[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51089-51090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17057]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION


Possible Modifications to the International Harmonized System 
Nomenclature

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Request for proposals to amend the international Harmonized 
System.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is soliciting proposals from interested parties 
and agencies to amend the international Harmonized Commodity 
Description and Coding System (Harmonized System), including the rules 
of interpretation, section and chapter notes and the texts of the 
headings and subheadings, with a view to keeping the System current 
with changes in technology and trade patterns. Specific proposals in 
this connection will be reviewed by the Commission staff for potential 
submission to the World Customs Organization (WCO), in Brussels, 
Belgium.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 18, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Beck, Acting Director, Office of 
Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements (O/TATA) (202-205-2595, 
[email protected]) or Ronald Heller (202-205-2596, 
[email protected]). The O/TATA fax number is 202-205-2616. The 
media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, Office of External Relations 
(202-205-1819, [email protected]). Hearing impaired 
individuals are advised that information on this matter can be obtained 
by contacting the TDD terminal on (202-205-1810). General information 
concerning the Commission, including subsequent notices published 
pursuant to section 1210 of the 1988 act, may also be obtained by 
accessing its Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). The public record 
for these investigations may be viewed on the Commission's electronic 
docket (EDIS-ONLINE) at http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/edis.htm.
    Background: Soon after the implementation of the Harmonized System 
(HS) in 1988, the Harmonized System (HS) Review Subcommittee (RSC) of 
the World Customs Organization (WCO) began a series of reviews of the 
entire HS. The fourth review cycle begins this year, with an expected 
implementation date for changes of January 2012.
    The HS was established by an international Convention, which, inter 
alia, provides that the System should be kept up-to-date in light of 
changes in technology and patterns of inter-national trade. The 
international HS nomenclature, which is maintained by the WCO, provides 
a uniform structural basis for the customs tariff and statistical 
nomenclatures of all major trading countries of the world, including 
the United States. The Commission, the U.S. Bureau of Customs and 
Border Protection and the Bureau of the Census are responsible for the 
development of U.S. technical proposals concerning the HS under section 
1210 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the 1988 
Act) (19 U.S.C. 3010). A 1988 notice issued by the United States Trade 
Representative (53 FR 45646, Nov. 10, 1988), establishes the Commission 
as the lead U.S. agency in considering proposals for HS amendments that 
are intended to ensure that it reflects such changes in technology and 
trade.
    A copy of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSA), which 
incorporates the international Harmonized System in its overall 
structure, can be downloaded at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/index.htm. 
Hard copies and electronic copies of the HTSA can be found at many of 
the 1,400 federal Depository Libraries located throughout the United 
States and its territories; further information about these locations 
can be found at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fdlp.html, or by contacting 
GPO Access at the Government Printing Office, 866-512-1800.
    Note that the international HS comprises the broadest levels of 
categories in the HTSA, that is, the General Rules for the 
Interpretation of the Nomenclature, Section and Chapter titles, Section 
and Chapter legal notes, and heading and subheading texts to the six-
digit level of detail. Additional U.S. Notes, further subdivisions 
(eight- and ten-digit subheadings) and statistical notes, as well as 
the entire chapters 98 and 99, are national legal and statistical 
detail added for the administration of the tariff and statistical 
programs and are not part of the international HS review process that 
is the subject of this Notice.
    Request for Proposals: In accordance with the USTR notice, the 
Commission is seeking proposals for specific modifications to the 
Harmonized System (including the rules of

[[Page 51090]]

interpretation, section and chapter notes and the texts of the headings 
and subheadings) that will further the above goals. No proposals for 
changes to the national-level provisions (which include U.S. 8-digit 
subheadings, statistical annotations and rates of duty) will be 
considered by the Commission as a part of this review. Interested 
parties, associations and government agencies should submit specific 
language for proposed amendments to the Harmonized System together with 
appropriate descriptive comments and, to the extent available, trade 
data.
    As part of this review, the Commission particularly invites 
proposals concerning the following matters:
     The deletion of HS headings or subheadings with low trade 
volume,
     The identification of new products important in 
international trade,
     The simplification of the HS, e.g., by the elimination of 
classification provisions which are difficult to administer.
    As mentioned above, no proposals for changes to the Explanatory 
Notes or national-level provisions (including Additional U.S. Notes, 
U.S. 8-digit subheadings, statistical annotations and rates of duty) 
will be considered by the Commission as a part of this review. The 
changes in the international HS that will result from this review cycle 
will not necessarily affect tariff rates for products imported into the 
United States; as with the first three HS review cycles, the USITC 
plans to eventually develop a set of proposed HTS changes that will 
align the HTS on the international HS changes, pursuant to sec. 1205 of 
the 1988 Act.
    This Notice is not soliciting proposals for changes to the HS 
Explanatory Notes. However, requests for changes to the existing 
Explanatory Notes (not arising from changes in the HS itself) may be 
sent by a government directly to the Harmonized System Committee (the 
parent committee to the RSC) at any time; government and private sector 
parties interested in such action internationally should separately 
contact the above-mentioned parties at the USITC or the following at 
the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection: Myles Harmon, Director, 
Commercial Rulings Division, 202-572-8860 or Gail Hamil, Director, 
International Nomenclature Staff, 202-572-8813.
    Written Submissions: Interested persons are invited to submit 
written proposals. All submissions should be addressed to the 
Secretary, United States International Trade Commission, 500 E St. SW., 
Washington, DC 20436, and should be received no later than the close of 
business October 14, 2005. All written submissions must conform with 
the provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice 
and Procedure (19 CFR 201.8). Section 201.8 of the rules requires that 
a signed original (or a copy designated as an original) and fourteen 
(14) copies of each document be filed. In the event that confidential 
treatment of the document is requested, as least four (4) additional 
copies must be filed in which the confidential information must be 
deleted (see the following paragraph for further information regarding 
confidential business information). The Commission's rules do not 
authorize filing submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or 
electronic means except as permitted by section 201.8 of the rules (see 
Handbook for Electronic Filing Procedures, http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/pubs/handbook_on_electronic_filing.pdf.
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information must 
conform with the requirements of section 201.6 of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 201.6). Section 201.6 of the 
rules requires that the cover of the document and the individual pages 
be clearly marked as to whether they are the ``confidential'' or ``non-
confidential'' version, and that the confidential business information 
be clearly identified by means of brackets. All written submissions, 
except for CBI, will be made available in the Office of the Secretary 
to the Commission for inspection by interested parties. CBI received by 
the Commission in this investigation will not be released to other 
government agencies or the public in a manner that would reveal the 
operations of the firm supplying the information.
    Persons with mobility impairments who will need special assistance 
in gaining access to the Commission should contact the Office of the 
Secretary at 202-205-2000.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: August 23, 2005.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 05-17057 Filed 8-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P