Details of CBP's Instructions on Requesting Retroactive AGOA II and AGOA III Apparel Benefits
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued two notices regarding the changes made by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Acceleration Act of 2004 (AGOA III) for textiles and apparel, one of which contains instructions for requesting certain retroactive AGOA II (Trade Act of 2002) and AGOA III apparel benefits, as detailed below.
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(See ITT's Online Archives or 08/02/04 news, 04080205, for previous BP summary of these two notices.)
Requests for Retroactive Benefits Must Be Made Within 90 Days of July 13, 2004
AGOA III, which was signed into law on July 13, 2004, provides for certain retroactive benefits for apparel (e.g. knit-to-shape, etc.). According to CBP, Section 8 of AGOA III states that the amendments in Section 3108 of AGOA II, and those changes to AGOA Section 112(b) made by AGOA III, are to be retroactively applied to eligible goods entered on or after October 1, 2000 and before July 13, 2004.
CBP states that liquidation or reliquidation to obtain these retroactive AGOA II and AGOA III benefits may only occur if a request is received by CBP at the port of entry within 90 days after July 13, 2004 and the request contains sufficient information to enable CBP to locate the entry, or reconstruct the entry if it cannot be located.
CBP also states that all other entry document requirements of AGOA must be met at the time a claim is made (AGOA visa, AGOA certificate of origin, etc.).
(According to CBP, these benefits consist of duty-free and quota-free treatment (excluding any tariff preference levels) that meet the above requirements.
In addition, CBP states it shall liquidate or reliquidate these qualifying articles notwithstanding the provisions of 19 USC 1514 (Protests), etc.)
AGOA II and AGOA III Changes Eligible for Retroactive Benefits
According to CBP, the following is a summation of the AGOA II and AGOA III changes that may be requested to be applied retroactively:
| AGOA III Changes Eligible for Retroactive Benefits | ||
| HTS number | Visa grouping | Retroactive benefits available for |
| 9802.00.8042 | 1 | Combination of U.S. formed fabrics and U.S. knit-to-shape components |
| 9819.11.03 | 2 | Combination of U.S. formed fabrics and U.S. knit-to-shape components |
| 9819.11.06 | 3 | No changes |
| 9819.11.09 | 4 | Fabric, knit-to-shape components, or both from former beneficiary SSA countries; yarn to originate in former beneficiary SSA countries; apparel articles to be also made from any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components knit-to-shape described in groupings 1, 2, and 3 (unless the apparel articles are made exclusively from any of the fabrics, fabric components formed, or components knit-to-shape described in groupings 1, 2, and 3) |
| 9819.11.12 | 5 | No changes |
| 9819.11.15 | 6 | No changes |
| 9819.11.18 | 7 | No changes |
| 9819.11.21 | 8 | NAFTA \"short supply\" fabric or yarn to be formed in any country including the U.S. |
| 9819.11.24 | 8 | No changes |
| 9819.11.27 | 9 | Ethnic printed fabrics |
| 9819.11.30 | 3 | Cut components, knit-to-shape components, or both from former beneficiary SSA countries |
According to CBP, AGOA III specifically states that the amendments or modifications to AGOA Section 112(b) are retroactive to October 1, 2000. Therefore, CBP states that the amendments or modifications to the other provisions in Section 112 would not be entitled to retroactive treatment. (For example, special rules including the change for collars and cuffs or the change to the de minimis provision are in AGOA Section 112(d)).
(See ITT's Online Archives or 07/14/04 news, 04071405, for BP summary of the enactment of AGOA III (P.L. 108-274), including highlights of its provisions.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 08/02/04 news, 04080205, for previous BP summary of TBT-04-022, as well as TBT-04-024 regarding new claims for AGOA III benefits for merchandise with a time of entry on/after July 13, 2004.)
| Susan Thomas | (202) 344-3719 |
| Bob Abels | (202) 344-1959 |
CBP notice (TBT-04-022, dated 07/28/04) available at