Though It would be difficult for Congress to prevent President Donald Trump from withdrawing from NAFTA, and it also appears the president would need congressional approval to restore any pre-NAFTA tariff rates after termination, trade analysts said during a Nov. 15 Washington International Trade Association event. Section 125(e) of the Trade Act of 1974 says tariffs enacted through free trade agreements will remain in effect for one year after termination or withdrawal, unless the president moves to accelerate the process by proclaiming that tariff rates be restored to non-FTA levels. That section also requires the president to recommend to Congress within 60 days of termination the appropriate tariff rates for all goods affected by the withdrawal.
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.
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) is seeking comments on requests by the government of Morocco to revise U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement rules of origin for certain knit apparel, and certain pants, skirts and jackets, the committee said. The U.S. government received petitions from Morocco on Oct. 10 to add 19 knit fabrics in Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States chapter 61, as well as certain jackets, skirts and pants in HTSUS chapter 62 to the FTA’s short supply list. CITA will accept comments through Jan. 5 on whether the U.S. domestic industry can supply the fabrics in commercial quantities in a timely manner.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin from India and China (A-533-879, A-570-066), and countervailing duty investigation on PTFE resin from India (C-533-880).
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet Nov. 14 in Washington, CBP said in a notice.
The listing of several components within the Pharmaceutical Appendix to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States don't mean a combination of those ingredients are eligible for duty-free classification, CBP said in Sept. 9 ruling. The agency said that the appendix must specify the product in order for it to qualify for the duty-free treatment allowed for such pharmaceuticals. CBP said in HQ H240719 that a milk thistle seed extract, called silymarin powder, is classifiable under 2932.99.61 as "Heterocyclic compounds with oxygen hetero-atom(s) only: Other: Other: Aromatic: Other."
The Commerce Department issued a notice in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on polyethylene terephthalate resin from Brazil (A-351-852), Indonesia (A-560-832), South Korea (A-580-896), Pakistan (A-535-905) and Taiwan (A-583-862). The agency will determine whether imports of merchandise subject to these investigations are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
Fiber optic telecommunications network equipment is classifiable as optical instruments of chapter 90 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the Court of International Trade said in an Oct. 18 decision. ADC Telecommunications argued CBP should have classified its “value added modules” as data transmission equipment in a duty fee provision of heading 8517. But CIT held that optical equipment includes fiber optic cables that transmit non-visible light, confirming CBP’s liquidation as “other optical appliances and instruments” in heading 9013.
CBP is seeking comments by Dec. 19 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.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Any two-track solution to Section 321 filing in both the Automated Broker Interface and the Automated Manifest System must have the same data requirements in each, customs brokers said during a panel discussion at the Western Cargo Conference on Oct. 13. Requiring a more detailed data set, while maintaining the current stripped-down data elements in AMS, would mean filers would be incentivized to continue clearing Section 321 entries off the manifest, the brokers said.