The size of imported bags from China is the determining factor for classification as either a handbag or a tote bag, CBP said in Aug. 17 ruling that was recently released (here). Kohl's Department Stores requested reconsideration of a 2008 CBP ruling that also classified the bags as tote bags. "Although the bag at issue is a larger sized bag, it is designed as a daily use handbag, fitting with the current fashion trends," Kohl's said to CBP in its 2008 request for reconsideration. The handbag classification includes a 16 percent duty rate, whereas the tote bag classification has a 20 percent duty rate.
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.
Nepal supplied less than 0.05 percent of total U.S. imports of textiles and apparel in 2015, according to an International Trade Commission report on import sensitivity of certain products in the category from that country (here). U.S. imports from the country within the 66 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings reviewed fell 7 percent between May 2015 and May 2016, the agency said. The report covered products including certain luggage, handbags, pocket goods, travel bags, carpets and textile floor coverings, scarves, blankets, hats and gloves. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative requested the report, which also found the U.S. didn’t import products belonging to 20 of the HTS subheadings under review. In July, USTR requested a World Trade Organization waiver to allow it to implement a program authorized by recently enacted customs reauthorization legislation that would give duty-free treatment to certain products from Nepal (see 1606290042). USTR didn’t comment.
The International Trade Commission issued a notice (here) requesting petitions starting Oct. 14 for duty suspensions and reductions as part of its role in the federal review process for miscellaneous tariff bills (MTB), whose final approval must come from Congress. Petitions will be accepted until 5:15 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 12. The MTB petitioning platform will ask applicants for information on customs rulings on products claimed for duty benefits, names of other importers of the products, and any antidumping or countervailing duty orders, among other things, ITC officials said during an Oct. 12 in-person walk-through of the agency’s new MTB portal. "If it’s a private-letter ruling, which is something a petitioning company would know whether it has, that would be treated as confidential," ITC MTB Program Manager Jennifer Rohrbach said during the walk-through session.
U.S. negotiators and the government of Morocco agreed in principle to modify rules of origin for textile and apparel goods under tariff provisions of the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement to reflect initial determinations that U.S. and Moroccan producers can’t produce certain fabrics in large bulk quantities in a timely manner, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a letter to International Trade Commission Chairman Irving Williamson (here). With final approval, products listed in the agreement as originating would include:
CBP said it created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1612 on Aug. 30, containing 4,692 ABI records and 935 harmonized tariff records (here). Modifications include changes made to the HTS Chapter 62 that were in the customs reauthorization law, CBP said. That customs law resolved errors in another law that created new HTS subheadings for recreational performance outerwear, but specified the wrong duty rates for the new tariff lines (see 1508080003). Adjustments required by the verification of the 2016 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are included as well. The modified records can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov
The International Trade Commission on Aug. 23 launched a new Import Monitoring Tool on its website (here), as required by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act enacted in February (see 1602240071), the ITC said (here). The tool will allow users to determine whether import data changed throughout a period of time and uses public monthly import data provided by the Commerce Department based on Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) tariff line, the ITC said. When users first access the tool, they will see U.S. imports ranked by tariff line in descending order based on the “largest absolute change” during the latest two quarters. Users can also adjust ranking criteria to a percentage-change basis; set apart a group of tariff lines from a certain HTS chapter, heading or subheading; segregate changes by specific importer; and view corresponding changes in import quantities, the ITC said. Users can also query the data by HTS tariff line and see associated country or quantity details. The Import Monitoring Tool contains import data for the eight latest quarters, the ITC said.
The International Trade Commission on July 28 released a report (here) on recommended changes to Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) chapters 03, 44 and 63 that are necessary to implement amendments to the Harmonized System (HS) adopted by the World Customs Organization in 2015 (see 1506230026), it said (here). Unintentionally omitted from the WCO’s tariff changes set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2017 (see 14073002 and 14073101), the amendments to Chapter 44 introduce new subdivisions for coniferous and non-coniferous wood and new subheadings for certain wood of pine, fir, spruce, beech, birch, poplar, aspen and eucalyptus. These amendments to subheadings of headings 4401, 4403, 4406, 4407 and 4412 would take effect in 2018.
A rare Ferrari imported into the U.S. meets the requirements for classification as a collector's item, CBP said in a further review of a protest ruling (here). CBP liquidated the entry for the car, imported from Italy after inclusion in an exhibit at the Ferrari Museum in Italy, under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) heading 8703 as a motor car. "The invoice which accompanied the car upon importation lists its sale price as $25,000,000," CBP said.
Screws imported by GRK Canada are classifiable in the tariff schedule as self-tapping screws, and not wood screws, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued July 15 (here). Ruling on the case for the second time after the Federal Circuit, on appeal, controversially ordered CIT to consider the screws’ intended use (see 14080420), the trade court again concluded that GRK’s screws share the physical characteristics of self-tapping screws. This time, however, CIT also noted the screws’ suitability for use in materials other than wood.
The International Trade Commission on July 1 posted revisions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (here). The new HTS implements the first round of tariff cuts under the expanded World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, as well as the results of the U.S. Trade Representative's 2015-16 review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), adding several "travel goods" to the program, albeit only for least developed country beneficiaries.