The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will not open a portal for comments about the economic impact of Section 301 tariffs until Nov. 15 (see 2210120051), but it has now posted the questionnaire, which has a dozen pages of questions, and will allow commenters to target specific Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes.
Customs duty
A customs duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs duty rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight. U.S. customs duties are listed in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's John Murphy said that manufacturers are some of the biggest supporters of free trade deals because half their goods are exported.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., is asking why tariffs on aluminum seem to be permanent fixtures at the same time that there's a pause on potential anti-circumvention duties on Southeast Asian solar panels.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2228 on Oct. 11, containing 36 ABI records and eight Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. The changes involve suspended duties on imports of baby formula products (see 2210110041), it said in a CSMS message.
CBP provided some guidance for how importers of infant formula base powder can make use of the temporary suspension of tariffs on baby formula (see 2210110041). CBP "will provide duty-free treatment of the eligible infant formula base powder entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 AM Eastern daylight time on October 13, 2022, through 11:59 PM Eastern Standard time on December 31, 2022," it said. "Duty-free treatment will only be provided to importers of base powder to be manufactured into infant formula authorized to be marketed in the United States or subject to an enforcement discretion letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)." The duty-free treatment is "limited to certain infant formula base powder classifiable under HTS subheading 1901.90.62 and must be exported to the United States on or before November 14, 2022," CBP said. "Authorized importers seeking duty-free treatment for qualifying shipments will make a quota type entry utilizing subheading 9903.19.23. Any shipment qualifying for duty-free treatment under subheading 9903.19.23 will not be subject to any additional safeguard duties that may be imposed under subchapter IV of Chapter 99 of the HTS. If the import quota threshold is met before December 31, 2022, duty-free treatment will no longer be granted."
On Oct. 10, President Joe Biden signed into law a temporary change to the 13.6% tariff plus $1.035/kg tariff on base powder that's an input to baby formula (see 2209290068). The tariffs go to zero through Dec. 31, 2022. The change is aimed at increasing domestic production of baby formula, as there are still shortages after a major domestic producer closed for months. The duty-free eligibility is limited to the first 2,600 metric tons imported.
The Court of International Trade in an Oct. 4 opinion ruled that CBP properly classified net wraps used for bailing hay as a warp knit fabric under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 6005.39.00. Judge Mark Barnett ruled against classification under plaintiff RKW Klerks' preferred subheading 8433.90.50 as "parts" of "harvesting or threshing machinery."
African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Kenya need to continue as any trade partnership is formed, commenters said, especially the third-country fabric rule of origin.
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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a technical correction to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to reflect the eligibility of Curacao for duty-free import provisions for certain apparel and textile luggage. The agency’s notice adds Curacao to the list of countries in Note 7(b) to subchapter II of Chapter 98 of the HTS, effective Sept. 22. The country had not been added to the note even though it was declared eligible in 2015.