The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued an electronic notice requesting written comments by 12:00 a.m. EST on March 30, 2007 regarding a "commercial availability" request it received under the U.S.-Dominican-Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) on behalf of Intradeco Apparel of Miami, Florida:
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.
CBP has issued an ABI administrative message announcing that recent changes to the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) records, Harmonized System (HS) Update (No. 0705) include the following:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a revised version of its informed compliance publication (ICP) entitled, What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: Household Articles of Base Metal.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a notice to its Web site announcing that due to the extraordinary circumstances regarding the availability and distribution of the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), CBP is providing exam applicants with a listing of the chapters from the HTS that will be used in the April 2, 2007 Brokers Exam.
On December 29, 2006, President Bush issued Proclamation 8097 to modify the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule to implement the World Customs Organization-recommended and other changes to the HTS (Annex I); to modify certain free trade agreement's (FTA's) and trade preference program's previously proclaimed staged duty rate reductions1 for the WCO-recommended changes (Annex II); and to adjust the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) rules of origin2 in HTS General Note 28 for the WCO-recommended changes (Annex III).
The Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC)1 has given U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 37 recommendations2 regarding its 10+2 draft proposal to require additional advance data elements for maritime cargo.
Washington Trade Daily reports that the Bush Administration expects to formally notify Congress of its intent to sign a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with Panama by the end of March, so that the FTA will be considered under current Trade Promotion Authority. The article adds that the text is currently undergoing the routine review known as the "legal scrub" and the FTA is expected to be signed in May or June. (WTD, dated 03/03/07, www.washingtontradedaily.com)
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has posted to its Web site an announcement stating that the hard copy version of the February 3rd "basic edition" of the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) was inadvertently printed without Chapter 75.
On February 28, 2007, the President issued a Proclamation amending the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) to implement the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) for the Dominican Republic, and for other purposes.
CBP has issued an ABI administrative message announcing that recent changes to the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) records, Harmonized System (HS) Update (No. 0704) include the following: