ITC Issues Revision 2 to 2015 HTS, Changes Took Effect Oct. 1
The International Trade Commission recently posted the new version of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to its website (here). Revision 2 to the 2015 HTS reflects the results of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2014 Generalized System of Preferences Review (see 1510010030), as implemented by Presidential Proclamation 9333 (here). The ITC also made several technical corrections to the HTS, including a restoration of duty-free entry for refined copper cathodes from Chile and a clarification of subheadings covering organic surfactants. All changes made in Revision 2 to the 2015 HTS took effect Oct. 1, said the ITC in its change record (here).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Results of GSP Review
Changes in Revision 2 resulting from USTR’s 2014 GSP review (here) include new ineligible country-product pairs and the designation of certain cotton products as eligible for GSP when imported from least-developed countries.
Macedonia name change. General Note 4(a), which lists countries eligible for GSP, is modified to reflect the change in name of the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” to “Macedonia.”
(NOTE: Though Presidential Proclamation 9333 also terminated GSP eligibility for the Seychelles, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) eligibility for the Seychelles, these changes do not take effect until Jan. 1, 2017, and are not among this edition’s changes to the lists of eligible countries for GSP and AGOA in GN 4(a) and 16(a), respectively.)
New country-product pairs not eligible for duty-free treatment. Due to the revocation of Competitive Need Limitation (CNL) waivers in USTR’s 2014 GSP review, the ITC is adding three country-product pairs to the list of GSP-ineligible products in GN 4(d), as follows:
- 4412.31.40 – Indonesia
- 7413.00.10 - Turkey
- 7413.00.50 - Turkey
The ITC also changed SPIs for the three subheadings from “A” to “A*” reflect the fact that they are no longer eligible for GSP benefits when imported from certain countries.
(NOTE: Although the ITC’s change record indicates as new changes the addition of subheading 7413.00.50 for Turkey to the list of ineligible county-product pairs, as well as the resulting change in SPI for the subheading from A to A*, those changes were already reflected in Revision 1 of the HTS, which took effect July 1.)
Redesignation of GSP eligibility for country-product pairs. The USTR in its 2014 review also redesignated four country product pairs as eligible for GSP. As a result, the ITC is removing the following country-product pairs from the list of ineligible products at GN 4(d):
- 2306.30.00 - Ukraine
- 2804.29.00 - Ukraine
- 8544.30.00 - Indonesia
- 8607.19.03 - Ukraine
The ITC also changed SPIs for subheadings 2306.30.00, 2804.29.00 and 8607.19.03 from “A*” to “A” to reflect the fact that they are eligible for GSP when imported from any beneficiary country. The SPI for subheading 8544.30.00 remains “A*” because it is still ineligible for GSP when imported from the Philippines.
New products eligible for GSP. The USTR also newly designated certain cotton products as GSP-eligible when imported from least-developed beneficiary countries. To reflect the change, the ITC added SPI “A+” to these subheadings, as follows:
- 5201.00.18
- 5201.00.28
- 5201.00.38
- 5202.99.30
- 5203.00.30
(NOTE: The ITC’s change record says SPIs for these subheadings are changing from “A” to “A+”. However, no GSP SPI was listed for these subheadings in previous versions of the HTS.)
Technical Corrections
The ITC also made several technical corrections to the HTS in its Revision 2 edition. All of these changes also took effect Oct. 1, according to the ITC’s change record.
Symbol for goods of Canada. The ITC corrected an entry in a list of SPIs exempt from merchandise processing fee at General Statistical Note 1(c)(i) for “North American Free Trade Agreement: Goods of Canada." In previous editions of the HTS, the GSN 1(c)(i) erroneously listed the SPI for goods of Canada as “MX”. It has been corrected to “CA” in Revision 2.
Units of quantity for pigments, casein, albumins. The ITC corrected subheadings 3204.17.9018 and 3204.17.9046 to add “kg” in the unit of quantity column where no unit had previously been listed. Similarly, the ITC added “kg msc” to the unit of quantity column for subheadings 3501.10.10, 3501.10.50, 3501.90.60 and 3502.20.00.
Anionic surface-active agents. The ITC corrected two tariff lines for anionic surface-active agents, 3402.11.4000 and 3402.11.5000, by indenting them so that they clearly fall under the correct six-digit subheading (“Anionic:”).
Refined copper cathodes from Chile. The ITC re-added SPI “CL” to the special rate column to clarify that refined copper cathodes are eligible for duty-free treatment under the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement. The ITC had omitted the SPI from its Revision 1 edition of the HTS.