CBP Instructs the Trade on the AGOA and CBTPA Amendments Authorized by the Miscellaneous Trade Bill
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued two notices regarding the amendments to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) for textiles and apparel authorized by the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 (Public Law (P.L.) 108-429).
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(The Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 was signed into law on December 3, 2004.)
New AGOA and CBTPA Provisions
In one notice, CBP states that importers should not make claims for preferential tariff treatment under any new AGOA or CBTPA provisions for merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after December 3, 2004, until the necessary Presidential Proclamation has been issued and CBP's implementation instructions are published.
Retroactive AGOA and CBTPA Provisions
In the second notice, CBP states that the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 sets forth changes to AGOA and CBTPA. CBP also states that these changes, and those made in the Trade Act of 2002 and AGOA III (the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004) are retroactive to October 1, 2000.
According to CBP, notwithstanding section 514 of the Tariff Act of 1930 or any other provision of law, CBP shall liquidate or reliquidate articles as free of duty and free of any quantitative limitations (excluding any tariff preference levels) entries that meet these requirements.
CBP states that liquidation or reliquidation may be made only if a request is filed with CBP within 90 days after December 3, 2004, and the request contains sufficient information to enable CBP to locate the entry or reconstruct the entry if it cannot be located. The requests must include specific information regarding the change that allows the merchandise to now be eligible for preferential tariff treatment.
According to CBP, the requests must be made at the port of entry by close of business March 3, 2005.
CBP states that request for liquidation or reliquidation cannot be processed until a Presidential Proclamation is published. CBP states that it will issue a notice when the Presidential Proclamation has been issued.
In its notice, CBP provides a summation of the Trade Act of 2002, AGOA III, and P.L. 108-429 amendments that may be applied retroactively. According to CBP, if a HTS number has not yet been identified, no changes were made to that grouping that would be affected by a protest 1.
1 BP is checking on whether CBP's use of the word 'protest' in this situation is correct .
See future issue of ITT for additional details on CBP's listing of the provisions eligible for retroactive AGOA and CBTPA benefits.
| Susan Thomas (202) 344-3719 |
| Jackeline Martel (202) 344-2277 |
| Robert Abels (202) 344-1959 |
CBP notice (TBT-04-033, dated 12/16/04) available at
CBP notice (TBT-04-032, dated 12/16/04) available at
BP Note
BP is checking with CBP for clarification of certain of its instructions for retroactive AGOA and CBTPA benefits and will update subscribers as new information is available.