Details of Presidential Proclamation on July 1st GSP Changes, Etc. (Part IV - Final)
On June 29, 2005, President Bush issued Proclamation 7912 in order to implement certain Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) changes effective July 1, 2005; restore suspended GSP benefits for a number of India or Pakistan articles; grant GSP benefits for the country of Serbia and Montenegro; implement certain North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rules of origin changes; delineate certain Carribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) benefits for footwear; treat certain members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as one country for purposes of GSP, etc.
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This is Part IV, the final part of a multi-part series of summaries on this proclamation, and highlights the proclamation's modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) regarding the Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA), the Chile Free Trade Agreement (CFTA, or UCFTA), the Australia Free Trade Agreement (UAFTA), the NAFTA, and the classification of certain anchovies.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 07/01/05, 07/05/05, and 07/12/05 news, 05070105, 05070512, and 05071205 for BP summaries of Parts I - III.)
Modifications to HTS Regarding Free Trade Agreements
New list of industrial goods for definition of SFTA 'remanufactured good,' etc. The proclamation has modified HTS General note 25(c)(ii)(B) by adding a new list of industrial goods assembled in Singapore or the U.S. and their HTS Chapter 84, 85, 87, and 90 headings/subheadings to the definition of SFTA "remanufactured good."
This new list of 40 descriptions and HTS headings/subheadings is effective for goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after January 1, 2004, and replaces the former list of 134 descriptions and HTS headings/subheadings (which are enumerated in HTS General Note 25(m)).
In addition, effective for goods of Singapore entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after January 1, 2004, U.S. note 13 to subchapter X of HTS Chapter 99 is corrected for certain typographical errors.
CFTA. Effective for goods of Chile entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after January 1, 2004, HTS General Note 26(n) is modified by deleting 2926.45 and adding 2921.45 to Tariff Classification Rule (TCR) 63 of Chapter 29.
CFTA and SFTA. Effective for goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after December 18, 2004, HTS 8510.20.10, 8510.20.90, and 8708.29.25 are modified by inserting, in the Rates of Duty 1- Special subcolumn the symbols "CL" and "SG" following the "Free" rate of duty.
UAFTA. Effective for goods of Australia entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after January 1, 2005, HTS General note 28(b)(iv) is modified by deleting the phrase "and is imported directly into the customs territory of the U.S. from the territory of Australia."
In addition, effective for goods of Australia entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after January 1, 2005, HTS General note 28(m)(vi) which states that a good shall not be considered to be originating solely by virtue of having undergone (A) simple combining or packaging operations, or (B) mere dilution with water or another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the good, is deleted.
Also, effective for goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after January 1, 2005, HTS 8708.29.25 is modified by inserting, in the Rates of Duty 1- Special subcolumn the symbol "AU" following the "Free" rate of duty, and in HTS General note 28(n), TCR 1 to Chapter 56, and TCRs 10 and 11 to chapter 61 are corrected for certain tariff errors.
NAFTA ensembles of HTS Chapters 61 and 62 from Mexico. Effective for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after June 29, 2005 (the date the proclamation was signed), the Rates of Duty 1- Special subcolumn symbol "MX" is moved to indicate "duty-free" under NAFTA for qualifying goods of Mexico classified in 21 8-digit Chapter 61 and 62 tariff numbers. (The symbol "MX" had previously been located to indicate that such NAFTA ensembles were dutiable.)
NAFTA treatment for certain articles of ski racing apparel from Mexico. Effective for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after June 29, 2005 (the date the proclamation was signed), a similar change is made for HTS 9817.61.01, as the Rates of Duty 1- Special subcolumn symbol "MX" is moved to indicate "duty-free" under NAFTA for qualifying goods of Mexico, rather than dutiable.
NAFTA Chapter 85 TCRs for Canada and Mexico. Effective for goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after January 1, 2005, NAFTA TCRs 8A and 8B to HTS Chapter 85 are deleted and new Chapter 85 TCRs 8A and 8B applicable only to goods of Canada, and a new TCR 8B applicable only to goods of Mexico, are added.
Modification Regarding Certain Anchovies
Anchovies in oil, in airtight containers. Effective for goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after July 1, 2005, the tariff numbers 1604.16.10 (TRQ) and 1604.16.30 (other) are deleted and replaced by 1604.16.20.
Proclamation 7912 (FR Pub 06/30/05) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/30jun20050800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-13182.pdf