International Trade Commission sources have provided a document listing the statistical changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and Schedule B (for exports), which take effect on January 1, 2008.
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 Senate passed the Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA1) implementing legislation (H.R. 3688) by a vote of 77 to 18 on December 4, 2007.
The Agricultural Marketing Service has issued a press release announcing that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved an assessment rate (also termed a fee or tax) increase, effective January 1, 2008, for importers and producers of certain mushrooms under the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Program.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an ABI administrative message announcing recent changes to the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HS Update No. 0708), which include the following:
The Office of Textiles and Apparel has posted its monthly monitoring data for certain apparel products imported from Vietnam for September 2007.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a memo on the duty-free tariff rate quota under HTS 9906.17.20 for certain North America Free Trade Agreement originating raw or refined sugar and sugar-containing products from Mexico, which opened on October 1, 2007.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted to its Web site a notice providing details on the enhancements to the Automated Commercial Environment account type for importers that were implemented with the deployment Entry Summary, Accounts, and Revenue (ESAR) A1.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted to its Web site a notice providing details on the enhancements to the Automated Commercial Environment account type for brokers that were implemented with the deployment Entry Summary, Accounts, and Revenue (ESAR) A1.
The Commerce Department has announced its finding that, after reviewing the first six months of data from its antidumping monitoring program for certain apparel imports from Vietnam, there is insufficient evidence to warrant self-initiating an AD investigation.
The International Trade Administration has issued a notice soliciting applications from persons1 who cut and sew men's and boys' cotton shirts in the U.S. for an allocation of the duty-free 2008 tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on certain cotton woven fabric.