The two rounds of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs implemented July 6 and Aug. 23 account for less than 10 percent of the shipment volume FedEx does in the “China-U.S. lane bidirectionally,” and that volume generates about 2 percent of total revenue for the “whole enterprise,” said Raj Subramaniam, FedEx chief marketing and communications officer, on a Monday earnings call. New tariffs on the $200 billion worth of imports taking effect Sept. 24 (see 1809180020) are expected to raise the impact to a quarter of the commerce FedEx does between the two countries, he said. “The uncertainty around the issue and the potential for additional tariffs is affecting the market and we're beginning to see some of the economic activity in China starting to moderate as a result of that,” said Subramaniam about an hour before President Donald Trump announced the third tranche of tariffs would take effect next Monday (see 1809170052). FedEx hasn’t yet seen “any significant shifts in the customer supply chain” as a result of the tariffs, he said. “However, if the situation continues for any amount of time, we do expect customers to diversify their supply chains and perhaps some of the trade patterns might change.” Subramaniam is confident “the scale and flexibility of FedEx will enable us to deliver strong results in enterprise despite any uncertainty on trades and tariffs,” he said.

That the Trump administration's Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports take effect Sept. 24 (see 1809170052) gives CTA extraordinarily little time to weigh a court challenge blocking the duties if it's to act before they become effective next week (see 1809170022). The quick turnaround time, published in a notice that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer released late Monday, bore out CTA member companies’ worries the administration would waste little time enacting the tariffs soon after the comments period expired Sept. 6 (see 1809100056).

That the Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports take effect Sept. 24 gives potential litigants little time to weigh a court challenge blocking the duties if they are going to act before they become effective (see 1809170051). The extremely quick turnaround time, published in a notice that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer released late on Sept. 17, bore out worries that the Trump administration would release its order imposing the tariffs soon after the comments period expired Sept. 6.

President Donald Trump's authority to impose Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum is backed by constitutional provisions giving the president independent oversight of national security and foreign affairs, the Justice Department said in a Sept. 14 filing with the Court of International Trade. The filing was in response to a legal challenge from the American Institute for International Steel and two companies (see 1807200023) seeking a summary judgment to stop the tariffs. The Supreme Court also has previously ruled on the issue, DOJ said.

With less than two weeks to a vote on a draft declaratory ruling and order designed to speed up infrastructure siting (see 1809050029), cities are mounting a campaign to get the FCC to rethink the order. Commissioner Brendan Carr, who crafted it, said in a speech to the Mobile World Congress Americas that the FCC needs to act to lead on 5G. Others at the Los Angeles Thursday conference also stressed the importance of making small cells easier to site (see 1809130043 and 1809120031). Elsewhere, Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) supported reducing small-cells application fees beyond what's required by this year’s Illinois law.

Imposing 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on wireless home audio systems imported from China “would cause disproportionate and severe economic harm to U.S. interests, while failing to address” China’s allegedly unfair trade practices. So commented Sonos in docket USTR-2018-0026, adding its name to the dozens of entities voicing opposition to the proposed duties on connected devices and networking products imported to the U.S. under the 8517.62.00 tariff line, including CTA, which said it fears a $1.8 billion annual hit to the U.S. economy (see 1808170014).

Citing productive talks with New York state, Charter Communications asked for extra extensions to file an exit plan and seek rehearing in the state where the Public Service Commission in July revoked approval of Charter's Time Warner Cable buyout. In letters posted Monday in docket 15-M-0388, Charter sought until Nov. 8 to file the plan, which was due Oct. 9 under a previous extension; and it asked to have until Oct. 10 to seek rehearing, an application which was due Monday under the previous extension (see 1808230024). “Charter and the [New York Department of Public Service] have been involved over the past few weeks in productive dialogue regarding the Revocation Order as well as the July Compliance Order and the related special proceeding initiated by the Commission in the [New York] Supreme Court pursuant to the July Compliance Order,” the company wrote in both letters. Charter is gathering additional data on broadband deployment, and more time would allow more discussion, it said. “Additional proceedings before the Commission and/or the courts would have the potential to divert the resources of both Charter and the Department from discussions regarding both orders, and could have the effect of making it more difficult to resolve the issues raised by the orders without litigation.” Democratic state lawmakers want the PSC to use such talks to act on net neutrality (see 1809060038).

Citing productive talks with New York state, Charter Communications asked for extra extensions to file an exit plan and seek rehearing in the state where the Public Service Commission in July revoked approval of Charter's Time Warner Cable buyout. In letters posted Monday in docket 15-M-0388, Charter sought until Nov. 8 to file the plan, which was due Oct. 9 under a previous extension; and it asked to have until Oct. 10 to seek rehearing, an application which was due Monday under the previous extension (see 1808230024). “Charter and the [New York Department of Public Service] have been involved over the past few weeks in productive dialogue regarding the Revocation Order as well as the July Compliance Order and the related special proceeding initiated by the Commission in the [New York] Supreme Court pursuant to the July Compliance Order,” the company wrote in both letters. Charter is gathering additional data on broadband deployment, and more time would allow more discussion, it said. “Additional proceedings before the Commission and/or the courts would have the potential to divert the resources of both Charter and the Department from discussions regarding both orders, and could have the effect of making it more difficult to resolve the issues raised by the orders without litigation.” Democratic state lawmakers want the PSC to use such talks to act on net neutrality (see 1809060038).

The Information Technology Industry Council, like CTA, questions whether President Donald Trump's "action" proposing a third tranche of 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports "is legal" under the 1974 Trade Act, emailed spokesman Jose Castaneda Monday. ITI has made no “final decision” whether to pursue “litigation” against the administration to block the tariffs from taking effect, he said.

The Information Technology Industry Council, like CTA, questions whether President Donald Trump's "action" proposing a third tranche of 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports "is legal" under the 1974 Trade Act, emailed spokesman Jose Castaneda Monday. ITI has made no “final decision” whether to pursue “litigation” against the administration to block the tariffs from taking effect, he said.