The International Trade Commission recently issued Revision 10 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, implementing Section 301 tariffs on a second set of goods from China effective Aug. 23, and making related changes that also affect the first tranche. New subheading 9903.88.02 is created for the new set of goods, with goods in the first tariff list that took effect July 6 still classifiable in subheading 9903.88.01 (see 1808210031). A list of goods subject to the new tariffs is added in U.S. Note 20(d) to Subchapter II of Chapter 99, while provisions on how the tariffs are to be applied are added at U.S. Note 20(c). The list of goods subject to the first round of tariffs at U.S. Note 20(b) is modified to correct a technical error. Provisions at U.S. Note 20(a) on how those tariffs are to be applied are modified to reflect the end of a total exemption from the Section 301 tariffs on U.S. goods returned after repair or alteration, processing or assembly (see 1808160049). All changes included in Revision 10 take effect Aug. 23.
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.
National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones President Erik Autor is set to meet with officials at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in the coming weeks to discuss a quirk in foreign-trade zone filing requirements that’s resulting in the unfair application of Section 301 duties, he said in an Aug. 21 interview. Autor seeks to educate USTR on how tariffs apply to FTZ goods, in the hopes that the agency will amend Section 301 implementation language related to zones that CBP says leaves it with no choice but to sometimes collect the tariffs on inputs that sometimes aren’t even Chinese.
The International Trade Commission recently issued Revision 9 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes from the previous version implement the increase in Section 232 tariffs on iron and steel products from Turkey up from 25 to 50 percent, effective Aug. 13. Among other things, new subheading 9903.80.02 is added specifically for Turkish iron and steel products, with iron and steel products from other countries subject to the original 25 percent tariff still classifiable in subheading 9903.80.01. U.S. Note 16 to Subchapter III of Chapter 99 is also modified to implement the increase. The updated tariff schedule also includes technical corrections to provisions in U.S. Note 18 to Subchapter III of Chapter 99 implementing Section 201 safeguard duties on solar cells. The corrections take effect beginning July 30.
David Mathison, founder of furniture leather company Leather Miracles, asked a panel of government officials to strike Harmonized Tariff Schedule headings 4107.11.50, leather upholstery, and 9401.90.50, leather for auto seats, from the Section 301 tariff list. He spoke as one of 62 witnesses testifying on the first of six days of scheduled hearings to determine which products will face additional tariffs. Mathison's career has been disrupted by China before. The rise of Chinese shoe manufacturing, and then Chinese furniture manufacturing, drove his previous company, Lackawanna Leather, out of business after about 100 years of operation.
A group of 80 trade associations has asked for exclusions to Section 301 Chinese tariffs to be liberally granted, including that they be granted automatically to all importers who have a "binding 'signed purchase order' to procure products from a supplier in China" if that order was signed before July 6.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of Aug. 17 (some may also be given separate headlines):
The International Trade Commission recently posted Revision 8 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. All changes implement the removal of eligibility for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Rwandan apparel. Special provisions for AGOA apparel benefits under subheadings 9819.11.03 through 9819.15.42 are amended so they now apply to all AGOA beneficiary countries “except the Republic of Rwanda.” U.S. Note 2(d) to Subchapter XIX of Chapter 98, which covers classification in one of those subheadings, 9819.11.12, is also amended to remove Rwanda from the list of eligible countries in that note. The removal of AGOA apparel benefits was imposed in response to Rwanda’s ban on imports of used clothing (see 1803290034). These tariff schedule changes took effect July 31.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations to increase the value assigned to imported cotton for the purposes of calculating supplemental assessments on imports collected under the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. The revised value in the direct final rule is $0.011905, an increase of $0.000395 per kilogram. The increase reflects a rise in the average price of Upland cotton received by U.S. farmers during the period January through December 2017. AMS's notice also includes a table of adjusted assessments corresponding to each Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading for which they are due. The changes take effect Oct. 16, unless adverse comments are received by Sept. 17.
Tech startups are among the many hundreds of innovators from various industries voicing opposition to a third proposed tranche of 25 percent Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports (see 1808150002), comments in docket USTR-2016-0026 show. One such startup, Cao Gadgets, worries about the impact tariffs will have on its “family owned small business,” which develops wireless sensor tags for a variety of Internet of Things uses, commented owner Mike Cao. Four days of public hearings are to begin Aug. 20 on the proposed third tranche. Final comments in the docket are due Sept. 6.
Special tariff provisions for U.S. goods returned after assembly, repair, alterations and processing will soon become subject to Section 301 tariffs on China, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice published Aug. 16. Products on the tariff list properly claimed under Chapter 98 provisions have up to now been fully exempt from the 25 percent duty, but beginning 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 23, subheadings 9802.00.40, 9802.00.50, 9802.00.60 and 9802.00.80 will no longer be eligible for the carve-out if classified under a Chapter 1-97 tariff provision otherwise covered by the tariffs.