2019 Tariff Schedule Changes Include New Infant Footwear Provisions, Amended Units of Measure
Some new tariff provisions in the 2019 edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule have already been implemented, despite the ongoing partial federal government shutdown and the resulting lack of any official version published by the International Trade Commission. According to documents recently posted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, changes affect classification for infant footwear, aluminum foil and paper, among other products. Extensive changes were also made to units of measure throughout the tariff schedule. On the other hand, changes made by a recent presidential proclamation, including the removal of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits for Mauritania, have yet to be implemented by CBP, the NCBFAA has said. The following is a summary of the purported changes to the tariff schedule:
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New Statistical Breakouts for Infant Footwear, Organic Flour
Prior to the shutdown, the 484(f) Committee, which includes representatives from CBP, the International Trade Commission and the Census Bureau, agreed to the following changes to statistical reporting provisions at the 10-digit level of the HTS, according to a list provided by the NCBFAA. These changes reportedly took effect Jan. 1, and were included in CBP’s Dec. 19 Automated Broker Interface update, as follows:
Organic flour. New statistical breakout 1101.00.0050 is added for certified organic “other” wheat or meslin flour (i.e., not made from hard spring wheat, durum wheat or white winter wheat). Non-organic products that meet that description are now classifiable in statistical breakout 1101.00.0060. Previously both had been classified together under 1101.00.0090, which is eliminated.
Odoriferous or flavoring aldehyde compounds. New statistical breakout 2912.29.6010 is added for “other” aldehydes that are odoriferous or flavoring compounds. The residual category for “other” aldehydes, that are not odoriferous or flavoring compounds is now 2912.29.6090.
Organo-sulfur compounds. Previously existing statistical breakout 2930.90.9120 for isooctyl thioglycolate is eliminated from the tariff schedule. New breakout 2930.90.9112 is added for 2-ethylhexyl mercaptoacetate. The residual subheading for “other” organo-sulfur compounds is renumbered 2930.90.91.50.
Fungicides. Subheading 3808.92.5000 for “other” fungicides (i.e., not containing aromatic fungicides, any fungicide which is a thioamide, thiocarbamate, dithiocarbamate, thiuram or isothiocyanate, or any inorganic substance) is subdivided into new statistical breakouts 3808.92.5040 for “formulated fungicides containing any 3-iodoprop-2-yn-1-yl butylcarbamate (IPBC),” and 3808.92.5080 for “other” such fungicides.
Polyethylene terephthalate resin. Tariff provisions for PET resin are subdivided to provide more detail. Subheading 3907.61.0000 for PET resin with a viscosity of 78 ml/g or higher is split into subheadings 3907.61.0010 for PET resin with a viscosity of 78 to 88 ml/g, and 3907.61.0050 for PET resins with a viscosity over 88 ml/g. Similarly, subheading 3907.69.0000 for PET resin with a viscosity below 78 ml/g is split into subheadings 3907.69.0010 for PET resin with a viscosity at or above 70 ml/g and below 78 ml/g, and 3907.69.0050 for PET resins with a viscosity under 70 ml/g.
Paper. Subheading 4802.56.7040 for certain uncoated paper is split into statistical suffixes 4802.56.7050 for writing and cover paper, and 4802.56.7090 for “other” such paper. Subheading 4802.57.1000 for uncoated writing or cover paper weighing 40-150 grams per square meter is subdivided into new statistical breakouts 4802.57.1020 for writing and cover paper with one side equal to 559 mm and the other side equal to 280 mm; 4802.57.1040 for writing and cover paper with one side equal to 965 mm and the other side equal to 635 mm; and 4802.57.1090 for “other” such paper. Subheading 4802.57.4000 for “other” paper weighing 40-150 grams per square meter is identically subdivided into new statistical suffixes 4802.57.4020, 4802.57.4040 and 4802.57.4090.
Infant footwear. Provisions for footwear for infants are added to Chapter 64 of the tariff schedule. New Statistical Note 2 is added to Chapter 64, defining infant footwear as follows: “For the purposes of statistical reporting numbers 6402.91.4063, 6402.99.3173, 6405.20.3070, 6405.20.9070 and 6405.90.9030, the term 'footwear for infants’ covers American infant sizes up to and including size 3.”
New subheading 6402.91.4063 is added for infant footwear covering the ankle with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics. The “other” category, 6402.91.4061, is renumbered 6402.91.4067. Previous subheading 6402.99.3171 for certain rubber or plastic footwear is subdivided to add new statistical breakout 6402.99.3173 for infant footwear, and is renumbered 6402.99.3177. New statistical breakout 6405.20.3070is added for footwear with uppers of vegetable fibers, with subheading 6405.20.3080 now covering “other” footwear with uppers of vegetable fibers (i.e., not for men, women or infant). New statistical breakout 6405.20.9070 is added for certain house slippers for infants with uppers of textiles, and the previous category for “other” house slippers (i.e., not for men, women or infants) is renumbered 6405.20.9080. Finally, new statistical breakout 6405.90.9030 is added to the catch-all residual category for Chapter 64 to cover infant footwear, and the “other” provision within that subheading is renumbered 6405.90.9060.
Aluminum foil. Subheading 7607.11.60 for unbacked aluminum foil, rolled but not further worked, of a thickness above 0.01 mm and not exceeding 0.15 mm, is subdivided. New statistical breakout 7607.11.6010 is added for boxed aluminum foil not weighing more than 11.3 kg. Subheading 7607.11.6090 covers other such aluminum foil.
Hydraulic fluid power pump parts. Subheading 8413.91.90 for parts of hydraulic fluid power parts is subdivided to include new statistical breakout 8413.91.9055 for fluid end blocks used in hydraulic fluid power pumps. Other parts of hydraulic fluid power pumps are now classifiable in new statistical breakout 8413.90.9060. Subheading 8413.91.9080 for other pump parts is renumbered 8413.90.9095.
Changes to Units of Measure Throughout Tariff Schedule
Other changes to the HTS included in CBP’s Dec. 19 ABI update but not yet posted by the ITC due to the shutdown are changes to units of measure for more than 650 10-digit subheadings in the tariff schedule, according to a spreadsheet also provided by the NCBFAA. These changes have been causing some confusion for importers because CBP and ITC personnel have been unable to fix any issues or inconsistencies, CBP has said (see 1901090027). One widespread change is a switch from “gm” to “g” for the unit of measure abbreviation for grams throughout the tariff schedule.
Changes by Presidential Proclamation Not Yet Implemented in ABI
Finally, Presidential Proclamation 9834, issued Dec. 21 and published in the Jan. 7 Federal Register (see 1812270038), made several other changes to the tariff schedule. Many of these changes took effect Jan. 1, though they have not yet been incorporated into the ITC’s official HTS due to the shutdown. They were also not included in CBP’s Dec. 19 ABI update, according to a recent bulletin from the NCBFAA. Changes made by the proclamation include the following:
Mauritania ineligible for AGOA. Mauritania is removed from eligibility for AGOA benefits. General Note 16(a) is amended to remove Mauritania from the AGOA country list. The country’s removal from AGOA was announced in November after a review found forced labor issues (see 1811050019).
Israel agricultural products. Several notes to subchapter VIII of Chapter 99 are amended to reflect a one-year extension of the U.S.-Israel agreement on trade in agricultural goods by adding maximum quantities for certain goods in calendar year 2019.
Nepal trade preferences SPI. Special Program Indicator “NP” for the “Nepal Preference Program” is added to the list of SPIs at General Note 3(c). The SPI for the benefits, which were granted by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, has already been added to subheadings throughout the tariff schedule, but had not yet been added to the SPI list.
Section 301, MTB corrections. The list of subheadings subject to the third set of Section 301 tariffs in Chapter 99 subchapter III Note 20(f) is amended to delete subheading 2009.89.60 from the list, and add subheadings 2009.89.65 and 2009.89.70. Similarly, subheadings 9902.01.15, 9902.01.16 and 9902.01.17 for certain goods that are now duty free under the most recent Miscellaneous Tariff Bill are each amended by deleting "subheading 2009.89.60" and replacing it with "subheading 2009.89.70.”
KORUS changes. Several changes to staged duty reductions for motor vehicles are made pursuant to recently agreed-upon changes to the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (see 1809040039). Staged duty reductions are also implemented for certain goods of Chapter 44.
Other staged duty reductions, corrections and clarifications. Subheadings are added and removed from several chapter notes and special tariff provisions to provide for previously granted duty preferences under a trade deal with Panama and the correct administration of the tobacco tariff-rate quota. Changes are made to the rules of origin for the Morocco Free Trade Agreement related to women’s clothing of Chapter 62.