The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative would need to provide specific guidance to CBP in order to change treatment of goods from foreign-trade zones that were subject to the recently decreased Section 301 tariffs, CBP said in response to a recent letter from the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (see 2002180046). CBP said it enforces the Section 301 duties issued by the USTR “based on CBP laws and regulations, including 19 CFR 146.65(a)(1), unless USTR directs CBP to take different actions pursuant to Section 301.” NAFTZ President Erik Autor said the association is reviewing its next steps.
The International Trade Commission recently issued Revision 4 to the 2020 Harmonized Tariff Schedule, adding new exclusions from Section 301 tariffs and amending units of quantity for a pair of subheadings for U.S. goods returned under Chapter 98. New U.S. Note 20(ss) is added for the new exclusions, as announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Feb. 19 (see 2002190015). New subheading 9903.88.40 is created for goods entered under the new exclusions, and conforming changes are made elsewhere to Chapter 99 provisions on Section 301 tariffs. For U.S. goods returned, units of quantity for subheadings 9801.00.1030 and 9801.00.1031 (which cover goods of chapters 71 and 82, respectively) are changed to a footnote that says quantities should be reported in the units provided in chapters 1-97. Previously the units were “No. and g” and “No. and kg,” respectively.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 18-21 in case they were missed.
Tracking devices that use the Global Positioning System should be classified differently from smartwatches and other Bluetooth-connected devices that rely on a smartphone connection, CBP said in two recently released rulings. The Sept. 30 rulings both involve Globalstar products that use GPS signals and provide location updates. Neville Petersen lawyer Michael Tomenga requested the rulings for Globalstar, and said the trackers should be classified based on the wireless transceivers, similar to fitness tracking devices (see 1603070028).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new product exclusion from the second group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusion is reflected in "specially prepared product description," which covers "Skateboards with electric power for propulsion, of a power not exceeding 250 W (described in statistical reporting number 8711.60.0050)." The agency also converted a one exclusion for bulk silicone from a product description to an exclusion of a 10-digit HTSUS subheading, it said. The new exclusion applies from Aug. 23, 2018 and expires Oct. 1, 2020. The other change applies from when the original exclusion was announced, Oct. 2, 2019 and expires on Oct. 1, 2020, the agency said.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated on Feb. 19. The following headquarters rulings not involving carriers were modified on Feb. 18, according to CBP:
The Office of the U.S Trade Representative is set to publish a notice Feb. 20 listing some new product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China (see 2002190005). The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.
The Canadian Parliament is moving the successor to NAFTA along, so that a March ratification vote is still looking likely, news from Canada says. While the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be reviewed by the agriculture, natural resources and industry/science/technology committees, not just the trade committee, the other committees only have until Feb. 25 for that review, a report from ipolitics said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued another set of product exclusions from the third group of Section 301 tariffs on goods from China. The new exclusions from the tariffs include "one 10-digit HTSUS subheading," which covers 6 requests, and "46 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 61 exclusion requests," according to the notice. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the third set of tariffs took effect. The exclusions will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020.
The proportion of smartphones imported from China dropped from almost 80% to just under 75% last year, according to government data, at the same time total imports fell 1.7%.