CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1708 on Dec. 20, containing 33,859 Automated Broker Interface records and 6,591 harmonized tariff records, it said in a CSMS message. Modifications include "the annual special program staged rate reductions mandated by the individual Free Trade Agreements," CBP said. "This update also contains modifications mandated by the 484 F Committee, the Committee for Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules. These adjustments are effective on January 1, 2018, and will be published within the change record, and chapters, of the 2018 USHTS. However, until they are available, please contact your assigned client representative for assistance with discontinued records."
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.
CBP is issuing a "blanket" authorization to allow the release of most types of merchandise on or after Dec. 18 through Dec. 31 under Immediate Delivery (ID) procedures, it said in a CSMS message. Many entry filers make regular use of ID procedures for fresh fruits and vegetables and other merchandise from Mexico and Canada, etc.
CBP posted a list of frequently asked questions related to changes to the agency's in-bond regulations (see 1709270027). The list addresses questions on local port policy differences, diversion requests, implementation of Harmonized Tariff Schedule number requirements and partner government agency visibility into in-bond transactions. While the rules took effect Nov. 27, CBP said it wouldn't immediately begin enforcing the requirements (see 1711220043).
ATLANTA -- CBP is looking at options to create a “foreign entity ID” to replace the manufacturer ID it currently requires on entry documentation, said Jeff Nii, director of CBP’s interagency collaboration division, at the East Coast Trade Symposium on Dec. 6. Alongside its counterparts on the Border Interagency Executive Council (BIEC), the agency is looking into several options, including working with a non-profit standards organizations and creating the IDs on its own, prioritizing low cost in the hopes that the entity ID system garners worldwide adoption. The BIEC, which is currently finalizing its own operating procedures, will also soon begin consideration of product sub-identifiers that would provide more detail than currently allowed by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, Nii said.
PMP Fermentation Products recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on sodium gluconate, gluconic acid and derivative products from France and China, and countervailing duties on the same products from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on sodium gluconate products from these countries. The powdered, water-soluble chemical is used in a wide variety of industries, including as a cleaning agent for glassware, a variety of functions in mixing concrete, in the food industry and in household products.
UPS acquired Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services (STTAS) on Nov. 30, UPS said in a Dec. 4 news release. STTAS, the consulting and trade compliance arm of the Sandler Travis law and lobbying firm, "will continue to provide its same services, from the same offices with use of the same personnel," STTAS said in a news release. It will also "continue to serve as a resource" for Sandler Travis "on joint client issues as it has in the past." Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
A revision to the timeline for implementing new in-bond regulations that was announced by CBP's Miami Assistant Port Director Kemisha Sherrell in a Nov. 30 information bulletin includes several big changes. Among the changes is a mention that Harmonized Tariff Schedule "requirements will be enforced on a date to be determined." The previous version of the schedule (see 1711290036) did not mention the HTS element, though the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America recently said it expects the requirement that HTS numbers be supplied on in-bond transmissions will be delayed by CBP (see 1711210022). The regulations took effect Nov. 27 (see 1709270027).
The Commerce Department issued notice in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on common alloy aluminum sheet from China (A-570-073/C-570-074). The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016. The AD duty investigation covers entries April 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2017. The self-initiated investigation is the first in over 25 years that Commerce has begun on its own behalf, without any petition for AD/CV duties from U.S. domestic producers (see 1711290033).
Fiscal year 2018 Homeland Security spending legislation released by the Senate Appropriations Committee Nov. 21, directs $38 million to support ACE core functionality and $5 million for ACE enhancements, language that wasn’t included in similar legislation that passed the House in September (see 1709150052). “It is clear that additional system development is needed to continue to facilitate interactions with vendors and importers,” the committee said in an explanatory statement of the bill. Fully automating CBP Form 214 (Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation) would be an example of such an enhancement, the summary says. CBP plans to roll out FTZ admission capabilities in ACE by Dec. 9 (see 1709110034).
CBP will postpone a new requirement that the Harmonized Tariff Schedule number be supplied on in-bond transmissions, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in an emailed update sent Nov. 20. The requirement will not take effect Nov. 27 alongside other provisions of CBP’s September in-bond final rule (see 1709270027), CBP has said, according to the NCBFAA. “CBP will be issuing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to the Trade to explain this change and other issues from the [Federal Register] notice on the final rule,” the trade group said. “We expect the FAQ to be issued this week.” CBP did not comment.