The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigation on dioctyl terephthalate from South Korea (A-580-889) (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.
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.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on finished carbon steel flanges from India (A-533-871), Italy (A-475-835) and Spain (A-469-815), and countervailing duty investigation on steel flanges from India (C-533-872).
Two domestic manufacturers, Lion Elastomers LLC and East West Copolymers, filed a petition on July 21 with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (ESBR) from South Korea, Mexico and Poland. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD duty investigations on these products, which are mostly used to make new rubber tires, the petition said. ESBR is also used "in a variety of other products, including conveyor belts, shoe soles, some kinds of hoses, roller coverings and flooring."
A rare Ferrari imported into the U.S. meets the requirements for classification as a collector's item, CBP said in a further review of a protest ruling (here). CBP liquidated the entry for the car, imported from Italy after inclusion in an exhibit at the Ferrari Museum in Italy, under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) heading 8703 as a motor car. "The invoice which accompanied the car upon importation lists its sale price as $25,000,000," CBP said.
Harmonized tariff schedule tables were updated in the Automated Export System (AES) and ACE AESDirect program to reflect implementation of the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, effective July 1, the Census Bureau said in an email. Both systems will, however, accept outdated codes for shipments through the end of this month, Census said.
Screws imported by GRK Canada are classifiable in the tariff schedule as self-tapping screws, and not wood screws, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued July 15 (here). Ruling on the case for the second time after the Federal Circuit, on appeal, controversially ordered CIT to consider the screws’ intended use (see 14080420), the trade court again concluded that GRK’s screws share the physical characteristics of self-tapping screws. This time, however, CIT also noted the screws’ suitability for use in materials other than wood.
The use of ACE by the Environmental Protection Agency will likely become mandatory in the "fall time frame at the earliest," Roy Chaudet of EPA said during a July 7 webinar about Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) and the move to ACE. That agency is running several pilots including for non-road vehicle imports and pesticide notices of arrival, ozone-depleting substances and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) submissions (see 1606090020). "In terms of our pilots ending and our reporting requirements put in place, those will all be later this year," he said.
The International Trade Commission on July 1 posted revisions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (here). The new HTS implements the first round of tariff cuts under the expanded World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, as well as the results of the U.S. Trade Representative's 2015-16 review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), adding several "travel goods" to the program, albeit only for least developed country beneficiaries.
The International Trade Commission on July 1 posted revisions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (here). The new HTS implements the results of the U.S. Trade Representative's 2015-16 review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), adding several "travel goods" to the program, albeit only for least developed country beneficiaries. The ITC is also implementing the first round of tariff cuts under the expanded World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, and adding new tariff numbers for a variety of products, including sweatshirts.
Eastman Chemical filed a petition on June 30 with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on dioctyl terephthalate from South Korea. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on dioctyl terephthalate, which the petition says is mostly used in chemical manufacturing, that could result in the imposition of duties.