Harmonized Tariff Schedule

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's proposal to tariff up to $11 billion worth of goods from the EU as part of a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies (see 1904090031) adds some new tension to an already fraught trade relationship. Although the trade dispute resolution that the U.S. is asking for pertains to large commercial airplanes, it goes far beyond aerospace, hitting cheeses and other food, wine, clothing and building materials. “This case has been in litigation for 14 years, and the time has come for action. The Administration is preparing to respond immediately when the WTO issues its finding on the value of U.S. countermeasures,” USTR Robert Lighthizer said in a news release.

The International Trade Commission is accepting proposals for changes to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System tariff schedule for potential adoption in 2027, it said in a notice. The proposals will be reviewed by the ITC, CBP and the Census Bureau, and will be published for further comment, prior to potential submission to the relevant WCO committees by November 2022 for final WCO approval by June 2024. Proposals are due to the ITC by March 1, 2020.

CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1905 on April 1, containing 792 Automated Broker Interface records and 176 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. Included in the update are the remaining HTS codes for composite wood products "flagged with an EP7 ([Toxic Substances Control Act] certification 'may be required’) code," CBP said. Modifications required by the verification of the 2019 HTS are included as well.

A group of domestic manufacturers filed a petition on March 27 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on sodium sulfate anhydrous from Canada. Commerce will now decide whether to begin an AD duty investigation on the product, which is also known as "disodium sulfate," and is used in a variety of products including detergents, pulp and paper, glass, textiles, starch, carpet deodorizers and livestock mineral feed. The investigation was requested by Cooper Natural Resources, Inc., Elements Global LLC and Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.

Steel of West Virginia submitted a petition to CBP asking it to reclassify steel parts so that the parts face Section 232 tariffs upon import, CBP said in a notice. The petitioner, which makes steel shapes for sale to forklift truck operators, seeks a new classification for “incomplete steel mast rails and finger bars,” the agency. Specifically, the parts should be classified in subheading 7216.50.00, which covers “Angles, shapes and sections of iron or nonalloy steel: Other angles, shapes and sections, not further worked than hot-rolled, hotdrawn or extruded.” That subheading is duty-free but is covered by the Section 232 tariffs.

The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on wooden cabinets and vanities and components thereof from China (A-570-106/C-570-107). The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018. The AD duty investigation covers entries July 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018.

The International Trade Commission recently posted Revisions 1 and 2 to the 2019 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. According to its change record, Revision 1 adds new note 20(i) to subchapter III of Chapter 99 to implement the latest set of Section 301 exemptions announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (see 1903210048). New HTS subheading 9903.88.06 is added for products that benefit from the new set of exclusions. Also, General Statistical Note 4(d) is amended to add unit of quantity abbreviation “A” for amperes, and remove the abbreviation “gr cntnrs” for gross containers. Revision 2 adds a new section to the rules of origin under the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement in General Note 27 for goods of chapter 62, as announced by USTR on March 22 (see 1903210042). That change, the only in the now-current Revision 2 edition of the HTS, takes effect April 1.

Pet carriers imported by Quaker Pet Group are classifiable as “other” made-up articles of textiles under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 6307, the Court of International Trade said in a March 29 decision. Having already ruled the pet carriers aren’t containers of heading 4202 because pets aren’t “items” (see 1802120015), the court found the carriers are mostly textile materials and aren’t classifiable elsewhere in the tariff schedule.

CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1904 on March 25, containing 1,015 Automated Broker Interface records and 194 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes adjustments required by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement of new exemptions from Section 301 tariffs on China (see 1903210048). Also included in the update are "some, not all, of the associated HTS codes for composite wood products, flagged with an EP7 (TSCA certification 'may be required’) code," CBP said. Modifications required by the verification of the 2019 HTS are included as well.

CBP on March 22 added the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with the second group of exclusions from Section 301 duties, it said in a CSMS message issued on the same day. Filers of imported products that were granted an exclusion should report the regular chapter 84, 85 or 90 Harmonized Tariff Schedule number, as well as subheading 9903.88.06 for products subject to Section 301 duties on products from China but that have been granted an exemption by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “Do not submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 301 duties when HTS 9903.88.06 is submitted,” CBP said.