On July 22, both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed H.R. 4842, the "U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Implementation Act," clearing the measure for the President.
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.
In the July 21, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 30), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to modify a classification ruling on painted glass sinks, and (b) proposing to revoke a classification ruling on aero-derivative gas turbines. CBP states that it is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message which states that its Commercial Enforcement Branch has reviewed importations of "catfish" made on and after July 1, 2004 and found that importers and filers are not using the new statistical breakouts approved by the 484(f) committee that were effective July 1, 2004.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the 2004/2005 tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for the August 1, 2004 through July 31, 2005 period on the following cotton will open on August 2, 2004 at 1:00 p.m. EDT or its equivalent in other time zones:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an Electronic Bulletin Board (CEBB) notice stating that the July 12, 1999 agreement between the U.S. and the Russian Federation (Russia) on certain steel products from Russia, which established export limits and licensing requirements for a five-year period, expired on July 12, 2004. (See ITT's Online Archives or 08/05/99 news, 99080473 for BP summary on the agreement.)
The Journal of Commerce Online reports that the World Trade Organization (WTO) Heads of Delegations will meet on August 3, 2004 on the January 1, 2005 elimination of textile and apparel quotas imposed on WTO member countries. The article notes that only 17 countries have been invited to this meeting -including the U.S., European Union, China and India - but that other countries want to attend. (JoC Online, dated 07/27/04, www.joc.com )
On July 14, 2004, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4418, the Customs Border Security and Trade Agencies Authorization Act of 2004.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has amended its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from Netherlands for the review period of May 3, 2001 through October 31, 2002.
According a Washington File report, the Secretary of Agriculture has announced that approximately one-third of the U.S. beef export market has reopened. The Secretary explained that countries have been reopening their markets since the start of an expanded Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance testing program was announced in early 2004. However, the Secretary stated that talks are ongoing with Japan to reopen its market to U.S. beef. (Washington File Pub 07/16/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=July&x=20040716133653AKllennoCcM0.5521051&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of mechanical transfer presses (MTPs) from Japan for the period of February 1, 2002 through January 31, 2003, and as a result is revoking the AD duty order with respect to one entity.