Donald Trump’s trade strategy.

“This will protect American jobs and help these businesses get through this time,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The deferral doesn’t apply to anti-dumping or countervailing duties, or so-called Section 201, Section 232 or Section 301 duties.

As such, it won’t ease Mr Trump’s duties on China, steel and aluminum, or enforcement actions he took including against Airbus.

Under the plan, the Treasury Department and Customs and Border Protection will allow payments to be postponed for three months. Importers won’t have to pay interest during this period.