State Revising Guidelines for Marking Requirements on Israeli, Palestinian Goods
The U.S. is "initiating new guidelines" to no longer allow imports from the West Bank or Gaza to be marked as “West Bank/Gaza,” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a Nov. 19 news release. The changes are meant to “ensure that country of origin markings for Israeli and Palestinian goods are consistent with our reality-based foreign policy approach,” he said. Under new guidelines from State, the marking requirements for the West Bank and Gaza will recognize those places as “politically and administratively separate,” it said. State didn't say when the changes take effect.
Also under the new guidance, products made in the West Bank area controlled by Israel -- known as Area C -- will be marked as from Israel, said Pompeo. “All producers within areas where Israel exercises the relevant authorities -- most notably Area C under the Oslo Accords -- will be required to mark goods as 'Israel', 'Product of Israel', or 'Made in Israel' when exporting,” Pompeo said. The goods in “areas of the West Bank where the Palestinian Authority maintains relevant authorities shall be marked as products of 'West Bank' and goods produced in Gaza will be marked as products of 'Gaza.'”
CBP “continues to look into the new guidelines on country of origin markings for Israeli and Palestinian goods,” an agency spokesman said by email. “We will provide additional information about progress toward implementation as it becomes available.” The changes “should not alter the duty-free treatment of qualifying goods produced in the area, but it could impact which program is to be claimed,” Grunfeld Desiderio in a blog post. “Specifically, General Note 8, HTSUS covers claims under the Israel FTA, while General Note 3(v), HTSUS covers products of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or a qualifying industrial zone.”
Given the lack of details from CBP and State, “the timing of this change and its impact on existing production commitments is unknown,” Grunfeld Desiderio said. The guidelines represent “a change from a 1995 Treasury Decision directing that goods produced in the West Bank or Gaza be marked 'West Bank' or 'Gaza' regardless of which entity exercised authority in the area in which the goods were produced,” the law firm said.