ITC Issues Revision 12 to 2018 Harmonized Tariff Schedule; Major Changes for Wood Products
The International Trade Commission issued Revision 12 to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The relatively comprehensive update implements as of Oct. 1 new provisions for wood products agreed to by the World Customs Organization, and adds new subheadings for pesticide-impregnated bed nets in Chapter 63. Other changes include new provisions for the third, $200 billion list of 10 percent Section 301 tariffs that took effect for goods from China beginning Sept. 24, as well as new exemptions for certain products from Section 201 safeguards on solar cells that took effect Sept. 19.
Chapter 44 Provisions for Wood Products Overhauled
Revision 12 includes major changes to Chapter 44 of the tariff schedule to implement provisions that were meant to be included in the WCO’s 2017 update to the Harmonized System but that were unintentionally omitted (see 1506230026). First announced by the ITC in July 2016 (see 1607290033), the amendments to Chapter 44 introduce new subdivisions for coniferous and non-coniferous wood and new subheadings for certain wood of pine, fir, spruce, beech, birch, poplar, aspen and eucalyptus. These changes take effect Oct. 1.
Fuel logs. Subheading 4401.10.00 for fuel wood, “in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms,” is subdivided into new subheadings 4401.11.00 for coniferous fuel wood, and 4401.12.00 for non-coniferous fuel wood.
Sawdust and wood scrap. Previously, sawdust and wood waste and scrap had been classified in subheadings 4401.31 through 4401.39 under tariff provisions for “sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms.” The ITC is now separating loose sawdust and scrap from agglomerated sawdust and scrap by amending the superior subheading for 4401.31 through 4401.39 to refer to "sawdust and wood waste and scrap, agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms,” and creating new subheading 4401.40.00 for "sawdust and wood waste and scrap, not agglomerated.”
The new subheading is further subdivided into statistical breakouts 4401.40.0010 for loose sawdust, 4401.40.0020 for loose shavings, and 4401.40.0090 for other sawdust, wood waste and scrap, not agglomerated. Current subheading 4401.39.40 is renumbered to 4401.39.41.
Rough wood. Subheading 4403.10.00 for “Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared: Treated with paint, stain, creosote or other preservatives” is eliminated and replaced by separate provisions for coniferous wood under new subheading 4403.11.00, and non-coniferous wood under new subheading 4403.12.00. Each subheading is still subdivided into statistical suffixes for poles, piles and posts (including telephone poles and fence posts), and “other.”
Similarly, current subheading 4403.20.00 for coniferous “wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared” that is not treated with preservatives is eliminated and divided into new subheading 4403.21.00 for rough wood of pine (pinus spp.) with a cross section of 15 cm or more and new subheading 4403.22.00 for “other” rough wood of pine (pinus spp.), including pulpwood; new subheading 4403.23.00 for wood of fir (abies spp.) and spruce (picea spp.) with a cross section of 15 cm or more; new subheading 4403.24.00 for wood of “other” fir (abies spp.) and spruce (picea spp.), including pulpwood; new subheading 4403.25.00 for other coniferous wood with a cross section of 15 cm or more (including Douglas fir, cedar and hemlock); and new subheading 4403.26.00 for “other” other coniferous wood. As with former subheading 4403.20.00, each of these subheadings is further subdivided into statistical suffixes for pulpwood, poles, piles and posts, logs and timber of various species, and “other.”
Non-coniferous wood is also broken out in greater detail. Previously, beech wood in the rough had been classified under subheading 4403.92.00, with certain other non-tropical hardwood species classified under statistical suffixes of the “other” category 4403.99.00. The ITC is eliminating the subheading for beech wood in the rough and dividing it into subheadings 4403.93.00 for beech in the rough with a cross section greater than 15 cm, and 4403.94.00 for ”other” beech in the rough.
Wood in the rough of birch is now classified on its own in subheading 4403.95.00 if it has a cross section of 15 cm or more, and 4403.96.00 if it does not. Wood in the rough of poplar and eucalyptus are given their own subheadings, 4403.97.00 and 4403.98.00, respectively. Subheadings for birch, poplar and eucalyptus are further subdivided into statistical suffixes for pulpwood, poles, piles and posts, and “other.” Subheading 4403.99.00, which previously covered other types of hardwood not provided for in their own subheadings, is renumbered 4403.99.01.
Rail ties. Subheading 4406.10.00 for “railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood: not impregnated” is eliminated and replaced by new subheadings 4406.11.00 for coniferous rail ties, not impregnated, and 4406.12.00 for non-coniferous rail ties, not impregnated. Similarly, subheading 4406.90.00 for “other” (i.e., impregnated) “railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood” is eliminated and replaced with new subheadings 4406.91.00 for coniferous wood, and 4406.92.00 for non-coniferous wood.
Lumber. Current subheading 4407.10.00 for coniferous wood, sawn or chipped length-wise, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, thicker than 6 mm, is eliminated and divided into new subheadings 4407.11.00 for pine; 4407.12.00 for fir and spruce; and 4407.19.00 for other coniferous wood. As with current subheading 4407.10.00, each of these subheadings is further subdivided into statistical suffixes for finger jointed wood, wood treated with preservatives, and non-finger jointed, non-treated wood of various species.
New additional U.S. note 3 to chapter 44 is added to specify that “subheadings 4407.19.05 and 4407.19.06 cover combinations of the named species whose proportions are not readily identifiable.” New subheading 4407.19.05 refers to “mixtures of spruce, pine and fir ('S-P-F'), not treated with paint, stain, creosote or other preservative,” and new subheading 4407.19.06 refers to “Mixtures of western hemlock and amabilis fir ('hem-fir'), not treated with paint, stain, creosote or other preservative.”
Lumber of birch and poplar is also broken out into their own subheadings under the ITC’s recommendations. Formerly classified in statistical breakouts under the residual “other” subheading 4407.99.01 for non-coniferous wood, sawn or chipped length-wise, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, thicker than 6 mm, birch lumber is now classified under new subheading 4407.96.00 (with statistical suffixes for North American and European birch), and poplar is classified under new subheading 4407.97.00 (with statistical suffixes for yellow and “other” poplar, including aspen and cottonwood).
Hardwood plywood. Former subheading 4412.32 for plywood “with at least one outer ply of non-coniferous wood” is eliminated and replaced by new subheading 4412.33 for plywood with at least one outer ply of one of the following species: alder (Alnus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), beech (Fagus spp.), birch (Betula spp.), cherry (Prunus spp.), chestnut (Castanea spp.), elm (Ulmus spp.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), hickory (Carya spp.), horse chestnut (Aesculus spp.), lime (Tilia spp.), maple (Acer spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), plane tree (Platanus spp.), poplar and aspen (Populus spp.), robinia (Robinia spp.), tulipwood (Liriodendron spp.) or walnut (Juglans spp.). New subheading 4412.34 is created for plywood with at least one outer ply of a species of non-coniferous wood not listed in subheading 4412.33 (other than bamboo).
GSP changes. As a result of the above changes, general note 4(d), which lists HTS subheadings ineligible for Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) duty-free treatment when imported from certain countries, are amended to remove defunct subheadings 4412.32.26, 4412.32.32 and 4412.32.57 for Brazil, and replace them with new subheadings 4412.33.26, 4412.33.32, 4412.33.57, 4412.34.26, 4412.34.32 and 4412.34.57.
New Provisions Added for Pesticide-Impregnated Bed Nets
New provisions are added in Chapter 63 for bed nets impregnated with pesticides. New subheading 6304.20.00 now covers bed nets, and is subdivided into subheadings 6304.20.0020 through 6304.20.0070, depending on the type of textile material. New subheading note 1 to Chapter 63 clarifies that the new subheadings cover “articles made from warp knit fabrics, impregnated or coated with alpha-cypermethrin (ISO), chlorfenapyr (ISO), deltamethrin (INN, ISO), lambda-cyhalothrin (ISO), permethrin (ISO), or pirimiphosmethyl (ISO).”
Subheading 6304.90.00 for “other” knitted or crocheted furnishing articles is renumbered new subheading 6304.91.00, with all of its statistical breakouts renumbered accordingly.
Routers and Switches Broken Out to Implement Section 301 Duties
New statistical breakout 8517.62.0020 is created for “switching and routing apparatus.” This change was required to implement the partial coverage of the third set of 10 percent Section 301 tariffs for subheading 8517.62, which apply to switching and routing apparatus. New subheading 8517.62.0090 for other “machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data, including switching and routing apparatus” (i.e., not switching and routing apparatus or modems) is not covered by the tariffs.
New Solar Cell Safeguard Exemptions Added
Note 18 to Subchapter III of Chapter 99, which outlines Section 201 safeguard tariffs on solar cells, is amended to implement several new exemptions to the duties announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Sept. 19 (see 1809180031). Eight new paragraphs specify various dimensional and wattage requirements for the new exemptions.
New Notes Added on Third Set of Section 301 Tariffs
Finally, as expected (see 1809210026), new provisions are added to implement the third set of 10 percent tariffs imposed on a list of nearly $200 billion in Chinese goods on Sept. 24. New subheading 9903.80.03 covers subheadings on that list that are fully subject to Section 301 tariffs, while new subheading 9903.80.04 provides for subheadings covered by Section 301 tariffs that have exemptions at the 10-digit level.
New paragraphs are added to U.S. Note 20 to Subchapter III of Chapter 99, with U.S. Note 20(e) outlining how the new set of Section 301 tariffs are to be applied for subheading 9903.80.03 (mirroring earlier Section 301 tariff provisions); Note 20(f) listing goods subject to Section 301 tariffs under subheading 9903.80.03; and Note 20(f) outlining how the tariffs are to be applied to partially exempt provisions under subheading 9903.80.04, as well as listing the goods subject to tariffs under that subheading.