CBP has issued the June 2008 ACE Trade Account Owner monthly update as an attachment to an ACE Portal Accounts CSMS message. The update covers the following topics: the introduction of ACE "ad hoc" reporting capabilities, new contact information for the technology support center, ACE Account Revenue report enhancements, the posting of the "draft" M1 version of the CAMIR (Amendment 11) and X12 transaction sets, and new features that will be available in ACE with the deployment of ACE A2.1/M1 Ocean and Rail e-Manifest. (June 2008 TAO update available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/docs/17122_1004847298/June_2008_TAO_V4.pdf.)
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has completed the necessary Automated Commercial System (ACS) programming so that importers may now file an entry summary for certain duty-free and quota-free NAFTA originating raw or refined sugar and sugar products from Mexico using the applicable non-quota entry type (e.g. 01, 11, etc.).
The U.S. Court of International Trade has ruled that Totes-Isotoner Corporation, which had challenged the constitutionality of different U.S. tariff rates for men's and other gloves, had standing to bring its claims but did not plead sufficient facts to state a claim of unconstitutional discrimination. Therefore, the CIT dismissed the case without prejudice.
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program (i.e., A, A*, and A) for most beneficiary countries, i.e., other than those listed as African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary countries, will expire on December 31, 2008, unless a law extending it is enacted.
The Office of Textiles and Apparel has posted its monthly monitoring data for certain apparel products imported from Vietnam for April 2008.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has posted to its Web site an updated version of the 2008 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTS) dated July 1, 2007 (Supplement 1).
CBP has issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of June 30, 2008. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, tobacco, certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (CBP's weekly TRQ/TPL commodity report available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted four informed compliance publications that were revised in June 2008.
In The Pomeroy Collection, Ltd. v. U.S., the Court of International Trade agreed with the importer and ruled that certain non-electric lamps from Mexico, the "Geo Table Lighting", the "St. Tropez CLS", the "St. Tropez Cardinal Bowl", and the "Serenity Votives" were all properly classified as "lights and light fittings" under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 9405.50.40 (MX, duty free).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted Amendment 24, dated May 2008, to the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) document.