The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice requesting public comments by June 28, 2004 on a petition it received from Procter & Gamble requesting a modification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rules of origin, which are set out in Annex 401 to the NAFTA, for sanitary articles made from certain tri-lobal rayon staple fiber.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice that provides guidance on 1) textile and apparel visa overages and 2) the weight to be shown on the visa stamp (for categories visaed by weight, e.g. in kilograms).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release and fact sheet stating that the U.S. and Bahrain have completed a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA). Under the U.S.-Bahrain FTA, the U.S. and Bahrain will provide immediate duty-free access on virtually all products in their tariff schedules and will phase out tariffs on the remaining handful of products within 10 years.
In the May 19, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 21), CBP issued notices: (a) modifying two classification rulings on metalized embroidery thread and decorative wired trim, and (b) revoking two classification rulings on karaoke machines. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a notice containing its determination that, effective May 28, 2004, certain combed compact yarns, of wool or fine animal hair, classified in HTS 5107.10, 5107.20, or 5108.20, for use in apparel articles, cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), and the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA).
The ITC has posted to its Web site a list of corrections to the printed and electronic versions of the 2004 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTS) in order to correct known errors discovered after the issuance of the January 1, 2004 HTS.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) makes available on its Web site a complete list of its informed compliance publications (ICPs), including a pdf file for each publication.
CIT rules in favor of Customs' classification of deodorizer distillate. In Cargill,Inc. v. U.S., the Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled in favor of Customs' classification of deodorizer distillate under the basket provision HTS 3824.90.2800 (6.5%) as "other mixtures containing 5% or more by weight of one or more aromatic or modified aromatic substances" rather than Cargill's classification claim of HTS 3823.19.4000 (3.2%) which provides for, among other things, "other industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids."
In the May 19, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 21), CBP issued notices: (a) revoking a classification ruling on tennis briefs, and (b) revoking four classification rulings on paper trimmers. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice stating that the low-duty Tariff Preference Level (TPL) (3) for Mexico is due to expire on December 31, 2004, the date the Multifiber Arrangement expires.