The customs broker’s license examination scheduled for April 2014 will be on Monday, April 7, said CBP in a notice. The four-hour exam consists of 80 multiple-choice questions, with a score of 75 percent required to pass. Exam topics usually include: Entry, Classification, Country of Origin, Trade Agreements, Antidumping/Countervailing Duty, Value, Broker Responsibilities, FP&F, Protests, Marking, Prohibited and Restricted Merchandise, Drawback, Intellectual Property Rights, and other subjects pertinent to a broker's duties. CBP said registration is expected to open for the exam in February.
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.
Domestic solar panel manufacturer Solar World Industries America on Dec. 31 began a push to strengthen antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from China, filing a petition for new AD/CV duties on modules made from third-country solar cells. Solar World says the AD/CV duty orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, issued in December 2012, leave a “loophole” that’s letting in an increasing amount of Chinese solar modules made from Taiwanese solar cells. The petition seeks to remedy that by imposing AD/CV duties on “crystalline solar photovoltaic products,” which specifically include third-country solar cells, from China and Taiwan.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2014 edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements changes made by Presidential Proclamation 9072, including a rewrite of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement rules of origin. It also clarifies exemptions for some free trade agreements from the merchandise processing fee (MPF), includes a statistical note on the reporting of metal ores, slag and residues, and adds new statistical suffixes to several tariff subheadings for products like xanthan gum, sterilizers, and unwrought titanium. Most of the changes took effect Jan. 1.
The Census Bureau updated, effective Dec. 31, the Schedule B and Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) tables in the Automated Export System (AES) to accept changes to 2014 codes. AES will accept shipments with outdated 2013 codes during a 30-day grace period following the Dec. 31 expiration date. Reporting an outdated 2013 code after the 30-day grace period will generate a fatal error. The AESDirect program has also been updated with the 2014 codes and will accept shipments with outdated 2013 codes during the grace period as well. All AESPcLink users must update their AESDirect code tables to reflect the 2014 changes in Schedule B and HTS. AESDirect users who file via the website at aesdirect.census.gov will have their code tables updated via the program automatically. Census published online the 2014 Schedule B and HTS codes (here) and the current list of HTS codes that are not valid for AES (here). For more information, contact the Census AES branch at (800) 549-0595, option 1 for AES, askaes@census.gov and online at www.census.gov/trade or http://globalreach.blogs.census.gov.
Changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule made by Presidential Proclamation 9072 are set to be published in the Dec. 31 Federal Register. The proclamation adds Mali as a beneficiary country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act after a year-long absence (see 13122418), and gives Curaçao beneficiary status under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act. It also makes changes to the HTS to reflect the expiration of the Andean Trade Preference Act in July 2013, extends an agreement on agricultural tariffs with Israel, corrects errors related to duty free treatment of radial tires under the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement, and makes wholesale changes to the rules of origin under the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement to reflect a newer version of the HTS.
The Court of International Trade on Dec. 26 slapped yet more penalties on a Laredo-based customs broker whose violations were already the subject of another civil suit and a criminal case. The court ordered Alejandro Santos to pay $30,000 for misclassifying two shipments of pesticides and failing to file the notice of arrival required by the Environmental Protection Agency. The court had already ordered $19,000 in penalties against Santos in December 2012 for unrelated violations of customs laws. Santos also faces prison time after pleading guilty in May to a criminal customs case in the Southern Texas District Court.
The Court of International Trade weighed in on the classification of combination digital cameras and camcorders, finding on Dec. 23 that they are classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s provision for “digital still image video cameras.” CBP had said classification of digital cameras should be determined by whether the product’s principal function is for capturing still or moving images. But CIT found that CBP had misinterpreted the tariff schedule, and that digital cameras for either still or moving images, or combinations of both, belonged in the same subheading and enter duty free.
President Barack Obama notified Congress in a Dec. 23 letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and president of the Senate, Vice President Joe Biden of his intent to designate Curaçao a beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). After the U.S. Trade Representative determines Curaçao is making substantial progress towards implementing and following customs procedures required in CBTPA, Curaçao will be eligible to receive CBTPA benefits.
The International Trade Commission on Dec. 19 released its report on the probable effects of proposed changes to the NAFTA rules of origin. The modifications were agreed upon in April 2012 by the NAFTA Free Trade Commission, which comprises representatives of the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican governments, and mark the fourth time the countries have negotiated such wide-ranging rules of origin amendments through the “Track IV” Process. The U.S. Trade Representative requested the ITC conduct the investigation in March (see 13031524).
The International Trade Commission on Dec. 19 released its report on the probable effects of proposed changes to the NAFTA rules of origin. The modifications were agreed upon in April 2012 by the NAFTA Free Trade Commission, which comprises representatives of the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican governments, and mark the fourth time the countries have negotiated such wide-ranging rules of origin amendments through the “Track IV” Process. The U.S. Trade Representative requested the ITC conduct the investigation in March (see 13031524).