The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 26 - Aug. 1:
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 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released a technical correction Aug. 3 to an existing Section 301 product exclusion to make it conform with changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule code published July 1. “Effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 1, 2021, U.S. note 20(qqq)(4) to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is modified by deleting '3808.94.5090' and inserting '3808.94.5090 prior to July 1, 2021; 3808.94.5080 or 3808.94.5095 effective July 1, 2021' in lieu thereof.”
The U.S. is seeking more than $18 million from importer Crown Cork & Seal in a July 28 complaint filed in the Court of International Trade alleging that the company fraudulently misclassified its metal lid imports to skirt a 2.6% duty rate. The goods -- metal lids for food, beverage, household and consumer products -- are properly classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8309.90.0000 and are dutiable at that 2.6% rate, the Department of Justice said. Instead, CCS attempted to classify its metal lid imports from Europe between 2004 and 2009 under HTS subheading 7326.90.1000, which has duty-free treatment (United States v. Crown Cork & Seal, USA, Inc. et al., CIT #21-361).
At the height of the Section 301 exclusions, 10% of imports covered by the China tariffs were excluded, according to a new Government Accountability Office report, though that fell from 10% to 7% across 2020, as exclusions expired and were not extended. Overall, about $71 billion of imports avoided the tariffs, GAO estimated.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 19-25:
The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber from France (A-427-832), South Korea (A-580-912) and Mexico (A-201-855). The agency will determine whether imports of AB Rubber are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The investigations cover entries during the period April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on urea ammonium nitrate from Russia (A-821-831/C-821-832) and Trinidad and Tobago (A-274-808/C-274-809). The agency will determine whether imports of urea ammonium nitrate are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or are illegally subsidized.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2107 on July 21, containing 1,360 Automated Broker Interface records and 284 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update “contains description changes from the July 1, 2021 484(f) updates,” CBP said.
A panel of CBP officials told members of the trade community that they're still considering how to shape a rulemaking based on what they've learned from the Entry Type 86 test and the Section 321 data pilot, but they expect to require 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes on de minimis entries that PGAs have an interest in.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 12-18: