The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on plastic decorative ribbon from China (A-570-075/C-570-076). The agency will determine whether imports of Chinese decorative ribbon, which is commonly used in gift wrapping, holiday decorations and party crafting, are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value and illegally subsidized.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) is a reference manual that provides duty rates for almost every item that exists. It is a system of classifying and taxing all goods imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international Harmonized System, which is a global standard for naming and describing trade products, and consists of a hierarchical structure that assigns a specific code and rate to each type of merchandise for duty, quota, and statistical purposes. The HTS was made effective on January 1, 1989, replacing the former Tariff Schedules of the United States. It is maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission, but the Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the HTS.
The World Trade Organization recently referred to arbitration a U.S. request to raise tariffs on Indian goods in retaliation for its failure to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling on the country’s domestic content requirements for solar cells, the WTO said. The U.S. in December had requested the WTO authorize its “suspension of tariff concessions and related obligations (including most-favored-nation obligations) … on a list of products of India to be drawn from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.” India purportedly failed to implement the WTO’s 2016 ruling (see 1609190043). The U.S. request did not include a specific monetary amount of retaliation or a list of affected products.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 2-5 in case they were missed.
CBP is seeking comments by Feb. 7 on an existing information collection for free entry of returned American products, it said in a notice. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the information collected or to the estimated burden hours associated with the collection.
CBP will not enforce changes to the agency's in-bond regulations for another six months beyond when the agency previously planned to enforce the new rules, it said in a Jan. 4 CSMS message. The agency previously planned to stop accepting paper copies of CBP Form 7512 for input of in-bond records on Jan. 8, but now that won't take place until July 2, it said. "CBP Officers will continue to accept paper CBP Form 7512 and input the data on the trade’s behalf until July 2," the agency said.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on sodium gluconate, gluconic acid and derivative products (GNA products) from France and China (A-427-829/A-570-071), and a countervailing duty investigation on GNA products from China (C-570-072). The agency will determine whether imports of French or Chinese GNA products are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value, and whether Chinese imports are illegally subsidized.
A domestic manufacturer filed a petition on Dec. 27 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on plastic decorative ribbon from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on plastic decorative ribbon that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. The petition, filed by Berwick Offray, targets ribbons made of various plastics that are used "mainly for decorative purposes, such as gift wrapping, holiday decorations, and party crafting."
The International Trade Commission posted the 2018 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the reinstatement of Argentina into the Generalized System of Preferences, as well as The Gambia and Swaziland as African Growth and Opportunity Act beneficiaries. New statistical suffixes are also added for organic lemons, gift wrap ribbons and bows, and metal bed bases, among others. Most of the changes took effect Jan. 1.
Solar panels used solely in educational settings should still be classified as solar panels, potentially subject to antidumping and countervailing duties, CBP said in a Sept. 25 ruling. Pitsco Education sought internal advice through the Center of Excellence and Expertise for Machinery on the classification of the solar panels and complementary components, such as solar-powered cars, that "impart an understanding of solar energy principles." Pitsco claimed that all the merchandise is properly classified in heading 9023 "as instruments or parts of models or apparatus designed for demonstrational purposes."
President Donald Trump directed the revocation of certain Generalized System of Preferences for Ukraine, added Argentina to GSP eligibility, and added The Gambia and Swaziland to African Growth and Opportunity Act eligibility in a proclamation on Dec. 22. The suspension of certain Ukrainian GSP benefits will take effect 120 days after the proclamation’s publication in the Federal Register. Argentina’s addition to GSP eligibility will take effect Jan. 1. Former President Barack Obama terminated Argentina’s GSP benefits in 2012 (see 12032738), and The Gambia’s and Swaziland’s AGOA benefits in 2014 (see 14062706 and 1412230060).