The Court of International Trade in an Aug. 1 order granted a joint motion for stipulated judgment, granting refunds to importer Transpacific Steel for Section 232 steel and aluminum duties paid in error. The importer was originally granted three exclusions with the wrong Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading listed in them. After having its resubmitted exclusion requests denied, Transpacific took to the trade court to seek the exclusions and refunds for the Section 232 duties paid. It received just that following a settlement with the U.S. (Transpacific Steel v. United States, CIT #21-00362).
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 Revision 8 to the 2022 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The update added new secondary 10-digit tariff numbers for baby formula and products of Russia.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of July 11-17:
The International Trade Commission posted Revision 6 to the 2022 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The semiannual update to the HTS adds new 10-digit tariff numbers for a variety of products, including tomatoes and a wide range of other vegetables, cut flowers and beverages in aluminum cans. All changes take effect July 1, unless otherwise specified.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of June 20-26:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced that it is accepting requests to participate in an upcoming “beta” pilot for “e-filing” of its PGA message set on certificate of compliance data. The agency will accept as many as 50 participants, with a subset of nine importers and brokers that will begin working with the agency early to develop the IT infrastructure necessary for pilot filing, it said in a June 10 final rule.
CBP announced the calendar year 2022 tariff rate quota for tuna in airtight containers. It said 14,672,350 kilograms of tuna in airtight containers may be entered and withdrawn from warehouse for consumption during 2022, at the rate of 6% under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 1604.14.22. Any such tuna that is entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption during the current calendar year in excess of this quota will be dutiable at the rate of 12.5% under HTS subheading 1604.14.30.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 30 - June 5:
The Court of International Trade dismissed two cases brought by steel importer Voestalpine USA and steel purchaser Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel seeking to retroactively apply a Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion that was originally issued with a clerical error. Judge Mark Barnett said that the plaintiffs did not seek any relief that the court could grant since the entries eligible for the exclusion had already been liquidated, and the court does not have the power to order their reliquidation.
The Agricultural Marketing Service is updating its table of Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings and assessment rates for imported potatoes and potato products, it said in a final rule. The agency is also amending its regulations on the potato promotion order “eliminating the need to amend the Plan just to update the list of relevant HTS codes.” Finally, AMS is amending its regulations on approved data sources used to determine the number of Potato Board seats and expanding “payment methods used to remit assessments to include electronic submission.” The final rule takes effect May 16.