[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13067-13069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06540]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Docket No. 1210-007]
Possible Modifications to the International Harmonized System
Nomenclature
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Request for proposals to amend the International Harmonized
System tariff nomenclature.
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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 or HS) in connection
with the Seventh 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 (CBP), and the U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (Census), for potential
submission by the U.S. Government to the WCO in Brussels, Belgium.
DATES: Suggested deadline for submissions: March 31, 2020.
This date allows adequate time for proposals to be considered for
submission for the 2027 Harmonized System five-year revision cycle.
Proposals must be submitted to the relevant committees of the WCO by no
later than November 2022 to enable the WCO to approve all recommended
amendments in June 2024. This timing will enable member countries to
make such changes as are necessary in their national tariff schedules
to meet the January 1, 2027 target date for implementation of
amendments by countries using the HS.
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
https://edis.usitc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Elkins, Office of Tariff
Affairs and Trade Agreements (202-205-2253, fax 202-205-2616,
[email protected]). The media should contact Margaret
O'Laughlin, Office of External Affairs (202-205-1819,
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[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 website (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: The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTS) was approved by Congress in the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness
Act of 1988, (Pub. L. 100[hyphen]418; 19 U.S.C. 3007) (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. Because it was clear that the HS would need to be updated
over time, Congress enacted section 1205 (19 U.S.C. 3005) of the 1988
Act to provide for Commission investigations and recommendations to the
President pertaining to specific types of changes to the HTS. Pursuant
to the authority of section 1205(a), the Commission conducts
investigations to recommend to the President changes to the HTS that
result from the WCO's five-year review cycles.
Congress also established a process for U.S. involvement in the
work of the WCO in administering and updating the HS. Section 1210 of
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 (USTR), 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 WCO
relating to the HS. The USTR 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). Commission staff also
participates in the U.S. delegations to the Harmonized System Committee
(HSC), the parent body of the RSC, as well as the Scientific Sub-
Committee (SSC) that provides scientific analysis and recommendations
to the HSC.
The HS was adopted internationally by means of a WCO convention,
which recognizes that the HS should be kept up to date in light of
changes in technology and patterns of international trade. The HS
nomenclature structure, now used by nearly all countries in their
national tariff schedules, provides a uniform basis for classifying and
reporting goods for tariff and statistical purposes. The HS structure
includes the broadest descriptive product categories reflected in the
HTS, thereby providing the general rules for the interpretation of the
nomenclature, section and chapter titles, section and chapter legal
notes, and the 4-digit headings and 6-digit subheadings covering all
goods in international trade. The HTS also includes additional U.S.
rules of interpretation and notes, 8-digit subheadings establishing
rates of duty, and 10-digit non-legal statistical provisions, as well
as special duty provisions in chapters 98 and 99 and several
appendices. These national legal and statistical provisions and the
final two chapters are not part of the international HS review process
for which proposals are being requested, and thus no requests for
changes in U.S. tariff rate lines or rates of duty will be acted upon.
By way of further background, 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 tariffs to
reflect international amendments. In the current review cycle, members'
proposals to amend the HS will be examined, and the RSC will forward
its final proposed amendments to the HSC in November 2023, so the HSC
can agree upon the changes to be included in the WCO recommendation to
countries using the HS, that is scheduled to be issued in June 2024.
Members then undertake domestic legal processes, similar to the U.S.
process in section 1205, with the targeted implementation date for this
set of amendments by all countries using the HS being January 1, 2027.
Through this notice the Commission is seeking proposals to amend
the HS, specifically the 4- and 6-digit product categories and
associated legal notes. 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).
An up-to-date copy of the HTS, which incorporates the international
HS in its overall structure, can be found on the Commission's website
(http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/bychapter/index.htm). Information
concerning locations where copies in print or on CD can be found at the
following link, https://www.govinfo.gov/app/search or by contacting GPO
Access at the Government Printing Office (866-512-1800).
Request for Proposals: The Commission is seeking proposals for
specific modifications to the international Harmonized System (section
and chapter notes, and the texts of 4-digit headings and 6-digit
subheadings) that would describe new products or technologies, modify
or eliminate unclear or obsolete categories, or otherwise advance 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.
The implementation of changes in the international HS by the United
States is intended to be tariff-neutral.
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 creation of separate 4-digit headings or 6-digit subheadings to
identify types of products that are important in international trade
but are not adequately classified;
--The 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
--The suggestion of other 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 received in connection with this notice will be
considered by the interagency U.S. delegation to the RSC. When the WCO
later makes recommendations as part of the Seventh Review Cycle, the
Commission will prepare a report setting out the needed changes in the
HTS that would reflect the HS changes while maintaining existing duty
treatment. The
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Commission will publish notice and seek the views of interested parties
in connection with this work, resulting in final recommendations to the
President in accordance with section 1205 of the 1988 Act.
This notice does not seek proposals for changes to the HS
Explanatory Notes, which are maintained by the WCO and are reviewed
separately. However, requests for changes to current Explanatory Notes
(not arising from potential 2027 legal amendments to the HS) may be
sent by a WCO member government directly to the HSC at any time.
Government agencies and private sector parties interested in such
action should contact the Commission (see contacts above) or the
following CBP officials: Myles B. Harmon, Director, Commercial & Trade
Facilitation Division, 202-325-0276, or Parisa Ghazi, Acting Branch
Chief, FTM Branch, 202-325-0272.
Written Submissions: Interested persons and agencies are invited to
submit written proposals, which should be addressed to the Secretary to
the Commission and received no later than March 31, 2020. Although
submissions will be accepted after this date, it is recommended that
proposals be submitted as soon as possible to ensure full consideration
in the seventh HS review cycle. Submissions should be marked with a
reference to ``Docket No. 1210-007''.
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 Commission's rules require the filing of
all submissions with the Secretary electronically, (see Handbook for
Electronic Filing Procedures, https://www.usitc.gov/documents/handbook_on_filing_procedures.pdf). Persons with questions regarding
electronic filing should contact the Secretary (202-205-2000).
Submission will preferably be public, but in the event that
confidential treatment of a document is requested, a non-confidential
version must also be filed (see the following paragraph for further
information regarding confidential business information). 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: March 28, 2019.
Katherine Hiner,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2019-06540 Filed 4-2-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P