The Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9013.80.70 is correctly used to classify several types of liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors, despite a push otherwise from the importer of the LCDs, CBP said in an Aug. 2 ruling. A company previously known as Optrex, which is now part of Kyocera Industrial Ceramics, asked CBP to reconsider a 2009 ruling in which the agency found some LCDs that would be installed following import to be classified under 9013.80.70. CBP said it was correctly using a "principal use" provision in the original ruling. As a result of the request, CBP also decided to revoke two rulings that Optrex's lawyer, Larry Friedman of Barnes Richardson, pointed to due to differing consideration of similar merchandise.
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 a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping investigations on ferrosilicon from Russia and Venezuela (A-821-820, A-307-824). The agency will determine whether imports of the subject merchandise are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. A Commerce Department fact sheet said domestic petitioners alleged AD rates of 21.85 to 60.78 percent for Russian exporters, and 20.07 to 60.11 percent for Venezuelan exporters.
CBP posted an updated version of its notice announcing that the next customs broker license exam will be on Monday, Oct. 7.
The Court of International Trade affirmed CBP’s tariff classification of a packaging material used in military “Meals, Ready-to-Eat” (MREs) under a provision for plastics, despite its inclusion of a layer of aluminum foil. Alcan Food Packaging had contended the material should have instead been classified as aluminum foil, but the court said the plastic layers imparted the item’s essential character.
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 2 overturned CBP’s classification of Alpinestars’ motocross boots in a tariff classification case that largely revolved around whether a mixed-material footwear upper should be considered plastic or leather. The agency’s application of U.S. Note 4(a) to Chapter 64 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule was overly restrictive, the court ruled. The plastic parts that formed part of the surface area of the uppers should have been disregarded as accessories or reinforcements pursuant to Note 4(a), leaving the leather underneath to be used as the basis for classification, CIT said.
Dorel Industries' Children’s beds with metal frames but a covering of wooden panels are within the scope of the antidumping duty order on wooden bedroom furniture from China (A-570-890), said the Commerce Department in a final scope ruling. Although the beds are classified as metal furniture in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, the wood panels, which make the bed look like a fire truck or princess castle, are extensively used and integral components, and as such bring the beds within the language of the scope, Commerce said.
The Foreign Agricultural Service will charge a fee of $200 for the 2014 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, which are subject to tariff-rate quotas set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). That represents an increase of $30 on top of the $170 fee currently in place for 2013 TRQ licenses (see 12082429).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture revised the appendices to its Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing Regulation for the 2013 tariff-rate quota year, in a final rule that takes effect Aug. 1. USDA is making the changes to reflect the cumulative annual transfers from Appendix 1 to Appendix 2 for certain dairy product import licenses permanently surrendered by licensees or revoked by the Foreign Agricultural Service.
A small number of goods in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule don't have corresponding free trade agreement (FTA) tariff change rules (TCR), said CBP in a CSMS message. That's because the FTA were negotiated using an HTS that has since been modified -- in 2007 and 2012 -- and corresponding tariff change rules have not yet been implemented, the agency said. Until the rules "are implemented, manufactures of affected goods seeking to perform a TCR origination analysis should perform the operation classifying both the good and its materials in accordance with the most recent HTSUS that has both the tariff item and the corresponding TCR," it said. The certification should include the current HTS number the HTS number used to perform the TCR, it said.
Wooden framed mirrors imported from China then exported to Mexico, where they undergo alterations, and finally returned to the U.S. are eligible for preferential duty exemption status, according to a CBP June decision. The ruling addresses consideration of the mirrors under subheading 9802.00.50 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which says items exported from the U.S. that are brought back into the U.S. after increasing in value are fully or partially duty exempt.