The following lawsuits have been filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
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 Feb. 26 issued an amended decision in a customs case on the tariff classification of five categories of chrome-plated plastic automobile parts after initially deciding the case Dec. 18. The new decision adds a discussion of axle covers, the fifth category of goods, finding them to fall under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 8708 pursuant to General Rule of Interpretation 1.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The following lawsuits were filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
The following lawsuit was filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
Importer Sterling Products, doing business as Auxiliaries Group, voluntarily dismissed its customs suit at the Court of International Trade on its chillers and parts of shredders and granulators. CBP classified the chillers under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 8418.69.0180, along with Section 301 duties under secondary subheading 9903.88.01, and the parts of shredders and granulators under subheading 8479.90.9496, along with Section 301 duties under secondary subheading 9903.88.01. The importer said the goods are free of the Section 301 duties under secondary subheadings 9903.88.10 and 9903.88.07, respectively (Sterling Products d/b/a ACS Auxiliaries Group v. U.S., CIT # 20-03877).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Robert Stein, former executive at supply chain logistics firm Mohawk Global, has joined Braumiller Consulting Group as vice president, according to his LinkedIn announcement. Stein said he will be working on foreign-trade zone, duty drawback, import/export compliance, Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification, customs valuation and free trade agreement matters.
Importer Trijicon's tritium-powered gun sights are "lamps" and not "apparatus," slotting them under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9405, the Court of International Trade ruled on Feb. 16. Judge Mark Barnett said the gun sights do not meet definition of "apparatus" put forward by either Trijicon or the government, who respectively defined the term as a set of materials or equipment and a complex device. The court instead found that the products "are readily classified as lamps," which are defined as "any of various devices for producing light."
The Court of International Trade on Feb. 16 said that importer Trijicon's tritium-powered gun sights are properly classified under CBP's preferred Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading of 9405.50.40 as lamps "or other lighting fittings," dutiable at 6%, instead in subheading 9022.29.80 as "apparatus based on the use of alpha, beta or gamma radiations," free of duty, as argued by Trijicon. Judge Mark Barnett said the tritium-powered products don't qualify as an "apparatus" under either of the definitions offered by Trijicon and the U.S. because they meet the "common definition of a device," given that they are made for a particular purpose: illumination.