CBP said it created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1612 on Aug. 30, containing 4,692 ABI records and 935 harmonized tariff records (here). Modifications include changes made to the HTS Chapter 62 that were in the customs reauthorization law, CBP said. That customs law resolved errors in another law that created new HTS subheadings for recreational performance outerwear, but specified the wrong duty rates for the new tariff lines (see 1508080003). Adjustments required by the verification of the 2016 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are included as well. The modified records can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov
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 proposing to amend its regulations on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) import requirements to provide for electronic filing of TSCA certifications in ACE, eliminate paper-based blanket TSCA certifications, and clarify and add certain definitions, it said (here). CBP’s proposed rule would require that importers of chemicals submit electronic positive and negative TSCA certifications in ACE “or any other CBP-authorized electronic data interchange system.” Importers would also have to submit additional information on the certifying individual, including name, phone number and email address, to “facilitate the resolution of issues related to particular shipments.” The proposed rule would also allow importers to submit electronic notices of exportation and abandonment if their shipment is refused entry. According to CBP, publication of the final rule implementing these changes will coincide with the conclusion of the ongoing ACE filing pilot of TSCA import data required by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Foreign Agricultural Service will charge a fee of $250 for the 2017 tariff-rate quota (TRQ) year for each license issued to a person or firm by the U.S. Department of Agriculture authorizing the importation of certain dairy articles that are subject to tariff-rate quotas set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), it said (here). The fee is unchanged from last year's fee of $250 for 2016 TRQ licenses (see 1508030016).
The International Trade Commission on Aug. 23 launched a new Import Monitoring Tool on its website (here), as required by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act enacted in February (see 1602240071), the ITC said (here). The tool will allow users to determine whether import data changed throughout a period of time and uses public monthly import data provided by the Commerce Department based on Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) tariff line, the ITC said. When users first access the tool, they will see U.S. imports ranked by tariff line in descending order based on the “largest absolute change” during the latest two quarters. Users can also adjust ranking criteria to a percentage-change basis; set apart a group of tariff lines from a certain HTS chapter, heading or subheading; segregate changes by specific importer; and view corresponding changes in import quantities, the ITC said. Users can also query the data by HTS tariff line and see associated country or quantity details. The Import Monitoring Tool contains import data for the eight latest quarters, the ITC said.
The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on emulsion styrene-butadiene (ESB) rubber from Brazil (A-351-849), South Korea (A-580-890), Mexico (A-201-848) and Poland (A-455-805) (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.
The World Customs Organization announced minor corrections to changes to the Harmonized System tariff classification nomenclature set to take effect Jan. 1, 2017 (here). The changes correct punctuation and spelling errors in chapters 38, 44 and 48. The U.S. is set to implement these changes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule on Jan. 1.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Aug. 12 submitted to Congress the Obama administration’s draft statement of administrative action (SAA) for U.S. implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (here). The document summarizes the TPP implementation legislation the administration intends to send to Congress, as well as the administration's overall interpretation of provisions of the trade agreement, which will be subject to approval by Congress. Submission of the draft SAA to Congress starts a 30-day clock, after which the administration may submit TPP implementation legislation to Congress alongside the final SAA.
CBP said it created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1611 on Aug. 11, containing 2,707 ABI records and 743 harmonized tariff records (here). Modifications include changes to the steel LPC code. This indicator has been re-added to all associated harmonized tariff records, CBP said. Adjustments required by the verification of the 2016 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are included as well. The modified records can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov
CBP should update its footwear definitions so that old-fashioned “athletic” shoes like Converse’s Chuck Taylor All-Stars and P-F Flyers, as well as infant shoes and even dress shoes, are no longer classified under tariff provisions for athletic footwear, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America suggested in a letter to CBP's Office of Regulations and Rulings (here). “At a point in the distant past, this footwear was in fact used for athletic purposes,” FDRA President Matt Priest said in the letter, alluding to those Converse brands. “However, at present, use for that purpose would be fugitive.”
The International Trade Commission on July 28 released a report (here) on recommended changes to Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) chapters 03, 44 and 63 that are necessary to implement amendments to the Harmonized System (HS) adopted by the World Customs Organization in 2015 (see 1506230026), it said (here). Unintentionally omitted from the WCO’s tariff changes set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2017 (see 14073002 and 14073101), the amendments to Chapter 44 introduce new subdivisions for coniferous and non-coniferous wood and new subheadings for certain wood of pine, fir, spruce, beech, birch, poplar, aspen and eucalyptus. These amendments to subheadings of headings 4401, 4403, 4406, 4407 and 4412 would take effect in 2018.