In a Swiss watch classification case ongoing since 2018, the U.S. argued May 30 that the motion for judgment filed by the watches’ importer should be dismissed for lack of proof. Alternatively, it asked its own cross-motion for judgment be granted because the importer’s watches with gold alloy cases don’t fit under its preferred heading, as that heading, which covers watches with cases made of precious metals, specifically excludes gold (Ildico Inc. v. U.S., CIT #s 18-00136, -00076).
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) is a reference manual that provides duty rates for almost every item that exists. It is a system of classifying and taxing all goods imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international Harmonized System, which is a global standard for naming and describing trade products, and consists of a hierarchical structure that assigns a specific code and rate to each type of merchandise for duty, quota, and statistical purposes. The HTS was made effective on January 1, 1989, replacing the former Tariff Schedules of the United States. It is maintained by the U.S. International Trade Commission, but the Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the HTS.
The Court of International Trade on May 31 sent back some and sustained some of the Commerce Department's surrogate value selections regarding antidumping duty respondent Zhejiang Dingli Machinery Co.'s inputs in the AD investigation on mobile access equipment from China.
The U.S. supported its cross-motion for judgment (see 2402160055) against an exporter’s reply (see 2404100071) May 29 in a case regarding the classification of automobile side bars. It again pointed out that the bars are principally used as steps, not side protective attachments, and argued that the plaintiffs weren’t engaging with the merits of the case (Keystone Automotive Operations v. U.S., CIT # 21-00215).
Importer Amoena USA Corp. filed a complaint on May 31 at the Court of International Trade contesting CBP's classification of its mastectomy brassieres under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 6212.10.90.20, as "other brassieres of manmade fiber," dutiable at 16.9% (Amoena USA Corp. v. United States, CIT # 20-00101).
The Court of International Trade on May 31 said that a duty drawback claim becomes deemed liquidated after one year if the underlying import entries are also liquidated and final, with finality defined as the end of the 180-day window in which to file a protest with CBP.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 28 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
The Court of International Trade was wrong to rule that imported calendar planners should be classified by CBP as diaries instead of calendars, the importer said in its opening brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on May 24 (Blue Sky The Color of Imagination v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 24-1710).
CBP “without explanation” reclassified imported nitrile rubber gloves as non-medical gloves and subjected them to a 3% duty rate, despite the gloves meeting all FDA requirements for medical gloves, their importer said in a complaint filed at the Court of International Trade May 22 (SW Technologies v. U.S., CIT # 23-00119).
The Chevron doctrine will almost certainly be overturned soon by the Supreme Court, leaving the path forward for judicial deference unclear, panelists said at Georgetown University Law Center’s 45th Annual International Trade Update.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 22 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):