U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is announcing that effective April 1, 2004 there will be changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers at the statistical suffix level (the 9^th and 10^th digits) for certain men's and boys' cotton T-shirts and certain other garments classified in HTS 6109.10.00.

Value allowance regarding warranty expenses, port repair expenses. In Saab Cars USA, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that, with respect to imported automobiles, most of Saab's claims for an allowance in value for warranty expenses were not adequately supported. However, the CIT did conclude that Saab should be granted an allowance in value for its port repair expenses.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has posted to its Web site the reports of 32 Trade Advisory Committees on the proposed U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement (Australia FTA).

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has amended its final results of the antidumping (AD) duty administrative review of gray and portland cement and clinker from Mexico for the review period of August 1, 1996 through July 31, 1997, as there is now a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Binational Panel notice of final action which affects CEMEX, S.A. de C.V. (CEMEX) and GCC Cemento, S.A. de C.V. (GCCC)^{1 2}.

CBP has updated its information on its upcoming seminars at nine airports on the advance electronic information requirements for inbound air cargo. CBP has updated its previously issued information in order to:

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has posted to its Web site a notice detailing its next upcoming informational seminar entitled, Navigating the Regulations, which will be held in Philadelphia, PA on April 21, 2004. The FMC states that this seminar provides an overview of the responsibilities of vessel operators, ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs) and maritime shipping services users in U.S. foreign trades.

In the March 10, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 11), CBP issued notices (a) proposing to revoke or modify three classification rulings on textile tool holders, and (b) proposing to revoke two classification rulings regarding certain metal couplings and connectors. CBP states that it is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.

The Commerce Department's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) has issued its Major Shippers Textiles and Apparel Report, which contains selected general import statistics by date of import from the Census Bureau through January 31, 2004 by country and category (including merged and part category).

Washington Trade Daily reports that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman hopes to see action on H.R. 2896, his bill that would repeal the Extraterritorial Income Tax Exclusion (ETI) before the House adjourns for the Easter recess in late March/early April. According to the article, H.R. 2896 would replace ETI with a new tax cut for domestic manufacturers and propose an array of international law changes aimed at making U.S. businesses more competitive abroad. The article notes that Congress is under pressure to repeal ETI in order to end sanctions against certain U.S. goods which the European Union imposed as of March 1, 2004. (WTD dated 03/18/04, www.washingtontradedaily.com.)