ITC Issues Preliminary Edition of 2017 HTS: Part 1 (GSP and AGOA, Seafood Classification)

(NOTE: This is the first of a multipart summary of the 2017 Preliminary Edition of the HTS, covering changes to the General Notes and Chapter 3. Summaries of changes to other chapters will appear in upcoming issues of International Trade Today. See the Change Record (here) for a full list of changes, including modifications to Schedule B numbers in the “Notice to Exporters” and changes that were already reflected in previous editions of the HTS. The effective date of all of the changes listed below is Jan. 1, 2017, unless otherwise noted.)

Changes for GSP and AGOA Benefits, Nepal Preferences

The Preliminary Edition of the 2017 HTS includes changes implementing recent actions related to the Generalized System of Preferences and the African Growth and Opportunity Act. For GSP, General Note 4(a) is amended to reflect the removal of Seychelles, Uruguay and Venezuela from GSP eligibility effective Nov. 13, 2016 (see 1510070022), while Burma is added to the list of eligible countries effective Jan. 1 (see 1609140032). For AGOA, the ITC is amending General Note 16(a) to reflect the removal of Seychelles from AGOA eligibility as of Dec. 15, 2016, and the addition of the Central African Republic to the program effective Jan. 1 (see 1612190005). Other changes to trade preferences programs are as follows:

GSP-ineligible country-product pairs. The ITC made several changes to the list of country-product pairs ineligible for GSP treatment at General Note 4(d) to reflect changes elsewhere in the tariff schedule. For example, subheading 0306.24.20 for crabmeat no longer exists in the tariff schedule, so the listing for GSP-ineligible non-frozen crabmeat from Venezuela is amended to reflect the new subheadings covering non-frozen crabmeat, 0306.33.20 and 0306.93.20. Similar changes were made to listings for subheadings 1602.50.20 from Brazil (now 1602.50.21) and 3907.60.00 from India, Indonesia and Thailand (now 3907.61.00 and 3907.69.00), among others.

Nepal benefits added. Trade preferences for Nepal enacted under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (see 1603010043) are added under HTS provisions for GSP in new General Note 4(e). New special program indicator (SPI) “NP” is used to designate subheadings eligible for preferences (though the new SPI was not added to the list of SPIs in General Note 3).

Note on rules of origin. The ITC added to its “Compiler’s Note” to the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation on the compatibility of rules of origin for several free trade agreements with changes to the HTS to implement the Harmonized System of tariff nomenclature. The new language notes modifications in Presidential Proclamation 9555 to the rules of origin of the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement, the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, so that the rules comply with changes in 2007 and 2012.

Changes to Tariff Provisions for Fish and Seafood

Changes are made throughout Chapter 3 of the HTS to implement modifications to the Harmonized System adopted by the WCO. More detail is provided throughout this chapter, one of the most heavily modified in the 2017 HS, including provisions for edible fish offal, more types of carp, dried fish, marlins, sailfish and bonito, and shark meat and shark fins.

Fish offal. The 2017 Preliminary Edition of the HTS includes several changes mandated by the WCO that broaden tariff provisions for edible fish offal. For fresh or chilled fish, excluding fillets and other fish meat, new subheadings 0302.91 through 0302.99 are added. For frozen fish, excluding fillets and other fish meat, new subheadings 0303.91 through 0303.92 are added. Each covers “[l]ivers, roes, milt, fish fins, heads, tails, maws and other edible fish offal,” replacing former subheadings 0302.90 and 0303.90, which only covered livers and roes. Each is subdivided into subheadings for livers, roes and milt (0302.91 and 0303.91, which are further subdivided into statistical suffixes for roe from specific species), shark fins (0302.92.0000 and 0303.92.0000), and “other” edible fish offal (0302.99.0000 and 0303.99.0000).

Conforming changes. Tariff provisions for various fresh or chilled fish under heading 0302 and frozen fish under heading 0303 are amended to reflect the new classification scheme for fish offal. Where tariff provisions for various types of fish in these headings excluded “livers and roes,” the text is amended so that they now exclude “edible fish offal of subheadings” 0302.91 to 0302.99, or 0303.91 to 0303.99, respectively.

Milt unfit for human consumption. Chapter Note 1(c) to Chapter 3 is amended so that it also excludes from classification in Chapter 3 the milt of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates that are dead and unfit for human consumption. The note had previously excluded only their livers and roes.

Preserved milt. Subheading 0305.20 now covers livers, roes and milt of fish, dried, smoked, salted or in brine. The subheading had previously only covered such preparations of livers and roes.

Marlins, sailfishes and bonitos. New types of fish are added to the superior text above subheadings 0302.41.00 through 0302.49.00, and 0303.51.00 through 0303.59.00, each of which previously covered herrings, anchovies, sardines, sardinella, bristling/sprats, mackerel, cobia and swordfish. In addition to those fish, the subheadings will now include Indian mackerels (Rastrelliger spp.), seerfishes (Scomberomorus spp.), silver pomfrets (Pampus spp.), Pacific saury (Cololabis saira), scads (Decapterus spp.), capelin (Mallotus villosus), kawakawa (Euthynnus affinis), bonitos (Sarda spp.), marlins, sailfishes and spearfish (Istiophoridae). New “other” categories are added in subheadings 0302.49.00 and 0303.59.00 to cover the newly added species.

Carp. New species of carp are added to subheadings for carp throughout chapter 3, including Cyprinus spp., Carassius spp., Catla catla, Labeo spp., Osteochilus hasselti, Leptobarbus hoeveni and Megalobrama spp. These species are now classifiable alongside carp in subheadings 0301.93.02, 0302.73, 0303.25.01 (renumbered from 0303.25.00), 0304.39.00, 0304.51.01 (renumbered from 0303.51.00), 0304.69.0000, 0304.93, 0305.31.0100 (renumbered from 0305.30.00), 0305.44.0100 (renumbered from 0305.44.0000), new subheading 0302.52.0000 and 0305.64.

Shark, ray and skate meat. New subheadings are added throughout heading 0304 for fish fillets and other fish meat of “dogfish and other sharks” and “rays and skates.” New subheadings 0304.47.0000 and 0304.48.0000 cover fresh and chilled fillets of dogfish and other sharks, and rays and skates, respectively. New subheadings 0304.56.0000 and 0304.57.0000 cover other fresh and chilled meat of dogfish and other sharks, and rays and skates, respectively. New subheading 0304.88.0000 covers frozen fillets of dogfish, other sharks, rays and skates, and new subheadings 0304.96.0000 and 0304.97.0000 cover other frozen meat of dogfish and other sharks, and rays and skates, respectively.

Dried fish. More detail is added to the tariff subheading for dried fish, other than edible fish offal, whether or not salted but not smoked. Previously only covering cod under subheading 0305.51.0000 and “other” dried fish in subheading 0305.59.00, new provisions are added under subheading 0305.52.0000 for tilapias, catfish, carp, eels, Nile perch and snakeheads; subheading 0503.53.0000 for fish of the families Bregmacerotidae, Euclichthyidae, Gadidae, Macrouridae, Melanonidae, Merlucciidae, Moridae and Muraenolepididae, other than cod); and subheading 0305.54.0000 for herrings, anchovies, sardines, sardinella, brisling or sprats, mackerel, Indian mackerels, seerfishes, jack and horse mackerel, jacks, crevalles, cobia, silver pomfrets, Pacific saury, scads, capelin, swordfish, Kawakawa bonitos, marlins, sailfishes and spearfish.

King crab. One change in the 2017 that was not mandated by the WCO is the addition of more detail to HTS provisions for frozen king crab. Subheading 0306.14.4010, which previously covered all frozen king crabs, is replaced by statistical suffixes for red king crab (0306.14.4003), blue king crab (0306.14.4006), golden/brown king crab (0306.14.4009), Southern red santolla king crab (0306.14.4012) and other king crabs (0306.14.4015).

Provisions for non-frozen crustaceans, including rock lobsters, lobsters, crabs, Norway lobsters, shrimp and prawns, are divided into categories for “live, fresh or chilled” and “other.” Old subheadings 0306.21.00 through 0306.29.01 for “not frozen” crustaceans are replaced by new subheadings 0306.31.00 through 0306.39.00 for live, fresh or chilled crustaceans, and new subheadings 0306.91.00 through 0306.99.00 for “other,” non-frozen, dead crustaceans. Each category is divided by species in the same way as the old category for “not frozen” crustaceans.

New categories for squid, frozen molluscs. Previously, six-digit subheadings for molluscs had been divided into “live, fresh or chilled” and “other” eight-digit subheadings. The 2017 Preliminary Edition of the HTS adds eight-digit subheadings for the following frozen molluscs: oysters (0307.12.00), scallops (0307.22.00), mussels (0307.32.00), cuttle fish and squid (0307.43.00), octopus (0307.52.00), clams (0307.72.00), and other, including flours, meals and pellets (0307.92,00). The same is done for abalone (0307.82.00), and subheadings for abalone are modified to also cover stromboid conchs.

Frozen sea cucumbers and sea urchins. New subheadings are added for frozen sea cucumbers under 0308.12.0000 and frozen sea urchins under 0308.22.0000. Like the molluscs, these subheadings previously only included “live, fresh or chilled” and “other” categories.