2005 Printed Tariff Schedule Expected to be Delayed
According to U.S. government sources, the 2005 printed, paper edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTS) is expected to be printed later than usual this year.
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U.S. government sources state that the publication of this printed 2005 HTS has been delayed so that it can include changes resulting from the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (which is expected to take effect January 1, 2005, but must be implemented by a Presidential Proclamation that has not yet been issued).
(See ITT's Online Archives or 11/19/04 news, 04111920, for BP summary on the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement that the U.S.-Australia FTA would take effect January 1, 2005.)
2005 Electronic HTS Expected to be Posted Before Printed Paper HTS
U.S. government sources state that the International Trade Commission (ITC) is expected to post an electronic version of the 2005 HTS to its Web site within a few days of the President's issuance of a proclamation implementing the U.S.-Australia FTA.
One source opines that the Government Printing Office's (GPO's) contractor would be expected to begin mailing the printed copy of the 2005 HTS to subscribers a few weeks after the electronic version of the 2005 HTS is posted.
2004 HTS Not Expected to be Amended to Reflect Miscellaneous Trade Bill
ITC sources state that they do not expect to revise the 2004 HTS to reflect changes required by the enactment of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, even though the President signed it into law on December 3, 2004. Instead, ITC sources state that they will provide a link to the public law version of the bill on its Web site.
Relevant changes resulting from the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 will be included in the 2005 HTS.
BP will update subscribers as new information becomes available.
BP Note
The ITC has posted to its Web site changes to the 2004 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) that took effect on September 9, 2004 and November 6, 2004. The ITC notes that these changes have not been incorporated into the 2004 HTS.
The November 6, 2004 changes to the 2004 HTS on the ITC's Web site are the duty provisions for ceiling fans and certain steam generators and certain reactor vessel heads and pressurizers, used in nuclear facilities contained in H.R. 4520, the legislation to repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (FSC/ETI) tax regime, etc. See ITT's Online Archives or 10/14/04 news, 04101405, for BP summary of these provisions.
The September 9, 2004 changes to the 2004 HTS on the ITC's Web site are the changes made by Presidential Proclamation 7808. Proclamation 7808 made various changes to the HTS with respect to: the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Acceleration Act of 2004 (AGOA III), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and various Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) changes. (See ITT"s Online Archives or 09/16/04 news, 04091610, for final part of BP series of summaries of Proclamation 7808, with links to earlier parts.)
ITC's September 9, 2004 changes available at http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/tata/hts/PP%207808%20-%20GSP%20&%20other%20modifications%20(AGOA%20&NAFTA).pdf.
ITC's November 6, 2004 changes available at http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/tata/hts/PL108357.pdf.