The Court of International Trade has issued a decision in the case Michael Simon Design, Inc. v. U.S. which upholds the importer's view that sweaters with certain Christmas or Halloween motifs are classified as "festive articles" in Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 9505 (duty- and quota-free).
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 issued a final report to the President in connection with its investigation of proposed modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) that are expected to take effect on January 1, 2007.
The Commerce Department's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) has posted to its Web site the following five monthly reports containing official July 2006 trade data from the Department of Census for imports and exports of textiles and apparel:
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued a final report to the President in connection with its investigation of proposed modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) that are expected to take effect on January 1, 2007.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing that it has received a petition submitted under 19 USC 1516 on behalf of the U.S. Beet Sugar Anticircumvention Coalition (USBSAC) requesting the reclassification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of certain sugar beet thick juice.
CBP has posted to its Web site a notice announcing the opening of the tariff rate quota (TRQ) on tobacco as provided for in HTS Chapter 24, Additional U.S. Note (AUSN) 5 for the period September 13, 2006 through September 12, 2007. According to CBP, this TRQ opens on September 13, 2006.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Port of Chicago has issued a Pipeline regarding the certification required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for imports of chemical substances in bulk or mixtures.
CBP has posted to its Web site a notice announcing a "weekly" special import quota of 23,276,125 kg for upland cotton purchased not later than December 5, 2006 and entered under HTS 9903.52.22. The quota period is September 7, 2006 through March 5, 2007; the opening date is September 7, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. EDT, or its equivalent in other time zones.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has posted to its Web site a September 1, 2006 version of the 2006 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTS).
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued an electronic notice requesting written comments by August 31, 2006 regarding a "commercial availability" request it received under the U.S.-Dominican-Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) on behalf of Lido Industrias of La Liberdad, El Salvador: