Harmonized Tariff Schedule

A "very limited" number of goods in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States don't have corresponding free trade agreement (FTA) tariff change rules (TCR), CBP said in a CSMS message (here). That's because the FTAs were negotiated using an HTS that has since been modified -- in 2007, 2012 or 2017 -- and corresponding tariff change rules have not yet been implemented, the agency said. "Until revised TCRs are implemented, manufacturers/exporters/importers of affected goods seeking to perform a tariff-shift origination analysis should classify the good and its materials using the most recent HTSUS in which the tariff item has a corresponding TCR and perform the origination analysis using that year’s HTSUS," it said.

The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on tool chests and cabinets from China (A-570-056) and Vietnam (A-552-821), and countervailing duty investigations on tool chests and cabinets from China (C-570-057).

The Commerce Department is accepting public comments on any subsidies, including stumpage, paid by certain countries that exported softwood lumber to the U.S. between July 1 and Dec. 31, Commerce said (here). Comments are due June 5. The Softwood Lumber Act of 2008 requires Commerce to submit a report every 180 days on any subsidy provided by nations exporting softwood lumber or softwood products to the U.S., including subsidies for stumpage. Commerce is seeking public comment on subsidies paid by countries whose exports composed at least 1 percent of total U.S. softwood imports by quantity, as classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheading 4407.10.01, the agency said. International Trade Commission Tariff and Trade DataWeb information indicates that only Canada exported softwood lumber to the U.S. during that six-month period in amounts sufficient to account for at least 1 percent of U.S. imports of softwood lumber products.

CBP will begin enforcing Harmonized Tariff Schedule flagging for all Environmental Protection Agency programs on May 18 for all filers, it said (here). “Once the flags are enforced, the filer will either need to file the required information electronically using the PGA message set or disclaim using the appropriate code,” CBP said. “Reminder from EPA: The importer is responsible for knowing what to file, regardless of whether a tariff code has been flagged.”

Boeing is asking for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on 100-seat to 150-seat large civil aircraft from Canada, it said in petitions filed with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission on April 27. The petition, which targets Bombardier’s CS100 and CS300 passenger aircraft, says the Canadian company’s goal is “muscling its way into the U.S. aviation market by offering its heavily subsidized planes at cut-rate pricing.” Boeing says Bombardier is following the playbook set by Airbus when it “helped drive U.S. competitors Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas out of the commercial airplane market by selling its subsidized aircraft at below-market prices.”

The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigation on carton-closing staples from China (A-570-055) (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 period of investigation is July 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016.

The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Belarus (A-822-806), Italy (A-475-836), South Korea (A-580-891), Russia (A-821-824), South Africa (A-791-823), Spain (A-469-816), Turkey (A-489-831), Ukraine (A-823-816), the United Arab Emirates (A-520-808) and the United Kingdom (A-412-826), and its recently initiated countervailing duty investigations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Italy (C-475-837) and Turkey (C-489-832).

CBP and the Food and Drug Administration are updating the ACE Partner Government Agency flags for FDA requirements, CBP said in a CSMS message (here). "Specifically, the tariff numbers that had flags for [Automated Commercial Service Other Government Agency] of FD0 are getting ACE PGA requirements updates to have either no FDA flag, FD1 (FDA May Be Required) or FD2 (FDA Required)," it said. CBP also provided a spreadsheet of FDA Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes with associated flags in ACE (here).

A group of domestic steel producers recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on cold-drawn mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel from China, Germany, India, Italy, South Korea and Switzerland, and new countervailing duties on cold-drawn mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel from China and India. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on mechanical tubing from these countries. The petition was filed by ArcelorMittal Tubular Products; Michigan Seamless Tube, LLC; PTC Alliance Corp.; Zekelman Industries; and Webco Industries, Inc.

The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on biodiesel from Argentina (A-357-820/C-357-821) and Indonesia (A-560-830/C-560-831).