US – USITC begins process to incorporate changes into HTS

On August 21, 2014, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced that it has instituted Investigation No. 1205-11, Recommended Modifications in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to Conform with Amendments to the Harmonized System Recommended by the World Customs Organization, and to Address Other Matters, pursuant to section 1205 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the 1988 Act) (19 U.S.C. § 3005), in order to recommend to the President modifications in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).

International customs officials at the World Customs Organization (WCO) have agreed on 234 changes to the global system, International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS Convention),  that categorizes products that are imported and exported around the world, and countries are beginning their individual processes to incorporate those changes into their own domestic product category systems.

The ITC is the federal agency charged with maintaining and updating the United States’ product category system, the HTS.  The U.S. and other countries have until January 1, 2017, to incorporate the changes, but much work lies ahead, according to Jim Holbein, director of the ITC office that maintains the HTS. “The first step for importers and exporters is to become aware of the changes being made at the international level,” Holbein said. “If they believe they will be affected, they will want to stay on top of the process as it moves forward.”

The recommended modifications concern (1) the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) Recommendation of June 27, 2014 that Contracting Parties to the HS Convention modify their tariff schedules to conform with amendments to the Harmonized System expected to enter into force on January 1, 2017; and (2) whether one of the two HTS subheadings that apply to taro (also known as dasheens) should be deleted, and whether the HTS nomenclature for corned beef should be provided for under a superior subheading for cured meat of bovine animals.
The key dates are:

August 20, 2014: Posting of the WCO’s Recommendation of June 27, 2014, on the Commission website.

December 2014 (actual date to be announced later): Posting of the Commission’s proposed recommendations on the Commission’s website.

February 2015 (actual date to be announced later): Deadline for interested Federal agencies and the public to file written views on the Commission’s proposed recommendations.

July 2015 (actual date to be announced later): Transmittal of the Commission’s report to the President.