The International Trade Administration has initiated an antidumping duty investigation to determine whether imports of wire decking from China are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
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.
CBP has issued a CSMS message announcing recent changes to the 2009 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HS Update No. 0902). This update contains 25,777 ABI records and 4,334 harmonized records. Changes include the following:
The International Trade Administration has initiated an antidumping duty investigation to determine whether imports of certain steel grating (CSG) from China are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice announcing that the next customs broker license exam will be held on Monday, October 5, 2009.
The International Trade Administration has initiated an antidumping duty investigation to determine whether imports of prestressed concrete steel wire strand (PC strand) from China are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
The House of Representatives has passed a bill to authorize the President to proclaim duty-free treatment for certain products (including textiles and apparel) from designated Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) within Afghanistan or specified areas in Pakistan, through September 30, 2024.
In Value Vinyls, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision by the Court of International Trade that certain plastic-coated material, whose textile component is made entirely of man-made fibers, should be classified under subheading 3921.90.11 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule with a duty rate of 4.2 percent.
In Heartland By-Products, Inc., v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the Court of International Trade, ruling that the CIT erred by not allowing retroactive classification treatment at the higher Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) rate on imports of sugar syrup from Canada in accordance with an earlier decision by the CAFC (Heartland II CAFC 00-1287-1289).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice announcing that it has denied a petition submitted under 19 USC 1516 on behalf of a domestic interested party (Corning) requesting reclassification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of glass preforms for optical fibers (optical glass preforms). CBP is also announcing the receipt of the petitioner's desire to contest this decision in court.
In the May 29, 2009 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 22), CBP published a notice proposing to modify one ruling and revoke a treatment as follows: