The International Trade Commission posted Revision 9 to the 2023 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The semiannual update to the HTS adds new 10-digit tariff numbers for a variety of products, including various varieties of ornamental cut flowers and greens, certified organic vegetables, and medical scrubs and protective equipment.
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.
CBP announced the calendar year 2023 tariff rate quota for tuna in airtight containers. It said 13,377,875 kilograms of tuna in airtight containers may be entered and withdrawn from warehouse for consumption during 2023, at the rate of 6% under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 1604.14.22. Any such tuna that is entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption during the current calendar year in excess of this quota will be dutiable at the rate of 12.5% under HTS subheading 1604.14.30.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 International Trade Commission posted Revision 9 to the 2023 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The semiannual update to the HTS adds new 10-digit tariff numbers for a variety of products, including various varieties of ornamental cut flowers and greens, certified organic vegetables, and medical scrubs and protective equipment. All changes take effect July 1, unless otherwise specified.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2308 on June 30, containing 855 ABI records and 178 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. This update includes modifications to 10-digit statistical reporting numbers mandated by the 484(f) Committee that take effect July 1, CBP said in a June 30 CSMS message.
Electro-mechanical actuators used in automotive applications don't meet the “parts” exception to the NAFTA tariff shift rule because the parts at issue are provided for is a separate subheading, CBP said in a recent ruling.
The Commerce Department issued notices in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigations on paper shopping bags from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam (A-555-002, A-570-152, A-301-805, A-533-917, A-557-825, A-471-808, A-583-872, A-489- 849, A-552-836), and its countervailing duty investigations on paper shopping bags from China and India (C-570-153, C-533-918). The CVD investigation covers entries for the calendar year 2022. The AD investigations for Cambodia, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan and Turkey cover entries April 1, 2022, through March 31, 3023, and for China and Vietnam they cover entries Oct. 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of May 29-June 4, June 5-11 and June 12-18:
The top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee has reintroduced a bill eliminating Chinese shippers' eligibility for de minimis, keeping the ban on China, and adding a requirement that remaining de minimis shipments include at a minimum: a description; an HTS code; a country of origin, shipper, importer; and a U.S. value. The new version also dropped language around sections 232 and 301 tariffs in the previous version.
Hemp wraps for use with non-tobacco legal herbal smoking mixtures are classifiable as "other" vegetable products, CBP said in a recently released ruling. The ruling came in response to an internal advice request, originally initiated over imports of wraps by Crown Distributing. The wraps were described by the requester as lacking tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and were intended for use only with non-tobacco legal herbal smoking mixtures.
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2306 on June 6, containing 4,835 Automated Broker Interface records and 1,746 Harmonized Tariff Records. This update includes an extension, which went into effect June 1, to the suspension of Section 232 duties on steel imports and steel article imports from Ukraine as well as the adjustments required by the verification of the 2023 Harmonized Tariff Schedule, CBP said, in a June 7 CSMS message.