Harmonized Tariff Schedule

CBP clarified a recent Harmonized Tariff Schedule update to explain that several origination requirements must still be met for a good to be eligible for Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) exemptions for originating goods within a preference program. The clarification follows a Jan. 3 CSMS message highlighting a change to General Statistical (GSN) Note 3(c) within the 2014 HTS (see 14010624). The agency also said some preference programs that include MPF exemptions were mistakenly not named in the update.

Beef jerky is correctly classified as a cured meat in the tariff schedule, said the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Feb. 3 as it denied an appeal by importer Link Snacks. Although the production of beef jerky involves an additional drying process, the product is also cured beforehand, which puts it squarely within the parameters of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading for meat “of bovine animals: cured or pickled,” said CAFC.

A group of domestic steel companies on Jan. 31 requested new antidumping and countervailing duties on carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from China (A-570-012/C-570-013). ArcelorMittal USA, Charter Steel, Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel, Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc., Keystone Consolidated Industries, and Nucor Corporation allege increased imports of Chinese steel wire rod is reducing domestic industry’s market share. Underselling of Chinese wire rod is also forcing domestic companies to reduce prices, which is hurting their profitability, they said.

The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on crystalline silicon photovoltaic products from China and Taiwan (A-570-010, A-583-853), and its countervailing duty investigation on crystalline silicon photovoltaic products from China (C-570-011). The investigation covers some solar modules made from third-country cells. Commerce will determine whether imports of solar products from China and Taiwan are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or illegally subsidized.

CBP's recent Harmonized System Updates 1401 and 1402 includes the harmonized tariff schedule flags for the Environmental Protection Agency and Food Safety and Inspection Services, the two agencies participating in the Participating Government Agency Message Set pilot, said CBP. The "edits are in place to help ensure that only pilot participants file the new PGA data," said CBP in a CSMS message. "If you are not an official pilot participant, please do not submit PGA data via the new PGA Message Set." CBP opened the pilot in December (see 13121219).

CBP said its Harmonized System Update 1402 was created Jan. 16, containing 10,199 ABI records and 1,819 harmonized tariff records. Adjustments required by the verification of the 2014 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) were made, "including corrections to cotton assessments and the addition of PGA (PARTICIPATING GOVERNMENT AGENCY) indicators that are subject to the PGA message set," 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.

Deckers Outdoor Corp. on Jan. 7 asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal on the tariff classification of its “Uggs” boots. According to Deckers, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision that the boots are “slip on” footwear improperly relied on an internal agency definition of slip-on footwear from CBP’s 1993 “Footwear Definitions” document. If allowed to stand, such reliance on unsupported administrative “fiat” statements would put importers in a difficult position by curtailing their ability to get courts to review tariff classification disputes, says Deckers.

The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on calcium hypochlorite from China (A-570-008/C-570-009). The agency will determine whether imports of the pool cleaning chemical from China are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or illegally subsidized.

CBP said its Harmonized System Update 1401 was created Jan. 6, containing 1,411 ABI records and 236 harmonized tariff records. The update includes Participating Government Agency indicators "that are subject to the PGA message set that will apply to the PGA pilot participants," it said. "The PGA data for the update transactions are stored on the record identifier ‘VL’ (OUTPUT) records. The PGA data for the query transactions are stored on the record identifier ‘WL’ (OUTPUT) records." . Adjustments required by the verification of the 2014 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 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.

CBP reminded importers of a change to General Statistical (GSN) Note 3(c) within the 2014 Harmonized Tariff Schedule in a CSMS message. GSN 3(c) was updated in the 2014 HTS to indicate that goods imported under the Civil Aircraft Agreement, Pharmaceutical Agreement and Intermediate Chemicals for Dyes Agreement (SPI “C,” “K,” and “L,” respectively) that are the product of a country with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement (FTA) that provides the MPF exemption can be imported free of merchandise processing fee (MPF) using SPI C#, K#, and L#, even if the FTA’s more stringent origination rules and imported directly rules are not met, the agency said. This applies to all FTAs that provide the MPF exemption (NAFTA, Chile, Singapore, Australia, Israel, Bahrain, Oman, CAFTA, Peru, Korea, Colombia and Panama), it said. The International Trade Commission recently published the new HTS, with most changes taking effect Jan. 1 (see 14010221).