The International Trade Commission has updated its online 2011 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS Revision 1) to reflect Proclamation 8742’s changes that modify HTS Chapter 64 for certain rubber- or plastic-soled footwear to which a layer of textile materials has been added (textile-bottomed footwear) and make certain rule of origin changes for various Chile free trade agreement (FTA) products. Proclamation 8742’s changes for special upland cotton import quotas are expected to be added to the online HTS soon.
Latest Harmonized System updates
In May 2011, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative updated its guidebook on the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences to facilitate public understanding of the GSP program. Among other topics, the guidebook provides information on articles eligible for duty-free treatment, articles prohibited from receiving such treatment, Competitive Need Limitations, and reimbursement for tariffs after retroactive renewal of the program.
On November 16, 2011, the President’s Export Council1 held its fourth meeting to discuss the Administration’s National Export Initiative. PEC offered a number of recommendations to the President, including (i) completion of the USML/CCL review, (ii) development of a trusted trader program for exporters, (iii) the development of a single information technology system with a common export license application process, (iv) additional commercial engagement with the Middle East and North Africa, and (v) expansion of the Information Technology Agreement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted documents on changes to the Customs and Trade Interface Requirements (CATAIR) regarding the PGA Message Set. Specifically, changes were made to the Chapter on Participating Government Agencies (PGA), which presents records that provide data to government agencies that will participate with modernization of the automated cargo systems. Changes were also made to Appendix T, which provides codes and qualifiers for the PGA Message Set.
At the October 4, 2011 COAC meeting, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials provided an update on the Automated Commercial Environment and the International Trade Data System since the previous COAC meeting in August 2011. According to CBP, ACE continues to be among the agency’s top business priorities. CBP officials also provided an update on its activities on M1, ITDS, Cargo Release, the September 2011 Trade Support Network Plenary, and ACE for Export Processing.
At the October 4, 2011 COAC meeting, COAC’s “One U.S. Government at the Border” Subcommittee gave an update on its work on identifying redundancies with CBP and PGA requests for documents/data and considering the use of a single document imaging system between trade, CBP, and PGAs involved in the import process. In addition, CBP has posted a document on its “One U.S. Government at the Border” initiative.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has provided information on what it views as the benefits and process improvements that can be expected with the future implementation of Cargo Release in ACE. CBP states that the release process for legitimate cargo will be facilitated through process improvements, including, among other things, the creation of a single window for import data transmission, reduced redundant data requirements, paperless updates, and templates of repeated entries for trusted traders.
In the September-October 2011 ACE Trade Account Owner (TAO) Update, U.S. Customs and Border Protection states that access to capabilities within the Document Image System (DIS) and the Participating Government Agency (PGA) Message Set will be available to ACE entry summary filers and ACE entry summaries only.
The International Trade Data System has issued a draft report for trade comment by November 15, 2011, on the results of three pilot studies conducted to validate the business case for using e-commerce data, such as global product numbers/codes and electronic product catalogs, to improve product visibility at international borders. The report shows that the three product sets on which the pilots focused - toys, cut flowers, and meat and poultry1 -- all benefited from the use of such data and could save importers millions of dollars. The report also states that a new ACE PGA Message Set will be implemented in 2012 to pass e-commerce data to participating government agencies (PGAs).
This is a reminder that the Agricultural Marketing Service’s August 2011 final rule amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations to increase the supplemental assessment rate for imported cotton takes effect September 30, 2011. The final rule also revises the textile trade conversion factors used to determine the raw fiber equivalents of imported cotton-containing products and triples the number of HTS numbers subject to assessment.