Venable lawyers said no one knows whether President-elect Donald Trump will hike tariffs on China by 10 percentage points, by 60 percentage points, or bring current tariff levels to 60%. Nor does anyone know if the threat of 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican exports will become reality.

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated between Dec. 4 and Dec. 6 with the following headquarters ruling (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):

The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) De Minimis Working Group developed a set of recommendations to CBP to provide further details on how the agency expects to enforce the $800 limit in ACE, including clarity on how CBP plans to calculate a shipment's date of arrival.

The U.S. defended its motion to dismiss importer Retractable Technologies' suit against the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's 100% Section 301 duty hike on needles and syringes, claiming that the Court of International Trade either doesn't have jurisdiction to hear Retractable's claims or that the company failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted (Retractable Technologies v. United States, CIT # 24-00185).

FCC commissioners appear likely to approve, with few changes, a draft order that would expand parts of the 6 GHz band where new very-low-power (VLP) devices are permitted to operate without coordination. One wrinkle, industry officials said, is that Commissioner Nathan Simington appears sympathetic to concerns NAB raised earlier. Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the order at their open meeting Wednesday.

Chinese-origin countertop importer Superior Commercial Solutions argued Dec. 6 it hadn’t waived its challenge to the CBP regulation that allows it to initiate Enforce and Protect Act investigations based on a petition’s “date of receipt,” which is determined by the agency (Superior Commercial Solutions v. United States, CIT # 24-00052).

Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and some other congressional leaders are objecting to a compromise version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) released Saturday night with language allocating $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2412070001). The leaders’ concerns complicate plans for HR-5009's passage. House leaders are eyeing a vote on the measure this week. Meanwhile, some lawmakers want to attach the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) and permanently lift some telehealth restrictions via other end-of-year measures.

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), which has complained to the FCC about SpaceX's alleged conduct in the Russia-Ukraine War, is now raising concerns about the company's environmental impact and CEO Elon Musk's role in President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration. In a petition to deny last week filed with the FCC Space Bureau, UCCA said the agency has a legal responsibility to consider whether there needs to be an environmental assessment or impact statement done for large constellations as part of its review of proposed launches of Starlink satellites from SpaceX's Texas launch site. "More satellites and launches lead to more polluting, soot, gases and metals in the Earth’s atmosphere," it said. UCCA urged the agency to refrain from any further authorizations to Starlink for satellites, frequencies or capacity absent an environmental assessment/ impact statement and before SpaceX shows that further launches of its rockets won't cause environmental harm around the launch site. In a separate motion for stay, UCCA said Musk's role as co-head of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, while also running SpaceX, violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act by creating a conflict of interest or the appearance of one. It called on the agency to stop processing all SpaceX applications and requests until any conflicts of interest are addressed. Given Musk's companies' dealings with the federal government -- both as regulatees and as suppliers -- having him in charge of DOGE "is equivalent to allowing a fox to guard the henhouse," the group said. SpaceX didn't comment Friday. The Ukrainian-American organizations' umbrella group petitioned the FCC in April seeking an investigation of whether SpaceX should lose its licenses because it allegedly disabled the Ukrainian military's use of Starlink while allowing its use by Russia (see 2404240019). Space regulatory experts don't expect the agency to start requiring environmental reviews of satellite systems anytime soon (see 2409200008).

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and eight other committee Republicans urged the Biden administration Dec. 5 to step up implementation and enforcement of sanctions on Iran’s oil sector to deprive Tehran of funding for terrorism and nuclear weapons development.

The Senate unanimously passed the Access to Capital Creates Economic Strength and Supports Rural America Act (S-3242) Wednesday night, drawing praise from NTCA. The measure and House companion HR-4360 would exempt small telecom companies from several SEC filing requirements, including raising the number of investors that would trigger some SEC requirements for telecom companies that receive "support, directly through an affiliate, through any Federal universal service support" mechanism. S-3242 lead sponsors Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, hailed the measure’s passage. It “cuts red tape for our small broadband providers and helps them expand reliable, affordable internet to more families and small businesses across Wisconsin,” Baldwin said. “I’m grateful my bipartisan effort to cut regulations, reduce unnecessary requirements, and unleash local telecom companies passed the Senate,” Ernst said. NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said S-3242 “will help relieve … smaller, locally owned companies with limited resources” from SEC requirements “intended for larger, publicly traded firms.” The measure will “enable small providers to focus more on their core mission of deploying and operating advanced broadband networks in rural areas,” she said.