ITC to Consider Changes to DR-CAFTA Rules of Origin
The International Trade Commission will consider changes to rules of origin under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) in a recently launched investigation that was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative, it said in a Dec. 14 press release (here). Comments are due Jan. 25 on the economic effects of the potential modifications, which would affect fishing lures, gaming machines, polyvinyl chloride and some chemicals. The ITC expects it will submit its report to USTR by May 24, it said.
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According to the USTR letter requesting the investigation (here), U.S. negotiators recently reached agreement in principle with representatives of the other CAFTA-DR governments on the proposed changes. Any modifications would be reflected in General Note 29 of the HTS, as follows:
Fishing lures. A regional value content (RVC) option would be added to the rule of origin for fishing lures under subheading 9507.90.
Gaming machines. An RVC option would be added to the rule of origin for gaming machines in subheading 9504.30. Since gaming machines and their parts are both classified in the same subheading, the manufacturer is currently unable to satisfy the tariff shift requirement, said USTR.
PVC. The proposal would eliminate the requirement for at least 50 percent originating polymer content for headings 39.01 through 39.15. It would also introduce a new chemical reaction rule for separation of isomers for Chapter 39. It would allow a subheading shift for goods in subheadings 3904.21 and 3904.22 (other polyvinyl chloride).
Chemicals. Proposed changes to the rules applicable to certain headings and chapters for products of the chemical or allied industries would broaden the scope of coverage of the rules to harmonize them with more recent U.S. FTAs, said USTR.