The Office of Textiles and Apparel has posted its monthly monitoring data for certain apparel products imported from Vietnam for August 2007.
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an interim rule, effective October 16, 2007, which adds a new Subpart N to 19 CFR Part 10 and amends 19 CFR Parts 10, 24, 102, 162, 163, and 178 regarding the preferential tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the U.S.- Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (BFTA).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an ABI administrative message indicating that the Automated Commercial System has been programmed to allow the trade to report the cotton shirting fabric license number for an entry summary via ABI, effective with a duty computation date of November 1, 2007.
During a speech at the recent Western Cargo Conference (WESCCON), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner stated that new Security Filing (SF, 10+2) advance data requirements for imported maritime cargo are expected begin in early 2008 using a phased approach for implementation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a proposed rule to suspend for a period of five years the historical license reduction provisions of the dairy import licensing program under 7 CFR Part 6.
The Office of Textiles and Apparel has posted its monthly monitoring data for certain apparel products imported from Vietnam for July 2007.
In Michael Simon Design, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit re-affirmed the decision by the Court of International Trade (Slip Op. 06-128), that certain 2003 imports of sweaters decorated with certain Christmas or Halloween motifs were classified as "festive articles" under heading 9505 in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
The International Trade Commission has issued a press release announcing that it is seeking input for the newly initiated investigation (332-493) concerning possible modifications to the Generalized System of Preferences as a result of the 2007 GSP Annual Review.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently issued a notice announcing the eleven product1 and seven country practice petitions that were accepted for the 2007 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Review, and setting forth the schedule for comments and public hearings on these petitions.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a document to its Web site that provides side-by-side comparisons of the Generalized System of Preferences and U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs) including the North American Free Trade Agreement, U.S.-Singapore FTA, U.S.-Chile FTA, U.S.-Australia FTA, and the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America FTA.1