Wilton Industries appealed a Court of International Trade judgment that found in favor of CBP’s classification of its “Stampin Up!” decorative hole punches for use in scrap booking. Wilton had argued that they are classifiable as cutting machines under Harmonized Tariff Schedule Chapter 84 and should have entered duty free, but CIT said CBP correctly classified them as perforating punches under HTS Chapter 82, dutiable at 3.3 percent. CIT also threw out an agreement between Wilton and CBP that the judgment would only apply to 16 models of Wilton hole punches, instead applying the ruling to all 39 models at issue.
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 International Trade Administration recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on hardwood and decorative plywood from China (A-570-986 and C-570-987, respectively). The ITA will determine whether imports of hardwood plywood from China are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value, and whether manufacturers, producers, or exporters of hardwood plywood from China receive countervailable subsidies.
CBP is adopting a final rule amending its regulations for the preferential tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA or Peru FTA) by adding a new subpart Q to 19 CFR Part 10, etc., the agency said in a Oct. 18 Federal Register notice. CBP said it received no comments on its interim final rule, adopted in November, and only made a technical change from the interim rule, available (here).
CBP has stopped honoring preference claims for automotive parts under the Automotive Products Trade Act, special program indicator "B" and "B#," the agency said in a CSMS message. Although the APTA is still in effect, and can be found in Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS) General Note 5(a)(v), its utility has been supplanted by NAFTA, and its applicability to automotive parts ended when the outstanding "bona fide" letters expired in 1997, said CBP.
The Court of International Trade affirmed CBP’s Harmonized Tariff Schedule tariff classification of tuna imported by Del Monte from Thailand as packaged ‘in oil,’ despite containing at most 2.48 percent oil in the packaging, based on nearly hundred year-old appeals court precedent. CIT also affirmed CBP’s assessment of duties based on the invoice price for the tuna. Del Monte had argued that its Thai supplier did not comply with the terms of the purchase agreement, and later repaid the difference after importation, but CIT said the regulations are clear in requiring CBP to disregard any rebate of the price paid or payable after importation of merchandise.
Congress’ choice to base some apparel tariff provisions on gender, rather than avail itself of other alternatives, means it intended to discriminate based on gender, said Rack Room Shoes in its brief filed with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Therefore, it said, gender-based tariff provisions for apparel are facially discriminatory and violate the equal protection provisions of the Constitution.
The Court of International Trade affirmed CBP’s customs classification of “Stampin’ Up!” decorative punches, imported by plaintiff Wilton Industries from Taiwan. Wilton wanted the punches classified as cutting machines under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8441.10.00, which enter duty free, but CIT said CBP was correct in classifying them as “other perforating punches and similar handtools” under subheading 8203.40.60, dutiable at 3.3 percent. Although Wilton and CBP stipulated that 23 of the models of punches were classified as cutting machines, leaving only 16 of the models in contention, CIT said it had to look at all of the subject merchandise and applied its ruling to all 39 models.
The Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions with the International Trade Administration and International Trade Commission Sept. 27, alleging that Chinese hardwood plywood is illegally subsidized and is being sold at less than fair value in the U.S. The antidumping petition alleges AD rates averaging 310.02 percent.
CBP opened the Petroleum, Natural Gas and Minerals Center of Excellence and Expertise CEE in Houston Sept. 17, it said in a Sept. 24 press release. The CEE has started centralized processing for all trusted partners in the industry, "providing uniformity for trusted importers," said CBP.
CBP is requesting comments by Nov. 26 for an existing information collection on foreign assembler declarations with endorsement by the importer. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours but not the information collected, it said in a notice scheduled to run in the Federal Register Sept. 26.