The International Trade Commission recently released Revision 2 to the 2023 Harmonized Tariff Schedule, adding four HTS subheadings under chapter 99 to implement Presidential Proclamation 10522 of Feb. 24, "Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States."
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 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative complied with Administrative Procedure Act requirements when it set lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on China, the Court of International Trade held in a much-anticipated opinion on March 17. After USTR provided more explanation of its tariff decisions on remand, judges Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves held that the explanations were not made impermissibly post hoc and cleared APA requirements.
The promise of the International Trade Data System “has unfortunately not been matched by reality,” with duplicative and repetitive entry requirements for partner government agencies, including the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments on NMFS implementation of ITDS submitted to the Office of Management and Budget.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 6-12:
Shipments of electronics comprised half the number and nearly 90% of the value of all shipments stopped under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act since enforcement began in the third quarter of 2022, according to data released by CBP as part of its UFLPA “Dashboard,” which debuted March 14. The bulk of those shipments were of solar products, CBP officials said at a press conference that day.
A personal hydrofoil is properly classified in the tariff schedule as a vessel for pleasure or sports, rather than as exercise equipment, CBP said in a recently released ruling. Though the importer of the hydrofoil had argued it can only float if moving forward, CBP interpreted the definition of vessel broadly to include all structures meant to carry people or things across water.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2304 on March 9, containing 77 ABI records and 18 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. These changes include additional Section 232 duties on imports of aluminum and derivative aluminum products from Russia and changes to HTS flagging. "With the upcoming ACE HTS deployment in May 2023, we recommend testing in ACE Certification," CBP said in a March 10 CSMS message.
Parts of an oil rig well head are properly classified as "other articles of iron or steel" rather than as parts for boring machinery or parts of taps, cocks and valves, CBP said in a recently released ruling the agency had issued in January.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is updating tariff schedule numbers listed for importer assessments under the marketing order on paper and paper-based packaging. The agency’s final rule brings the list of Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers subject to assessments in line with the latest changes to the tariff schedule. AMS also is amending the regulations to provide that, going forward, if any HTS number under the order “is changed and such change is merely a replacement of a previous number and has no impact on the description of the paper and paper-based packaging involved, assessments will continue to be collected based on the new number.” The final rule takes effect March 10.
For more than seven years, the Chilean government has asked the U.S. to adjust the rules of origin in their trade agreement for woven fabrics of artificial filament yarn in subheadings 5408.22-5408.23 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to allow the use of filament yarn of viscose rayon classified in subheadings 5403.10, 5403.31, 5403.32, and 5403.41 from countries other than the U.S. or Chile.