The International Trade Administration issued its final affirmative antidumping duty determination on galvanized steel wire from China (A-570-975), which increases the AD rates for all respondents1 by 94%, and maintains the AD rate of 235% for the China-wide entity. This final determination, which is effective March 26, 2012, is expected to be implemented by U.S. Customs and Border Protection soon.
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 has issued its final affirmative countervailing duty determination on galvanized steel wire from China (C-570-976), which reduces the CV rates for two firms and “all-others”, and increases the CV rates for two firms. As CV liquidation is no longer suspended, ITA will only require cash deposits of estimated CV duties at the revised rates if it issues a CV order.
The Census Bureau has issued an AES Broadcast stating that, effective immediately, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) tables in the Automated Export System (AES) have been updated for the Korea Free Trade Agreement (KFTA). According to the broadcast and Census sources, AES will accept shipments with outdated codes for a 30-day grace period from approximately March 14 through April 13, 2012. Reporting an outdated code after the 30 day grace period will result in a fatal error.
The Census Bureau has posted to its website the March 2012 issue of its Automated Export System Newsletter (AES Newsletter). The newsletter contains the following articles:
In the March 14, 2012 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 46, No.12), CBP published two notices of its revocation of 10 rulings and treatment regarding the tariff classification of a porcelain travel coffee cup and hulled pumpkin seeds.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection states that the Automated Commercial System (ACS) and Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) are now updated to accept entry summaries claiming U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement duty benefits. While the KFTA has been in effect since March 15, entry summary claims could not be filed in ACS or ACE until these systems were updated for the KFTA. CBP has previously stated that KFTA claims are made using the Special Program Indicator (SPI) "KR."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an interim rule, effective March 15, 2012, that amends CBP regulations to implement the customs-related provisions of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KFTA). Comments must be received by May 18, 2012.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced the issuance of Harmonized System Update 2013 on changes to the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). This update was created on March 15, 2012 and contains 11,6214 Automated Broker Interface (ABI) records and 23,379 harmonized tariff records.
The International Trade Commission has posted Revision 1 of the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule containing the rates for the new U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KFTA), which is effective for qualifying goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after March 15, 2012. However, sources state that U.S. and Korean negotiators are still working on updating the KFTA rules of origin.
As of February 20, 2012, certain compacted, plied, ring spun cotton yarns are removed from the DR-CAFTA short supply list in accordance with the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements' (CITA) August 2011 determination that an acceptable substitute is now available in the DR-CAFTA countries in commercial quantities in a timely manner. As a result, textile and apparel articles containing the yarns will not be considered DR-CAFTA-originating if the yarns are obtained from non-DR-CAFTA sources effective for goods entered on or after February 20, 2012. CITA sources previously noted that this is the first time a product has been removed from this list.