SAN DIEGO -- Customs brokers shouldn’t be dismissive or fearful of artificial intelligence tools because those tools' ability to analyze massive amounts of trade data enables brokers to focus on other aspects of the business, speakers on a panel said at the Pacific Coast Council’s Western Cargo Conference (WESCCON) last week.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) is a reference manual that provides 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 the Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the HTS.
Rope-coiled decorative baskets imported by Kohl's are generally classified as made-up textile articles, rather than as ropes, and an especially large version of one of the baskets is big enough to be classified as furniture, CBP said in a Sept. 27 customs ruling.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 23 ruled that steel tubing with insulating material imported by Shamrock Building Materials is classifiable as steel tubes of heading 7306, rather than insulated conduit of heading 8547, subjecting the steel tubing to 25% Section 232 tariffs.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has updated the Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes subject to Certification of Admissibility requirements from Mexico to align the codes with the International Trade Commission's 2024 revision to the tariff schedule, according to an Oct. 23 cargo systems message.
A domestic producer coalition filed petitions last week with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on paper file folders from Cambodia and Sri Lanka, as well as countervailing duties on paper file folders from Cambodia. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Oct. 7-13 and Oct. 14-20:
CBP seeks comments by Dec. 23 on upcoming data requirements for filings regarding seafood and diamonds required by a ban on imports of these products from Russia. Submitted comments will be included with CBP’s request for approval of the information collection that it will soon send to the Office of Management and Budget.
The Agricultural Marketing Service will remove flags from about 1,700 Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes in ACE that had previously indicated potential organic filing requirements, CBP said in a CSMS message Oct. 17. The USDA agency’s AM7 flag, which indicates tariff codes that may be subject to AMS organic program filing requirements, will no longer be associated with the HTS codes in Chapters 53-94 of the tariff schedule.
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 15 limited the scope of the testimony that will be offered by two of the government's witnesses in a customs spat on the classification of The Comfy, a wearable blanket imported by Cozy Comfort Co. Judge Stephen Vaden said fashion industry professional Patricia Concannon can testify only on topics related to the "sale, marketing, and merchandising of apparel," and that CBP national import specialist Renee Orsat "may not testify about opinions she formed during the Customs’ classification process."
Bangladesh is the country of origin for blue surgical towels imported by Global Resources International (GRI), CBP said in a notice. GRI had asked CBP to make a final determination on the surgical towels' country of origin on April 12 for the purposes of U.S. government procurement. The towels are made from 100% cotton huckaback weave fabric from Bangladesh, where the fabric is also woven and dyed blue. It's then shipped to Vietnam in rolls, where it's cut to size, sewn, autoclaved, packaged and shipped to the U.S. Because of these factors, the country of origin is Bangladesh, CBP said, outlining its reasoning in the attached ruling HQ H339826). The surgical towels are classified under subheading 6307.90.89 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S.