[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 20 (Monday, February 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5118-5119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1913]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Docket No. 1210-5]


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 requesting proposals from interested persons 
and agencies to amend the international Harmonized Commodity 
Description and Coding System (Harmonized System) in connection with 
the Fifth Review Cycle of the World Customs Organization (WCO), with a 
view to keeping the Harmonized System current with changes in 
technology and trade patterns. The proposals will be reviewed by the 
Commission, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Department 
of Commerce (Bureau of the Census) for potential submission by the U.S. 
Government to the WCO in Brussels, Belgium.

DATES: November 1, 2010: Deadline for submissions.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices are located in the United States 
International Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, 
DC. All written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, 
United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20436. The public record for this collection of 
proposals may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at 
http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/edis.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Beck, Director, Office of Tariff 
Affairs and Trade Agreements (202-205-2603, fax 202-205-2616, 
[email protected]). The media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, 
Office of External Affairs (202-205-1819, 
[email protected]). Hearing impaired individuals may obtain 
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal 
at 202-205-1810. General information concerning the Commission may also 
be obtained by accessing its Internet Web site (http://www.usitc.gov). 
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.
    Background: Section 1210 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness 
Act of 1988 (the 1988 Act) (19 U.S.C. 3010) designates the Commission, 
the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, subject to the policy direction of the Office of U.S. Trade 
Representative, as the principal agencies responsible for formulating 
U.S. Government positions on technical and procedural issues and in 
representing the U.S. Government in activities of the World Customs 
Organization (WCO) relating to the International Convention on the 
Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, informally known as 
the Harmonized System (HS). The U.S. Trade Representative subsequently 
designated the Commission to lead the U.S. delegation to the HS Review 
Sub-Committee (RSC), which is responsible for considering amendments to 
the HS in order to keep the HS current with changes in technology and 
patterns of international trade (see 53 FR 45646, Nov. 10, 1988).
    Through this notice the Commission is seeking proposals to amend 
the HS in connection with the Fifth Review Cycle of the HS Review Sub-
Committee of the WCO. Proposals received will be made a part of the 
Commission's record keeping system and available for public inspection 
(with the exception of any confidential business information) through 
the Commission's record files and through the Commission's electronic 
docket (EDIS). The Commission has designated this notice as number five 
in the series and is in the process of adding available notices and 
submissions from the four prior instances in which it requested such 
proposals under section 1210 of the 1988 Act.
    By way of further background, shortly after implementation of the 
international Harmonized System (HS) in 1988, the WCO's HS Review Sub-
Committee (RSC) began a series of systematic reviews of the HS. Four 
such reviews have been completed, resulting in WCO Recommendations that 
countries using the HS update their national tariffs to reflect 
international amendments. The Fifth Review Cycle has begun, with a view 
to examining proposals to amend the HS, for inclusion in a WCO 
Recommendation to be issued in June 2014 and targeted implementation of 
amendments on January 1, 2017.
    The HS was established by an international convention, which, inter 
alia, provides that the HS should be kept up to date in light of 
changes in technology and patterns of international trade. The HS 
Nomenclature, which is maintained by the WCO, provides a uniform 
structural basis for the customs tariffs and statistical nomenclatures 
of all major trading countries of the world, including the United 
States.
    An up-to-date copy of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTS), which incorporates the international HS in its overall 
structure, can be found on the Commission's Web site (http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/bychapter/index.htm). Hard copies and electronic 
copies on CD 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.
    The international HS comprises the broadest levels of categories in 
the HTS, 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 6-digit level of detail. 
Additional U.S. Notes, further subdivisions (8-digit subheadings and 
10-digit statistical annotations) and statistical notes, as well as the 
entirety of chapters 98 and 99 and several appendixes, are national 
legal and statistical detail added for the administration of the U.S. 
tariff and statistical programs and are not part of the international 
HS review process that is the subject of this notice.

[[Page 5119]]

    Request for Proposals: The Commission is seeking proposals for 
specific modifications to the international Harmonized System 
(including the rules of interpretation, section and chapter notes, and 
the texts of 4-digit headings and 6-digit subheadings) that will 
further the goals set out by the HS Convention. No proposals for 
changes to U.S. national-level provisions (including Additional U.S. 
Notes, 8-digit subheadings, 10-digit statistical annotations, and rates 
of duty) will be considered by the Commission as part of this review. 
Interested parties, associations, and government agencies should submit 
specific language for proposed amendments to the HS, together with 
appropriate descriptive comments and, to the extent available, relevant 
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 separate identification of new products important in 
international trade, and/or
     The simplification of the HS, e.g., by the elimination of 
classification provisions that are difficult to administer.
    As indicated above, no proposals for changes to 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 part of this review. The changes in the international HS 
that will result from this Fifth Review Cycle of the WCO are not 
intended to affect tariff rates.
    Proposals received will be considered by the interagency U.S. 
delegation to the WCO's HS Review Sub-Committee. Should the WCO later 
make recommendations as part the Fifth Review Cycle, the Commission 
will undertake a review and make recommendations to the President in 
accordance with section 1205 of the 1988 Act. The Commission will 
publish a notice and seek the views of interested parties in connection 
with any such review.
    This notice does not solicit proposals for changes to the HS 
Explanatory Notes, which are maintained by the WCO. However, requests 
for changes to the Explanatory Notes (not arising from proposed legal 
amendments to the HS) may be sent by a WCO member administration 
directly to the WCO's Harmonized System Committee (the parent committee 
to the RSC) at any time; government and private sector parties 
interested in such action should contact the Commission (see contacts 
above) or the following contacts at U.S. Customs and Border Protection: 
Myles B. Harmon, Director, Commercial & Trade Facilitation Division, 
202-325-0060, or Gail Hamill, Chief, Tariff Classification & Marking 
Branch, 202-325-0010.
    Written Submissions: Interested persons and agencies are invited to 
submit written proposals, which should be addressed to the Secretary 
and received no later than November 1, 2010. Submissions should be 
marked with a reference to ``Docket No. 1210-5''. 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 requires that a signed original (or a copy so designated) and 
fourteen (14) copies of each document be filed. In the event that 
confidential treatment of a document is requested, at 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 
authorize filing submissions with the Secretary by facsimile or 
electronic means only to the extent permitted by section 201.8 of the 
rules (see Handbook for Electronic Filing Procedures, http://www.usitc.gov/secretary/fed_reg_notices/rules/documents/handbook_on_electronic_filing.pdf). Persons with questions regarding 
electronic filing should contact the Secretary (202-205-2000).
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information must 
also 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 confidential business information, will be made available 
for inspection by interested parties. Confidential business information 
received in the proposals may be made available to Customs and Census 
during the examination of these proposals. The Commission will not 
otherwise publish or release any confidential business information 
received, nor release it to other government agencies or other persons.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: January 26, 2010.
Marilyn R. Abbott,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010-1913 Filed 1-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P