The U.S. and the other 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership parties as expected locked down several flexibilities to the yarn forward rule of origin in the final text of the pact, including an exemption for travel goods and an earned income allowance program for Vietnamese trouser trade. But the outcome on textiles and apparel reflects a genuine compromise between the interests of U.S. domestic producers and importers, and all sides have tentatively applauded the deal, according to interviews with a number of textile and apparel lobbyists.
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 Trans-Pacific Partnership is likely to cut duties on U.S. footwear imports by $450 million in the first year of implementation, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America President Matt Priest said in a Nov. 9 call with reporters. The Harmonized Tariff Schedule contains 120 eight-digit footwear tariff lines, and 102 of those lines will be duty-free on entry into force of the pact, said Priest. U.S. negotiators agreed to keep tariffs on a range of “sensitive” products, but all footwear duties will phase out over a 12-year period, he said.
The World Trade Organization’s aircraft committee agreed on Nov. 5 to amend its Civil Aircraft Agreement product list to make it compatible with the World Customs Organization’s 2007 Harmonized System tariff schedule, the WTO said on Nov. 5 (here). The agreement cuts duties on a wide range of civilian aircraft-related products, such as engines and flight simulators. The U.S. is one of 32 signatories to the pact. The committee “has been working since 2008 to modify the product list of the Agreement to make it compatible with the 2007 version of the Harmonized System,” which comprises six-digit tariffs codes to provide a “common basis” to trade qualifying goods, said the WTO.
The International Trade Commission is requesting proposals for possible changes to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System tariff schedule that would be implemented in the U.S. HTS in January 2022 (here). Any proposals received will be reviewed by the ITC, Commerce Department and CBP, before being forwarded to the WCO for possible adoption, said the ITC.
A group of U.S. manufacturers filed a petition on Oct. 28 with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe from Oman (A-523-812), Pakistan (A-535-903), the Philippines (A-565-803), the United Arab Emirates (A-520-803) and Vietnam (A-552-820), and countervailing duties on circular welded pipe from Pakistan (C-535-904). Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on these products that could result in the imposition of duties.
TB Wood's filed a petition on Oct. 28 with the Commerce Department and International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on iron mechanical transfer drive components from China (A-570-032/C-570-031), and antidumping duties on imports of the same product from Canada (A-122-856). Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on these products that could result in the imposition of duties.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on welded stainless pressure pipe from India (A-533-867/C-533-868). The agency will determine whether imports of Indian pressure pipe are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or illegally subsidized.
The Commerce Department is seeking comment on any subsidies, including stumpage subsidies, provided by countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood lumber products to the U.S. during the period Jan. 1 through June, 30, 2015 (here). Comments are due by Nov. 23.
CBP said it created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1508 on Oct. 20, containing 23,448 ABI records and 4,460 harmonized tariff records. The update includes changes as a result of supplemental cotton assessment by the Agricultural Marketing Service, said CBP (here). Adjustments required for the verification of the 2015 Harmonized Tariff Schedule are also included, CBP said in a CSMS message. The modified records can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov.
The International Trade Commission, CBP and the Census Bureau launched efforts on Oct. 20 to track the content and volume of e-cigarette imports into the U.S. market, Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement that applauded that decision. The U.S. previously didn’t track e-cigarettes “under any national regulatory or revenue system,” the statement said (here). “The actual volumes and sources of these imports are unknown because current tariff schedules do not contain reporting codes specific to these products. Instead, they are imported under broad basket categories where e-cigarettes are included with electrical equipment such as strobe lights and hand-held calorie counters.” Wyden pushed the ITC to regulate e-cigarettes in a June letter (see 1506080024). A spokesman for Wyden said the "new data breakouts will show up in the Jan. 1, 2016 Harmonized Tariff Schedule."