U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has previously announced that the next Customs Broker License Examination will be held on Monday, April 2, 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.
The International Trade Commission has instituted an investigation at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative for the purpose of providing advice on the probable economic effect of proposed modifications to the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) relating to the rule of origin of pocket bag fabric and other rules of origin or tariff treatment for apparel.
The Census Bureau has posted to its Web site a list of 175 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers that are invalid for use in reporting exports (either via the Automated Export System (AES) or on a paper Shipper's Export Declaration (SED)) as of February 3, 2007.
In January 2007, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it was providing the trade with a grace period for entries filed during the February 3 - 20, 2007period regarding the World Customs Organization (WCO) 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) changes that became effective on February 3, 2007.
According to sources at the International Trade Commission (ITC) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), some of the underlying tariff numbers for 2007 Chapter 99 tariff numbers are more up-to-date in CBP's Automated Broker Interface (ABI) records and Harmonized records, than in the ITC's electronic and print version of the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
According to a column in The Journal of Commerce, professionals predict that the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports will be virtually gridlocked by the end of 2010, as local voters and politicians have decided that the environment and infrastructure are all but maxed out. (JoC, dated 01/15/07, www.joc.com )
The Bureau of Census has issued an Automated Export System (AES) broadcast which announces that, effective February 9, 2007, the Schedule B and Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) tables in AES have been updated to accept the changes to the 2007 codes.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has previously announced that the next Customs Broker License Examination will be held on Monday, April 2, 2007.
CBP has issued an ABI administrative message announcing that recent changes to the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) records, Harmonized System (HS) Update (No. 0703) include the following:
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a notice of availability and request for comments on draft advisory circulars, other policy documents, and proposed technical standard orders currently offered by Aviation Safety. The FAA states that these proposed non-regulatory documents are available for public comment at http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/draft_docs/. The FAA must receive comments on or before the due date for each document as specified on the Web site. (FR Pub 02/01/07, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-435.pdf)