The International Trade Commission posted the 2021 Preliminary Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the removal of GSP benefits for many Thai products, as well as the redesignation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as eligible for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits, and the extension of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act until 2020. New statistical breakouts are also added for many medical products, including those used in the treatment of COVID-19, as well as for industrial turbines and hemp seed, among other goods. Changes take effect Jan. 1, 2021, unless otherwise noted.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) provide classification provisions and duty rates for almost every item that exists. It is a system of classifying and taxing all goods imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international Harmonized System, which is a global standard for naming and describing trade products, and consists of a hierarchical structure that assigns a specific code and rate to each type of merchandise for duty, quota, and statistical purposes. The HTS was made effective on January 1, 1989, replacing the former Tariff Schedules of the United States. It is maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission, but CBP is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the HTS.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2021 Preliminary Edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the removal of GSP benefits for many Thai products, as well as the redesignation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as eligible for AGOA, and the extension of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act until 2020. New statistical breakouts are also added for many medical products, including those used in the treatment of COVID-19, as well as for industrial turbines and hemp seed, among other goods. Changes take effect Jan. 1, 2021, unless otherwise noted.
Though TVs with the largest screen sizes maintained their dominance in the mix of October imports coming into the U.S., shipments skewed toward sets with screen sizes under 45 inches, according to Census Bureau data accessed Dec. 13 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. October imports of laptops and tablets, meanwhile, continued their torrid growth trend, recording the category’s highest monthly volume in six years.
CBP issued a CSMS message Nov. 2 detailing changes to eligibility for Generalized System of Preferences duty benefits as a result of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2020 GSP review. Effective Nov. 1, fresh-cut roses are newly eligible for GSP, while par-boiled rice is no longer eligible for duty-free treatment under the program. USTR also declared six county-product pairs ineligible for exceeding competitive needs limitations (CNLs), and will allow 24 country-product pairs that exceeded CNLs to remain eligible under de minimis waivers.
More than 150 exclusions from lists 1 and 2 Section 301 China tariffs are set to expire Oct. 2, after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative declined to extend them in the days prior to their expiration.
More than 300 exclusions from lists 1 and 2 Section 301 China tariffs are set to expire Sept. 20, after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative declined to extend them in the run-up to their expiration.
July laptop and tablet unit imports to the U.S. continued their torrid growth from a year earlier, though July growth was flat sequentially from June, according to Census Bureau data accessed Sept. 6 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Shortages of laptop liquid crystal display (LCD) panels and central processing units (CPUs) threaten to impede sales as the supply chain buckles under the weight of sustained consumer demand for notebook PCs as “essential” work-from-home and remote-learning connectivity tools, market leaders Hewlett-Packard and Dell said during earnings calls in August.
The International Trade Commission recently issued two revisions to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule to implement changes to exclusions on tariffs from China, as well as modifications of Section 301 tariffs on the European Union and Section 232 tariffs on aluminum from Canada. In Revision 20, issued Aug. 31, the ITC implemented recent changes to Section 301 tariffs on the European Union that removed cheeses from Greece and sweet biscuits from the United Kingdom, while adding fruit jams and purees from France and Germany to the list of goods subject to tariffs (see 2008130031). New subheading 9903.89.55 is added to implement some of the changes. The ITC also implemented new and amended exclusions from list three Section 301 tariffs on products from China (see 2008210003).
Remote-learning and work-from-home mandates combined with China’s supply chain recovery to send second-quarter PC monitor imports soaring, according to Census Bureau data accessed Aug. 23 through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. Shipments to the U.S. took a sharp turn toward commoditization in the quarter, clear evidence of the broad-based consumer demand for desktop displays for pairing with PCs, laptops and other connectivity tools.
The International Trade Commission on July 30 issued Revision 18 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. This latest version implements extended exclusions from list two Section 301 tariffs on products from China under new subheading 9903.88.54 and new U.S. note 20(ggg) to subchapter III of chapter 99. The ITC also made a technical fix to general note 11 for USMCA. The changes are effective July 31.