The Canada Border Services Agency on July 2 updated a notice on the tariff classification of front-mount mowers, the agency said in Memorandum D10-14-27. "Front-mount mowers, without the mower deck, are to be classified as tractors of subheading 8701.91.00, 8701.92.00, 8701.93.00, 8701.94.00, or 8701.95.90, depending on engine power," the agency said. The mower decks "are classified under tariff item 8433.19.00 as other mowers for lawns, parks, or sports-grounds," it said. "Lawn tractors remain classified under tariff item 8433.11.00 as mowers powered, with the cutting device rotating in a horizontal plane for lawns, parks, or sports-grounds and are subject to the applicable rates of duty."
CBP will require ACE for reporting all in-bond exports, arrivals and diversions starting July 29, the agency said in a CSMS message. "CBP will no longer accept paper copies of the CBPF 7512 to perform arrival and export functionality," though air shipments will still be exempt from the requirements, it said. "An ACE edit will issue a rejection if these actions are not performed," CBP said. "At this time, no date is set for implementation of the provision requiring the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule number requirement for Immediate Transportation movements." The Automated In-Bond Processing Business Process document is the "official publication which provides both CBP and the trade community with guidance, requirements and responsibilities when processing in-bond cargo," the agency said.
The Canada Border Services Agency published some rate of duty reductions included in the Canada-European Free Trade Association Free Trade Agreement and the Information Technology Agreement Expansion, in a new customs notice. The Canada-EFTA duty reductions apply to these subheadings:
The title of the panel discussion was "21st Century Management at our Ports of Entry," but panelists acknowledged that there are many ways the border operates that aren't modern at all.
The European Union is adopting changes to its system of tariff-rate quotas for agricultural and industrial products, it said in a notice published June 20 in the EU Official Journal. The changes include the creation of six new TRQs, increases to quantity for three TRQs, and the elimination of five TRQs, many because implementation of internationally-agreed tariff cuts for information technology goods mean they are no longer necessary. The changes mostly take effect July 1.
The shift in travelers' habits "has given rise to an ongoing evolution in the design and construction of travel goods," creating the need for further customs classification guidance, the Canada Border Services Agency said in Memorandum D10-15-29. The new memo, which was issued June 20, outlines the CBSA's "interpretative policy with respect to the tariff classification of suitcases, travelling bags, backpacks (rucksacks) and handbags of heading 42.02," it said. Chapter 42 covers "Articles of leather; saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and similar containers; articles of animal gut (other than silk-worm gut)" and heading 42.02 includes trunks, suitcases and briefcases.
India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade is raising minimum prices for imports of broken and whole cashews, it said in a notification issued June 12. For broken cashews of Indian tariff subheading 08013210, imports won’t be allowed if the CIF value is less than 680 rupees ($9.78) per kilogram, and for whole cashews of subheading 08013220, imports are prohibited unless the CIF value is above 720 rupees ($10.35) per kilogram, the notification said. Indian cashew growers said the move would put a stop to “dumping of cheap of low-quality nuts” from Africa and Southeast Asia, according to a report in The Hindu Business Line.
Canada updated the Customs Tariff with a list of subheadings covered by the final safeguards for steel goods, according to an order to amend the import control list published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. The country announced plans to impose final safeguards on steel plate and stainless rod in April (see 1904040051).
The Mexican Secretariat of Economy has announced a 90-day grace period for new requirements to submit proof of compliance with certain Mexican product standards at the time of entry, according to a circular issued by the Mexican Confederation of Customs Broker Associations that posted by consultancy AJR Comercio Exterior. Under regulations issued in October, imports subject to some Mexican standards will be denied entry into Mexico beginning June 3, 2019, if they are not accompanied by a certificate of compliance previously entered into an automated system by the third-party certifier (see 1904100076).
Brazil is temporarily lowering tariffs to zero percent on 315 capital goods and information and telecommunications technology goods under its Ex-Tarifario regime, according to a May 9 notice in the Brazilian Diario Oficial. The goods, classified in chapters 82, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 90 of the Brazilian tariff schedule, will remain duty free through Dec. 31, 2020, said the notice, which took effect May 13. The goods had been subject to tariff rates of 12 percent to 18 percent, according to a report in Brazilian news magazine Istoe. Brazil also established a tariff-rate quota allowing 6,000 tons of vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate co-polymers classified under Brazilian subheading 3904.30.00 to enter at a 2 percent duty for a period of 12 months, with out-of-quota merchandise entering at the regular rate of 14 percent, according to an alert from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The Ex-Tarifario system allows for temporarily duty free treatment for capital and ICT goods not made in Brazil, in a manner similar to the U.S. Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.