[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53748-53749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21742]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. 1205-13]


Recommended Modifications in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule

AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice of institution of investigation.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) has 
instituted Investigation No. 1205-13, Recommended Modifications in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule, 2020, pursuant to section 1205 of the 
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the 1988 Act) (19 U.S.C. 
3005), in order to recommend to the President such modifications in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) as the Commission 
considers necessary or appropriate concerning; the World Customs 
Organization's (WCO) Recommendation of June 28, 2019 that Contracting 
Parties to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity 
Description and Coding System (Convention) modify their tariff 
schedules to conform with amendments to the Harmonized System expected 
to enter into force on January 1, 2022; and the HTS nomenclature for 
blanched peanuts to conform the HTS with a recent WCO classification 
opinion.

DATES: 
    October 1, 2019: Posting of the WCO's Recommendation of June 28, 
2019, on the Commission website.
    March 2020 (actual date to be announced later): Posting of the 
Commission's proposed recommendations on the Commission's website.
    April 2020 (actual dates to be announced later): Scheduling of a 
public hearing and setting out dates by which interested Federal 
agencies and the public must file any written views with the Commission 
on the Commission's proposed recommendations.
    September 2020 (actual date to be announced later): Transmittal of 
the Commission's report to the President.

ADDRESSES: All Commission offices, including the Commission's hearing 
rooms, 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 to the Commission, U.S. 
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. 
The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the 
Commission's Electronic Docket Information System (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov/internal/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel P. Shepherdson, Attorney-
Advisor, Office of Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements ((202) 205-2598, 
or [email protected]) or Vanessa Lee, Nomenclature Analyst, 
Office of Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements ((202) 205-2053, or

[[Page 53749]]

[email protected]). The media should contact Margaret O'Laughlin, 
Office of External Relations ((202) 205-1819, or 
[email protected]). Hearing-impaired individuals may obtain 
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal 
at 202-205-1810. General information about the Commission is available 
by accessing the Commission website at https://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 1205(a) of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the 1988 Act) (19 U.S.C. 3005(a)) requires 
that the Commission keep the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (Harmonized Tariff Schedule or HTS) under continuous review and 
periodically recommend to the President such modifications in the HTS 
as the Commission considers necessary or appropriate to conform the HTS 
with amendments made to the International Convention on the Harmonized 
Commodity Description and Coding System (Convention), which contains 
the Harmonized System nomenclature in the Annex to the Convention.
    On June 28, 2019, the WCO adopted recommended amendments to the 
Harmonized System nomenclature that are scheduled to enter into force 
on January 1, 2022. The amendments are the sixth in a series of such 
amendments and are part of the WCO's ongoing program of periodically 
reviewing and updating the Harmonized System nomenclature. The 
Commission has posted a copy of the WCO amendments on its website at 
https://www.usitc.gov/. The Commission will recommend to the President 
such modifications in the HTS as it considers necessary or appropriate 
to conform the HTS with such amendments.
    As part of this investigation, the Commission will also consider 
whether it is necessary or appropriate to recommend a modification to 
the HTS nomenclature for blanched peanuts to conform the HTS with a 
2018 opinion of the WCO's Harmonized System Committee, which classified 
certain blanched peanuts in heading 1202 of the Harmonized System. 
Before the WCO opinion, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had 
consistently classified blanched peanuts in heading 2008 based in part 
on an HTS subheading in chapter 20 that provided for blanched peanuts.
    An up-to-date copy of the HTS, which incorporates the Harmonized 
System in its overall structure, is available on the Commission's 
website at https://www.usitc.gov/.
    Proposed Recommendations, Opportunity to Comment: In preparing its 
recommended modifications, the Commission will prepare proposed 
recommendations and then provide an opportunity to interested Federal 
agencies and the public to present their views in writing and/or at a 
public hearing on those proposed recommendations. The Commission 
expects to post the proposed recommendations on its website in March 
2020, and will publish a notice in the Federal Register at that time 
providing notice of their availability and the procedures for filing 
written views, including the date by which such written views must be 
filed. To assist the public in understanding the proposed changes and 
in developing comments, the Commission will include, with the proposed 
recommendations, a non-authoritative cross-reference table linking the 
proposed tariff codes to the corresponding current tariff codes. 
Persons using the cross-reference table should be aware that the cross-
references shown are subject to change during the course of the 
investigation.
    Recommendations to the President: The Commission will submit its 
recommended modifications to the President in the form of a report that 
will include a summary of the information on which the recommendations 
were based, together with a statement of the probable economic effect 
of each recommended change on any industry in the United States. The 
report also will include a copy of all written views submitted by 
interested Federal agencies and a copy or summary, prepared by the 
Commission, of the views of all other interested parties. The 
Commission expects to submit that report in September 2020.

    By order of the Commission

    Issued: October 1, 2019.
Lisa Barton,
 Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2019-21742 Filed 10-7-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P