Some new tariff provisions in the 2019 edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule have already been implemented, despite the ongoing partial federal government shutdown and the resulting lack of any official version published by the International Trade Commission. According to documents recently posted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, changes affect classification for infant footwear, aluminum foil and paper, among other products. Extensive changes were also made to units of measure throughout the tariff schedule. On the other hand, changes made by a recent presidential proclamation, including the removal of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits for Mauritania, have yet to be implemented by CBP, the NCBFAA has said. The following is a summary of the purported changes to the tariff schedule:
CBP is unable to provide support to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in reviewing Section 301 product exclusion requests during the partial federal government shutdown, and no more exclusions are expected while the funding impasse continues, said John Leonard, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs, during a Jan. 9 conference call with industry. CBP provides USTR with input and analysis on the feasibility of excluding individual products from the Section 301 tariffs. "That process is not happening" during the shutdown, he said. The USTR issued the first set of Section 301 product exclusions in December (see 1812240010), though CBP remains unable to implement the exclusions during the shutdown (see 1812310007).
CBP is not processing any refunds during the government shutdown, said John Leonard, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs, during a Jan. 7 conference call with industry. The agency is "not processing refunds of any kind on any type of normal entry or drawback transaction," Leonard said. The liquidation process is functioning, but "the backend refunding process and issuing of checks is not happening," he said. Interest may apply to those delayed refunds, Leonard said.
The ongoing partial federal government shutdown is causing some confusion for the trade community on tariff classification. CBP’s last tariff update in the Automated Broker Interface came on Dec. 19 (see 1812190004), but the International Trade Commission has not yet issued its annual update to the online Harmonized Tariff Schedule (see 1901020021). Further complicating matters, a presidential proclamation making more changes to the HTS is now set for publication on Jan. 7 (see 1812270038).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for 2018 in case they were missed.
The new year began without an annual update to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, with the latest version of the 2018 HTS still displayed as current on the International Trade Commission’s website. A message on the ITC’s website dated Dec. 21 says “maintenance of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule” will be “disrupted” during the ongoing government shutdown due to a lack of funding. The commission generally posts the first edition of each year’s tariff schedule around Jan. 1. An ITC spokeswoman was unavailable for comment due to the shutdown.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 24-28 in case they were missed.
CBP continues to believe that "adaptive clothing" with magnetic closures and other features don't meet the requirements for duty-free treatment under tariff subheading 9817.00.96 as articles for the handicapped, the agency said in an Oct. 29 ruling. CBP previously ruled that the "adaptive" girls' dress and jeans didn't satisfy the requirements of the subheading because the adaptations weren't significant enough, similar to another ruling on the same subject (see 1807130038). McGuireWoods lawyer John Pellegrini filed a request for reconsideration of that ruling on behalf of the importer, PVH Corporation.
President Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation Dec. 21 making changes to the tariff schedule that are set to be implemented Jan. 1. Among other changes, the proclamation formally ends African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Mauritania (see 1811050019), and amends the tariff schedule to clarify duty-free treatment for certain goods of Nepal under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. Other technical and conforming changes are also being made related to the tariff treatment of guayaberas from Panama, the tariff-rate quota on tobacco products, implementation of Section 301 tariffs on China and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. The International Trade Commission will now amend the tariff schedule to implement the changes, though the agency is operating in a limited capacity due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Lawmakers were unable to reach a federal government funding deal on Dec. 21, resulting in a shutdown that began at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 22 and has no clear end in sight. CBP held a conference call on Dec. 21 with members of the trade to discuss the agency's operations during a shutdown, according to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. CBP will have conference calls during the shutdown and is preparing a CSMS message to detail its plans, the NCBFAA said.