[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 216 (Monday, November 9, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69248-69250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28429]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 1210-006]


WCO Sixth Review Cycle: Request for Proposals To Amend the 
International Harmonized System for Implementation in 2022

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Institution of an investigation for the purpose of soliciting 
and considering proposals to amend the international Harmonized System 
tariff nomenclature for possible implementation in 2022.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Commission, pursuant to section 1210(b) of the Omnibus 
Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 3010(b), is requesting 
proposals from interested persons and agencies to amend the 
International Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System 
(Harmonized System or HS) in connection with the Sixth Review Cycle of 
the World Customs Organization (WCO). The Commission will review the 
proposals in consultation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(Customs) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce). Subject to 
the policy direction of the Office of the United States Trade 
Representative (USTR), the Commission will formulate technical 
proposals for possible

[[Page 69249]]

submission by the U.S. Government to the WCO in Brussels, Belgium.

DATES: February 29, 2016: Deadline for filing written proposals with 
the Commission.

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: James R. Holbein, Director, Office of 
Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements, (202-205-2593, fax 202-205-2616 
([email protected]) or Barbara Elkins, Attorney-Advisor, (202-
205-2253) ([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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) was 
approved by Congress in the 1988 Act and became effective on January 1, 
1989. The HTS incorporates within its legal structure the rules of 
interpretation, legal notes, and nomenclature categories of the 
international HS, and provides additional product provisions for U.S. 
rate of duty and statistical purposes.
    In order that the HS might be updated over time, Congress enacted 
several provisions of law that facilitate such updates, including 
section 1210 of the 1988 Act. Section 1210 provides that the 
Commission, the Department of the Treasury, and Commerce, subject to 
the policy direction of the USTR, are to be primarily responsible for 
formulating U.S. Government positions on technical and procedural 
issues and to represent the U.S. Government with respect to the 
activities of the WCO Council relating to the International Convention 
on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Convention). 
Customs, now part of the Department of Homeland Security, represents 
the Department of the Treasury.) Section 1210(b) of the 1988 Act calls 
upon the three agencies to formulate technical proposals that are 
appropriate or required to assure that the U.S. contribution to the 
development of the Convention recognizes the needs of the U.S. business 
community for a Convention which reflects sound principles of commodity 
identification, modern producing methods, and current trading patterns 
and practices. Section 1210(b) also requires that the three agencies 
solicit and consider the views of interested parties in the private 
sector and interested Federal agencies.
    Following enactment of the 1988 Act, the USTR issued a notice 
stating that the Commission would ``lead the U.S. delegation to 
international working parties and HSC subcommittees responsible for 
considering amendments to the HS in order to keep the Harmonized System 
abreast of changes in technology and patterns of international trade 
and shall ensure that U.S. technical positions reflect the needs of the 
business community'' (53 FR 45646, Nov. 10, 1988). Pursuant to that 
direction, the Commission leads the U.S. delegation to the HS Review 
Sub-Committee (RSC) and is therefore seeking the input of the trading 
community to identify possible HS changes.
    Shortly after implementation of the HS in 1988, the RSC began a 
series of systematic reviews of the HS. Reviews result in WCO 
recommendations to those countries using the HS, so that they have a 
basis for updating their national tariff schedule to reflect 
international amendments. In November 2014 the RSC began its Sixth 
Review Cycle and invited member countries to submit proposals to amend 
the HS. The RSC will examine the proposals submitted, and it will 
forward its final proposed amendments to the HSC in November 2018. 
Thereafter the HSC will consider and agree upon the changes to be 
included in the WCO recommendation scheduled to be issued in June 2019. 
Members are then expected to implement the agreed changes under their 
domestic legal processes, with a January 1, 2022 targeted date for 
implementation of this set of amendments by all countries using the HS. 
The U.S. process for implementing changes is set out in sections 1205-
1206 of the 1988 Act.
    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).
    Request for Proposals: The Commission is seeking proposals from 
interested parties, associations, and government agencies for specific 
modifications to the international Harmonized System. Such proposals 
will be reviewed in consultation with CBP and Commerce for transmission 
to USTR. More specifically, proposals are requested relating to section 
and chapter notes, and the texts of 4-digit headings and 6-digit 
subheadings that describe new products or technologies, modify or 
eliminate unclear or obsolete categories, or otherwise advance the 
goals set out by the HS Convention. Proposals received will be posted 
on the Commission's electronic docketing system (EDIS) (omitting any 
confidential business information). Proposals should be submitted in 
writing and comply with the ``Written Submissions'' section below.
    Proposals should include specific language for HS amendment text, 
appropriate descriptive comments, and, to the extent available, 
relevant trade data. Proposals should be confined to only one or more 
of the following types of change:

--Deletion of HS headings or subheadings with low trade volume;
--Creation of separate 4-digit headings or 6-digit subheadings to 
identify types of products that are now important in international 
trade;
--Simplification of the HS, whether by the modification of provisions 
for greater clarity or the elimination of provisions that are difficult 
to administer; and/or
--Changes that would improve the classification of products, especially 
those being exported from the United States, or assist in the 
administration of the HS and the more uniform classification of goods 
internationally.

    Proposals should not request any of the following types of change: 
(1) A change to U.S. national-level provisions (including Additional 
U.S. Notes, 8-digit subheadings, and 10-digit statistical annotations); 
(2) a change in a tariff rate or change that otherwise

[[Page 69250]]

affects tariff rates; or (3) a change to the HS Explanatory Notes.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The HS Explanatory Notes, which are maintained by the WCO, 
are reviewed separately. Requests for changes to current Explanatory 
Notes (not arising from potential 2022 legal amendments to the HS) 
may be sent by a WCO member government directly to the WCO's 
Harmonized System Committee (the parent committee to the RSC) at any 
time. Government agencies and private sector parties interested in 
requesting a change should contact the Commission (see contacts 
above) or the following Customs officials: Myles B. Harmon, 
Director, Commercial & Trade Facilitation Division, 202-325-0276, or 
Ieva O'Rourke, Chief, Tariff Classification & Marking Branch, 202-
325-0298.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Consideration of Proposals Received: Proposals received in 
connection with this notice will be considered by the interagency U.S. 
delegation to the RSC. The Commission will initially receive the 
proposals and will consult informally with the requesters, other 
interested parties, and U.S. Government agencies, particularly Customs 
and Commerce (principally the U.S. Census Bureau). Such consultations 
will involve technical aspects of the proposals, levels of trade that 
would be affected, the extent of U.S. import and export interests, and 
the wording of existing HS provisions. In the course of these 
consultations, the Commission may refine proposed HS language to take 
into account sound nomenclature principles, WCO criteria, changes in 
technology, and levels or patterns of trade. Requesters may also change 
or withdraw their proposals during this consultation period. Customs 
and Commerce will also review the proposals and consult informally with 
the Commission and other Government agencies as part of the process 
through which the U.S. Government determines which proposals to advance 
to the WCO. The interagency U.S. delegation will seek to advance for 
introduction at the WCO the proposals that it considers likely to 
advance U.S. interests and meet the criteria and considerations 
described above. Proposals that are received later in the process may 
need to be submitted for consideration during the next RSC review 
cycle.
    Once the WCO Council makes recommendations as part the Sixth Review 
Cycle, the Commission will, pursuant to section 1205 of the 1988 Act, 
institute an investigation and prepare a report containing such 
recommendations to the President for the changes in the HTS as it 
considers necessary or appropriate to conform the HTS to the amendments 
recommended by the WCO Council.
    Written Submissions: Interested persons and agencies are invited to 
submit written proposals, which should be addressed to the Secretary 
and received no later than February 29, 2016. Submissions should be 
marked to refer to ``Investigation No. 1210-006''.
    All written submissions must conform with the provisions of Sec.  
201.8 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (19 CFR 
201.8). Section 201.8 and the Commission's Handbook on Filing 
Procedures require that interested parties file documents 
electronically on or before the filing deadline and submit eight (8) 
true paper copies by 12 p.m. eastern time on the next business day. In 
the event that confidential treatment of a document is requested, 
interested parties must file, at the same time as the eight paper 
copies, at least four (4) additional true paper copies in which the 
confidential information must be deleted (see the following paragraph 
for further information regarding confidential business information). 
Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the 
Office of the Secretary (202-205-2000).
    Any submissions that contain confidential business information 
(CBI) must also conform with the requirements of Sec.  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 investigation may 
be made available to Customs, Census, and the USTR during the 
examination of these proposals. The Commission will not otherwise 
publish or release any confidential business information received, 
including to other government agencies or other persons.

    By order of the Commission.

    Dated: November 4, 2015.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2015-28429 Filed 11-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P