U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a set of amendments (dated September 16, 2004) to the January 30, 2004 version of its instructions on the filing and substantiation of claims for preferential tariff treatment made under the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA, or SGFTA).
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 International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued the final results of the antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Taiwan for the period of May 1, 2002 to April 30, 2003.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an ABI administrative message stating that the snow day it previously granted due to an ABI-ACH payment problem spans two days - Thursday, September 30, 2004 and Friday, October 1, 2004. CBP states that the problem that prevented the acceptance of ABI payment authorization transactions 'QN' and 'PN' was not finally resolved until the weekend of October 2, 2004.
On October 5, 2004, a House and Senate Conference Committee approved HR 4520, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) bill. Among other things, the JOBS bill would repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Act (FSC/ETI) in order to end a trade dispute with the European Union (EU). The EU has imposed additional duties on certain U.S.-origin products as a result of the U.S.' failure to repeal the WTO-illegal FSC/ETI. As the conferees have approved this bill, it is now ready for full Congressional action. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/07/04 news, 04070715, for BP summary of the House-passed version of 4520.) (HR 4520 Bill Summary available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery)
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has initiated an antidumping (AD) duty investigation of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) from Taiwan.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has made preliminary affirmative antidumping (AD) duty determinations that certain circular welded carbon-quality line pipe from Korea and Mexico is being, or is likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
The ITA states that until completion of the review, 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 from India by Hilton.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty new shipper review of fresh garlic from China for the period of November 1, 2002 through October 31, 2003.
The ITA states that it if does not receive, by the October 31, 2004 deadline, a request for the review of entries covered by an AD or CV duty order or suspended investigation listed above for the identified review period, it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess AD or CV duties on those entries at a rate equal to the cash deposit of (or bond for) estimated AD or CV duties required on those entries at the time of entry, and to continue to collect the AD or CV cash deposit previously ordered.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the changed circumstances antidumping (AD) duty review of fresh garlic from China, concluding that Heze Ever-Best International Trade Co., Ltd. (Heze Ever-Best), is the successor-in-interest to Shandong Heze International Trade and Developing Company (Shandong Heze) and, as such, entries of its merchandise are entitled to Shandong Heze's AD cash-deposit rate.