[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,

[[Page 13068]]

[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