A coalition of domestic manufacturers filed a petition on Aug. 16 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on stainless steel flanges from China and India. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on stainless steel flanges that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. The coalition that requested the duties, known as the Coalition of American Flange Producers, includes as individual members Maass Flange Corporation and Core Pipe Products.
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.
House and Senate lawmakers introduced companion legislation that would eliminate tariffs on 69 recreational outerwear goods. The Senate version, introduced Aug. 2 by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., includes language that would impose, for 10 years, a 1.5 percent fee upon the imports’ entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption, payable to the Treasury. That fee wouldn’t apply to imports of recreational performance outerwear from any U.S. free trade agreement partner, Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act beneficiary country, or African Growth and Opportunity Act beneficiary country. House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert, R-Wash., introduced the House version of the legislation on Aug. 4.
North Pacific Paper Company filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on uncoated groundwood paper from Canada. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CV duty orders and the assessment of AD and CV duties on importers.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is moving forward with its review of the Generalized System of Preferences and is ready to consider petitions to modify both the list of GSP-eligible products and the beneficiary status of GSP countries, it said. USTR is also extending to a second day a previously announced hearing of the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee's (TPSC's) GSP Subcommittee on Bolivian compliance with GSP eligibility criteria related to child labor, to examine several other country practice petitions accepted in prior years (see 1707070021). The agency outlined the following deadlines in its GSP review (submissions are due at midnight on each deadline):
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on cast iron soil pipe fittings from China (A-570-062/C-570-063). The agency will determine whether imports of Chinese soil pipe fittings are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or are illegally subsidized. The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016. The AD duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2017, through June 30, 2017.
CBP is seeking comments by Oct. 2 on an existing information collection for document requirements for special tariff treatment provisions, 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 issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigation on tapered roller bearings from South Korea (A-580-894) (here). The agency will determine whether imports of merchandise subject to this investigation are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on low-melt polyester staple fiber from South Korea (A-580-895) and Taiwan (A-583-861) (here). The agency will determine whether imports of merchandise subject to these investigations are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
A coalition of domestic manufacturers filed a petition on July 13 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on cast iron soil pipe fittings from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on cast iron soil pipe fittings that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. The coalition that requested the duties, known as the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, includes as individual members AB&I Foundry, Charlotte Pipe & Foundry, and Tyler Pipe.