The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 6-12:
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 Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on emulsion-styrene butadiene rubber from the Czech Republic (A-851-805), Italy (A-475-844) and Russia (A-821-835). The agency will determine whether imports of ESB rubber are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The investigations cover entries during the period Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021.
The World Customs Organization recently announced that the final 2022 edition of the Harmonized System tariff nomenclature is now available on its website. The new edition, which replaces the 2017 version, will take effect Jan. 1, though WCO HS Convention members must implement the changes in their own tariff schedules.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 22-28:
The Commerce Department issued a notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigation on superabsorbent polymers from South Korea (A-580-914). The agency will determine whether imports of merchandise subject to this investigation are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2113 Nov. 23, containing 2,552 Automated Broker Interface records and 619 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes changes to reflect short-term and long-term extensions on exclusion from Section 301 tariffs for goods used in treating COVID-19 (see 2111100037). Eighteen COVID-19 exclusions that were extended through Nov. 30 will expire after that (see 2111170070). The update also includes changes related to reporting the country of origin for clock and watch parts (see 2111080028). CBP said it also recently created HSU 2112 with 124 ABI records and 27 HTS records.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Nov. 15-21:
A domestic producer filed a petition Nov. 15 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber from the Czech Republic, Italy and Russia. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD duty investigations. The investigation was requested by Lion Elastomers.
The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a fact sheet detailing importer requirements under its recent final rule on hydrofluorocarbon import and production quotas. Linked in a Nov. 15 CSMS message from CBP announcing an upcoming webinar on the final rule, the fact sheet outlines what imports are covered by the new requirements, which take effect Jan. 1 and include 14-day advance filing for covered merchandise and an additional Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number data element in ACE.
The Customs Modernization Act draft bill in the Senate is largely a customs enforcement bill, not a customs modernization bill, Sidley Austin attorney Barbara Broussard said in an interview, but she's hopeful that some carrots can be added to the sticks in the current approach. She said traders would really like to be able to file entry summaries monthly or quarterly, similar to the way Customs reconciliation is allowed, rather than having to do entry summaries within 10 days of goods' entrance into commerce. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La, recently requested stakeholder input on the draft bill.