White House Lists HTS Subheadings Set for AGOA Suspension For South Africa

The White House released a list of HTS subheadings for agricultural products that are set for suspension of African Growth Opportunity Act benefits when imported from South Africa (here). Included as Annex I to Presidential Proclamation 9388, the list includes various subheadings in HTS chapters 1-41. The suspension would be implemented by adding new SPI “D*” to the HTS, similar to the Generalized System of Preferences SPI “A*” for excluded products, and adding a new subdivision (c) to General Note 16 containing a list of product-country pairs ineligible for AGOA treatment. Currently, the list would include only South African agricultural products. The changes would not take effect until March 15. South Africa says it has resolved the underlying poultry dispute with the U.S., and President Barack Obama will revoke the HTS changes before they take effect (see 1601120033).