The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing that it has accepted for review a petition to remove certain sleeping bags, classified under HTS subheading 9404.30.80, from the list of products eligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences program.
1. U.S.-China Commission Hearing on National Security and Trade
The International Trade Commission has announced that it is seeking input for a newly initiated investigation concerning possible modifications to the Generalized System of Preferences as part of the 2009 GSP Annual Review.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice announcing the competitive need limitation waiver petitions that are accepted for further review as part of the 2009 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Review1.
CBP issued a CSMS message stating that on December 28, 2009, the President signed a bill that renewed the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preferences Act/Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act programs until December 31, 2010. Additionally, on December 23, 2009, the President issued Proclamations 8467 and 8468, which modified the list of beneficiary countries eligible for the GSP and the African Growth and Opportunity Act. (CSMS 09-000383, dated 12/31/09, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17780&page=&srch_argv=&srchtype=&btype=&sortby=&sby)
President Obama has issued Proclamation 8467 in order to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule's list of Generalized System of Preferences countries for 2010, extend the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Area tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for certain agricultural products of Israel another year, implement rule of origin and other technical corrections for four free trade agreements, etc.
The International Trade Commission has posted to its Web site the 2010 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S., which is effective January 1, 2010.
On December 28, 2009, the President signed into law H.R. 4284, a bill which extends the Generalized System of Preferences and Trade Preference Act/Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPA/ATPDEA) one year beyond the date these programs were scheduled to expire.
The International Trade Commission is expected to post the 2010 Harmonized Tariff Schedule to its Web site before January 1, 2010, according to sources at the ITC.
CBP has issued a CSMS message stating that it has updated the HTS on the ACE "References" tab to direct the user to the U.S. International Trade Commission website. Users can simply select the "Launch USITC Site" to navigate directly to the HTS. CBP notes that the "Tariff History" hyperlink is no longer operational in the ACE Portal; users should use the "HTS Archive" on the ITC website. (CSMS 09-000374, dated 12/22/09, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17770&page=&srch_argv=09-000374&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby)