A former Office of the U.S. Trade Representative deputy predicted that the president of China and President Donald Trump would meet in the middle at the G-20 in Argentina, neither resolving the problems between the two countries nor declaring an impasse. He did not sound as confident that some kind of progress would be enough to halt the escalation in tariffs. "I think the signals from both countries are [that] they know this is an opportunity," Robert Holleyman said, as he opened a Nov. 28 Tariff Town Hall sponsored by tuna canneries. "I hope this gets us out of the current morass."
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 Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on magnesium from Israel (A-508-812/C-508-813). The agency will determine whether imports of Israeli magnesium are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or are illegally subsidized. The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2017. The AD duty investigation covers entries Oct. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2018.
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on polyester textured yarn from India (A-533-885/C-533-886) and China (A-570-097/C-570-098).
The International Trade Commission issued Revision 14 to the 2018 Harmonized Tariff Schedule, implementing the removal of Generalized System of Preferences benefits for a lengthy list of products from certain countries as a result of the 2017-18 GSP review (see 1810300031). Changes include the replacement of special program indicator “A” with “A*” -- indicating GSP eligibility only when imported from certain countries -- for subheadings that are now GSP-ineligible when imported from countries that exceeded annual import limits. These ineligible country-product pairs are added to the burgeoning General Note 4(d) of the tariff schedule, which is now over twice as long as it was in previous years’ tariff schedules.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A domestic manufacturer is seeking the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on magnesium from Israel, it said in a petition filed Oct. 24 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. The petition was filed by US Magnesium, with the support of the United Steelworkers labor union and several other domestic producers.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Oct. 15-21:
Quota processing for quota entry summary lines with three or more Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes will require manual input by CBP, the agency said in a CSMS message. That situation may occur "if the line is properly classified with two chapter 99 HTS codes (a section 301 HTS and a quota HTS) and the commodity HTS," it said. "Until a programming fix can be implemented, once you have successfully transmitted into ACE a summary including a quota line with three or more HTS codes, please email your entry details to HQQUOTA@cbp.dhs.gov and your assigned Client Representative for assistance," the agency said.
Two domestic bicycle manufacturers filed a petition Oct. 19 seeking new Section 201 safeguard duties on mass-market bicycles. Detroit Bikes and Bicycle Corporation of America say the dominance of imported mass-market bicycles makes it impossible for U.S. manufacturing to re-establish itself. The companies seek a tariff-rate quota over a period of four years, along with a decrease in the de minimis level for imported bikes and duty-free access for parts used in U.S. bicycle manufacturing operations. The duties would apply to bicycles from all countries, though the International Trade Commission can exempt free trade agreement partners.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- CBP’s revised Form 5106 importer ID requirements are currently getting “final approvals” from the Office of Management and Budget and should be coming “sooner rather than later,” said John Leonard, executive director for CBP Trade Policy and Programs, on Oct. 19. The majority of brokers don’t have to be too worried about the changes, seeing that most compliant brokers are already meeting the revised requirements anyway, Leonard said, speaking at the Western Cargo Conference.