The Commerce Department issued a notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigation on 4th tier cigarettes from South Korea (A-580-905). The agency will determine whether imports of merchandise subject to this investigation are being 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 created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2001 on Jan. 13, containing 10,121 Automated Broker Interface records and 2,123 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes recently announced exclusions to the Section 301 tariffs (see 2001020035). Other changes were needed under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the trade agreement with Japan (see 1912270025).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative created a detailed guidance for how to go about creating exclusions through carve-outs from the Section 301 tariff headings. The guide lays out the considerations for USTR when “drafting” such carve-outs, which can be submitted to the International Trade Commission and CBP “for approval and comments.” ProPublica posted a copy of the document, which was likely attained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The document was mentioned in a broader ProPublica story on tariff exclusions.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2020 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the U.S.-Japan trade deal that took effect Jan. 1, as well as changes to eligibility for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits. Changes to units of quantity are also made to the tariff schedule, resulting in the complete elimination of UOQ "X" from the tariff schedule (except for in Schedule B), and new statistical breakouts are added in chapters 17, 38, 72, 76, 83, 84, 85 and 87. The changes took effect Jan. 1.
The panel deciding which French products should face Section 301 tariffs was intrigued by a point made by the Cheese Importers Association of America -- who could pay more on 21 Harmonized Tariff Schedule headings if all the proposed tariffs are included.
The International Trade Commission is working to add provisions on the Trade Agreement between the United States and Japan to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S., James Holbein, director of the ITC’s Office of Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements, said in an interview Jan. 7. Technical issues with the ITC’s electronic system for updating the tariff schedule had led to the omission of new General Note 36, as well as provisions in chapter 99, from the 2020 Basic Edition of the HTS, Holbein said. The ITC’s information technology office is currently working to fix those issues, he said.
For five months in 2018, it looked like Chinese injection molds were going to cost 25 percent more because of Section 301 tariffs, and the import volume from China in 2018 fell nearly 12 percent, to $385 million. Overall imports of injection molds -- which were valued at $1.8 billion in 2018 -- rose 5 percent that year.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 30 - Jan. 3 in case they were missed.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2020 Basic Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the U.S.-Japan trade deal that took effect Jan. 1, as well as changes to eligibility for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits. Changes to units of quantity are also made to the tariff schedule, and new statistical breakouts are added in chapters 17, 38, 72, 76, 83, 84, 85 and 87. The changes also took effect Jan. 1.
Stainless steel beer kegs used by Anheuser-Busch (AB) to transport beer are eligible for duty-free treatment as Instruments of International Traffic but would be subject to applicable trade remedies if the kegs enter U.S. commerce, CBP said in a June 13 ruling that the agency recently posted. Customs lawyer Michael Roll requested the ruling on behalf of AB as to the treatment of the kegs, which are of Chinese, U.S., Spanish, Mexican and German origin. AB will fill the subject kegs with beer outside the U.S. and will import them mostly through 22 U.S. ports, the company told CBP.