When a declaration is made on the Automated Commercial Environment portal, the system will automatically check for duplicate Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers, case numbers and manufacturer IDs before submission is permitted, CBP said. This was part of a series of updates CBP made to the ACE Portal that was highlighted in an April 25 CSMS message.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) is a reference manual that provides duty rates for almost every item that exists. It is a system of classifying and taxing all goods imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international Harmonized System, which is a global standard for naming and describing trade products, and consists of a hierarchical structure that assigns a specific code and rate to each type of merchandise for duty, quota, and statistical purposes. The HTS was made effective on January 1, 1989, replacing the former Tariff Schedules of the United States. It is maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission, but the Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the HTS.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements is adding a double-knit jacquard fabric to the "short supply list" in Annex 3.25 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United Sates Free Trade Agreement for items not commercially available in a timely manner, it said in a notice. Lacoste requested the additions in December. The fabric, classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 6006.33, is being added in unrestricted quantities. Under short supply provisions of CAFTA-DR, fibers, yarns and fabrics listed in Annex 3.25 are provided with tariff preferences under the trade agreement.
The Commerce Department issued a notice in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on ferrosilicon from Brazil (A-351-860/C-351-861), Kazakhstan (A-834-812/C-834/813), Malaysia (A-557-828/C-557-829) and Russia (A-821-838/C-821-839). The CVD investigations and the AD investigations on Brazil, Kazakhstan and Malaysia cover entries for the calendar year 2023. The AD investigation on Russia covers entries made July 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023.
A domestic producer coalition filed a petitions April 19 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping and countervailing duties on ceramic tile from India. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers.
The Commerce Department has issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on dioctyl terephthalate from Malaysia (A-557-827), Poland (A-455-808), Taiwan (A-583-875) and Turkey (A-489-852) (see 2404170073). The agency will determine whether imports of DOTP are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The investigations cover entries during the period Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023.
Although all members of the House Ways and Means Committee supported a bill renewing the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, the bill proceeded to the House floor on a split bipartisan vote of 17-24 as Democrats unsuccessfully called to include an extension of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program, which lapsed in 2022.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 8-14:
The House Ways and Means Committee is set on April 17 to consider several just-introduced trade bills, including a retroactive extension of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, new restrictions on de minimis and restrictions on electric vehicle tax credits.
A recent bill from House Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, would change the drawback statute so that items that have a Harmonized Tariff Schedule description beginning with "other" no longer would be ineligible for unused substitution drawback, drawback expert Dave Corn said.
The Court of International Trade on April 10 said that neither the U.S. nor importer Blue Sky the Color of Imagination properly classified entries of four types of notebooks with calendars, ultimately finding that the products fit under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 4820.10.20.10 as "diaries." Judge Jane Restani said that the Harmonized System should be interpreted to provide "conformity" between the French and English versions of the HS. As a result, the judge looked to the French and English definitions of the term "diary," which both describe as a notebook to write what one proposes or remembers what to do.