On June 28, 2007, President Bush issued Proclamation 8157 to modify duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences, designate Mauritania as an African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary country1, and make technical changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
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 International Trade Commission (ITC) has posted to its Web site an updated version of the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTS) dated July 2, 2007 (Revision 2).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an interim rule, effective June 27, 2007, which adds a new Subpart K to 19 CFR Part 10 and amends 19 CFR Parts 163 and 178 regarding the preferential tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (JFTA).
The International Trade Commission has proposed an addendum to its investigation of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule modifications that were put into effect by Presidential Proclamation 8097 on February 3, 2007 to conform the HTS to international Harmonized System nomenclature changes recommended for adoption by the World Customs Organization, among other things.
Broker Power is making its lists of 2007 "General" Column 1 duty rates for knit and crocheted (knit) and woven apparel in Chapters 61 and 62 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule available as a "single package."
In Agfa Corporation, ("Agfa") v. U.S., the Court of International Trade agreed with Customs and ruled that certain plates imported by Agfa to be used in photolithography should be classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule under HTS 3701.30.00, a provision covering photographic plates.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an interim rule, effective June 22, 2007, which adds a new Subpart O to 19 CFR Part 10 and amends 19 CFR Parts 163 and 178 regarding the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act of 2006.
During the May 15, 2007 meeting of the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC), CBP officials discussed, among other things, CBP's plans to issue a proposed rule containing its proposed Security Filing (10+2) requirements for 10 additional data elements from importers 24 hours prior to foreign lading, and for 2 additional data sets from ocean carriers, for imported maritime cargo.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a press release announcing that CBP and China's General Administration of Customs signed a memorandum of cooperation on May 22, 2007 to combat trade in counterfeit goods and strengthen enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) between the two countries.
Broker Power is making its lists of 2007 "General" Column 1 duty rates for knit and crocheted (knit) and woven apparel in Chapters 61 and 62 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule available as a "single package."