China : 2006 Agreed Quota Levels and ELVIS Requirements Announced

(See ITT's Online Archives or 11/10/05, 11/14/05, and 11/17/05 news, 05111005, 05111405, and 05111710, for Parts I - III of BP summaries on the Agreement, which covers three on-year periods from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2008.)

CITA states that the agreed levels are effective January 1, 2006, for subject textile and apparel goods produced or manufactured in China and exported from China during the twelve month period of January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006.

(CITA notes that the agreed levels may be adjusted during the course of the year for carryforward under the terms of the Agreement.)

According to CITA, goods exported prior to January 1, 2006 shall not be subject to these quotas. Moreover, goods that have been released from the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under the provisions of 19 USC 1448(b) or 1484(a)(1) prior to January 1, 2006 shall not be denied entry under this directive.

In addition, effective January 1, 2006, textile and apparel goods subject to the quota levels listed in the Agreement, that are produced or manufactured in China and exported from China on or after January 1, 2006, require an appropriate ELVIS (Electronic Visa Information System) transmission from the Government of China, as specified below. According to CITA, the ELVIS transmission certifies the country of origin and authorizes the shipment to be charged against any applicable quota.

CITA adds that the U.S. recognizes that China shall be free to issue additional documents, such as paper visas or certificates of origin. While the additional documents will not be a requirement of entry into the U.S., CITA states that CBP may review these documents on a case-by-case basis.

2006 Agreed Quota Levels

The following categories and quota levels are listed in CITA's notice for 2006:

Categories 332/432/632-T: baby socks: only HTS numbers 6111.20.6050, 6111.30.5050, and 6111.90.5050; within Category 632: only HTS numbers 6115.20.9010, 6115.93.6020, 6115.93.9020, 6115.99.1420, and 6115.99.1820;

Categories 332/432/632-B: baby socks: only HTS numbers 6111.20.6050, 6111.30.5050 and 6111.90.5050; within Category 632: only HTS numbers 6115.93.6020, 6115.93.9020, 6115.99.1420 and 6115.99.1820;

(Note that the only difference between the T sock quota and its B sublimit is that the T sock quota has one extra tariff number for 632pt: 6115.20.9010. In addition, while baby socks in the above tariff numbers are subject to the T sock quota and B sublimit, CITA states that the correct category 239 will be required for subject baby socks at the time of entry for quota and ELVIS purposes.)

Categories 338/339pt: all HTS numbers except: 6110.20.1026, 6110.20.1031, 6110.20.2067, 6110.20.2077, 6110.90.9067, and 6110.90.9071;

⁴Category 359-S: only HTS numbers 6112.39.0010, 6112.49.0010, 6211.11.8010, 6211.11.8020, 6211.12.8010 and 6211.12.8020; Category 659-S: only HTS numbers 6112.31.0010, 6112.31.0020, 6112.41.0010, 6112.41.0020, 6112.41.0030, 6112.41.0040, 6211.11.1010, 6211.11.1020, 6211.12.1010 and 6211.12.1020;

⁵Categories 638/639pt.: all HTS numbers except: 6110.30.2051, 6110.30.2061, 6110.30.3051, 6110.30.3057, 6110.90.9079, and 6110.90.9081;

⁶Categories 647/648pt.: all HTS numbers except 6203.43.3510, 6204.63.3010, 6210.40.5031, 6210.50.5031, 6211.20.1525 and 6211.20.1555; and

⁷Category 666pt.: only HTS numbers 6303.12.0010 and 6303.92.2030.

ELVIS Requirements

CITA states that an ELVIS message must accompany each commercial shipment of subject textile and apparel goods, produced or manufactured in China and exported from China on or after January 1, 2006, as highlighted below.

A. Each ELVIS message will include the following information:

i. The visa number. (e.g. 6CN123456; but the first digit after the CN should not be a "9".)

ii. The date of issuance.

iii. The correct category(s), part category(s), merged category(s), quantity(s) and unit(s)

of quantity (the quantity must be stated in whole numbers)

iv. The manufacturer ID number (MID).

(According to several CBP and trade sources, the MID in the ELVIS transmission

does not have to match the MID constructed by the entry filer (see B iii. below.)

CITA's notice states that the MID shall begin with "CN" followed by the first three

characters from each of the first two words (of the English rendition) of the name of

the entity performing the origin-conferring operations, followed by the largest number

on the address line of the entity up to the first four digits, followed by the first three

letters from the city name where the entity is located. See ITT's Online Archive or

11/18/05 news, 05111810 for BP reminder on this origin-conferring MID

requirement.)

B. Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted:

i. if an ELVIS transmission has not been received for the shipment from China;

ii. if the ELVIS transmission for that shipment is missing any of the following:

a. visa number

b. category, part category, or merged category

c. quantity

d. unit of quantity

e. date of issuance

f. manufacturer ID number

iii. if the ELVIS transmission for the shipment does not match the information supplied

by the importer or the Customs broker acting as an agent on behalf of the importer

with regard to any of the following:

a. visa number

b. category, part category, or merged category

c. unit of quantity

iv. if the quantity being entered is greater than the quantity transmitted.

v. if the visa number has previously been used, except in the case of a split shipment, or

canceled.

C. New transmission required if denied entry. A new, correct ELVIS transmission

from China is required before a shipment that has been denied entry for one of the

circumstances mentioned in paragraph B.i-v will be released.

D. Quantity in transmission is greater. If the quantity in the ELVIS transmission is

greater than that of the shipment, the United States shall permit entry and shall

charge only the amount entered against any applicable level.

E. System failure could result in delay in release of goods, etc. Shipments will not

be released for forty-eight hours or 2 calendar days in the event of a system failure.

If system failure exceeds forty-eight hours or 2 calendar days, for the remaining

period of the system failure, CBP will only release shipments on the basis of the visa

data provided by the Ministry of Commerce, if the Ministry of Commerce is able to

provide that data by some means other than an ELVIS transmission. The Ministry of

Commerce shall promptly retransmit all data that was affected by the system failure

when the system is functioning normally.

F. Personal use; commercial sample shipments. Merchandise imported for the

personal use of the importer and not for resale, regardless of value, and properly

marked commercial sample shipments valued at U.S.$800 or less, do not require an

ELVIS transmission for entry and shall not be charged to agreement levels.

CITA contact: Ross Arnold (202) 482-4212

CITA notice available at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/fr2005/chiestlielv.htm

BP Note on CITA-Listed Tariff Numbers for Part Categories

Many of the tariff numbers listed by CITA for the part categories (e.g., 338/339pt, 638/639pt, 666pt) and/or the tariff numbers listed for baby socks are expected to be newbreakouts (at the 9^th and 10^th digit level) which will take effect on January 1, 2006. BP will update readers with further details on these new breakouts when additional information is available.