CBP Bulletin Notice on the 46th Session of the WCO HSC

August 9, 2010 by Karen Marzullo|Customs and Ports

In the August 4, 2010 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 44, No. 32), CBP issued a notice detailing the dates and draft agenda for the 46th Session of the World Customs Organization's Harmonized System Committee, which will meet in Brussels on September 13 -24, 2010.

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(Among other things, the HSC (1) issues classification decisions on the interpretation of the Harmonized System (HS) in the form of published tariff classification opinions or amendments to the Explanatory Notes, and (2) considers amendments to the legal text of the HS.)

The draft list of agenda items includes(partial list):

Report by the Secretariat. Report by the Secretariat on (partial list):

Position regarding Contracting Parties to the HS Convention and related matters.
Preparation and timing of HS 2012 publications.
Approval of decisions taken by the Harmonized System Committee at its 45th Session.
Capacity building activities of the Nomenclature and Classification Sub-Directorate.
Cooperation with other international organizations.
Annual survey to determine the percentage of national revenue represented by Customs duties.

General questions. General questions on (partial list):

Customs in the 21st Century.
Importance of pre-entry classification programs and possible implementation of the WCO Advance Tariff Ruling Service.

Classification opinions. Amendments to the Compendium of Classification Opinions to reflect the decision to classify (partial list):

“Mamil® Gold Step 2” and “Dugro 1 Plus GoldTM” in heading 1901.
Bio-fuel blends in heading 2710 (subheading 2710.19).
“Octagonal steel columns for lamp posts″ in heading 7308.90.

Requests for re-examinations. Requests for re-examination of (partial list):

Scope of headings 2206 and 2208 (Request by Canada).
Classification of network analyzers (Request by the EU).
Classification of a “Bluetooth” headset (Requests by the EU and Thailand).

Further studies. Further studies on (partial list):

Application of General Interpretative Rule 2(a) in respect of the classification of car-assembly sets (Request by the Russian Federation).
Possible amendment of the Explanatory Notes in respect of technologies used in the manufacture of ethyl alcohol.
Classification of certain “motorcycle parts” (Request by Peru).
Possible amendment to the Explanatory Note to heading 5608.

New questions. New questions on (partial list):

Possible amendment of the Explanatory Note to heading 7321 (Proposal by Jordan).
Possible misalignment between the English and French texts of the Explanatory Note to heading 85.04 (Request by the EU).
Possible amendments to the Nomenclature (Request by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons).

(Copies of available agenda-item documents may be obtained from either Joan Jackson (with CBP) at (202) 325-0010 or David Beck (with the International Trade Commission) at (202) 205-2592.)