ITC Requests Proposals on Changes to WCO Tariff Schedule Set for Adoption in 2022
The International Trade Commission is requesting proposals for possible changes to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System tariff schedule that would be implemented in the U.S. HTS in January 2022 (here). Any proposals received will be reviewed by the ITC, Commerce Department and CBP, before being forwarded to the WCO for possible adoption, said the ITC.
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Proposals should relate to “section and chapter notes, and the texts of four-digit headings and six-digit subheadings that describe new products or technologies, modify or eliminate unclear or obsolete categories, or otherwise advance the goals set out by the HS Convention,” said the ITC. The ITC will only consider proposals that propose deletion of headings and subheadings with low trade volume, create separate four-digit and six-digit headings and subheadings to identify new products, simplify the tariff schedule by modifying or eliminating provisions, and changes that would improve or simplify the classification or products, it said. Proposals should not address changes at the eight-digit or 10-digit level, tariff rates, or the explanatory notes, said the ITC.
After review by the ITC, Commerce and CBP, the proposals would then be considered by a WCO subcommittee before submission of final proposed amendments to the WCO’s Harmonized System Committee in November 2018. If agreed, a WCO recommendation to implement the changes would be issued around June 2019, said the ITC. WCO members would then have to implement the changes by Jan. 1, 2022. The request for proposals comes as part of the sixth review cycle of the Harmonized System tariff schedule. Changes agreed to in the fifth review cycle are set to take effect for U.S. importers on Jan. 1, 2017 (see 1501230025).