U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for Canadian cheddar cheese as provided for in HTS Chapter 4, Additional U.S. Note (AUSN) 18, which opened on Monday, January 3, 2005, did not oversubscribe at the opening. Therefore, all entries presented at opening have been charged and may be released. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/04/05 news, 05010445 6, for BP summary on CBP's notice announcing this 2005 TRQ.) (QBT-05-500, dated 01/05/05, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/qbts/qbt2005/05_500.ctt/05_500.doc)
Customs Duty
A Customs Duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs Duty Rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the duties China will levy on certain categories of apparel exports (coats, skirts, knit shirts, nonknit shirts, pajamas and underwear) seem unlikely to satisfy the governments in the U.S. or Europe intent on protecting their industries from an expected flood of Chinese-made garments. The article states that almost all categories will have duties of just 20 fen per item, with several persons quoted as stating that the tax (which Chinese companies can absorb and/or pass on to customers) is just a political or token measure, and will do little to slow exports. (WJS, dated 12/28/04, www.wsj.com )
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has both initiated and issued its preliminary results of the antidumping (AD) duty changed circumstances review of certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a 2004 year end review fact sheet which highlights accomplishments and statistics for various DHS agencies including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Transportation and Security Administration (TSA), etc. (DHS fact sheet, available at )
In the December 22 and 29, 2004 issues of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 52 and Vol. 39, No. 1), CBP issued notices: (a) revoking two classification rulings on homeopathic products, and (b) revoking a classification ruling on small chocolate lentils. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
An Op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) urges departing Commerce Secretary Don Evans to end the International Trade Administration's (ITA's) practice of "zeroing" when calculating antidumping (AD) margins. The op-ed contends that eliminating this practice would reduce the number of foreign companies subject to AD duties. (WSJ Pub 11/18/04, www.wallstreetjournal.com)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a press release stating that CBP employs approximately 1,400 agriculture specialists (former inspectors of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service). According to the press release, in FY2004, CBP agriculture specialists intercepted more than 1.5 million prohibited items at U.S. ports of entries, including international airports, land borders, and international mail facilities, inspecting both commercial cargo and passenger/pedestrians. (Press release available at
The ITA states that for Qingyuan and Huamei, it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to allow, at the option of the importer, the posting of a bond or security in lieu of an AD cash deposit for entries of the subject merchandise both produced and exported by these companies until the completion of the new shipper reviews.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted separate notices to its Web site which list the calendar year 2005 Tariff Preference Levels (TPLs) for certain textiles and apparel from Canada and Mexico. These 2005 TPLs are set at the same levels as the 2004 TPL levels (with the exception of one Mexico TPL which expired, see below).