Details of CBP's Instructions on Requesting Retroactive AGOA or CBTPA Textile and Apparel Benefits Pursuant to the Miscellaneous Trade Bill
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued two notices regarding the amendments made by the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 (Public Law (P.L.) 108-429) to African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) textiles and apparel.
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One of the notices contains instructions for new AGOA and new CBTPA textile and apparel benefits, while the other notice contains instructions for requesting certain retroactive AGOA and CBTPA textile and apparel benefits. This second notice on retroactive benefits is detailed below.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 12/21/04 news, 04122110, for previous BP summary of these two notices.)
Requests for Retroactive Benefits Must be Made by March 3, 2005
According to the notice and CBP sources, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 sets forth changes to AGOA and CBTPA which are retroactive in scope, including certain Trade Act of 2002 and AGOA III (the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004) changes which have been "reopened" by the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, all of which are retroactive to October 1, 2000.
The notice states that notwithstanding 19 USC 1514 (Protests) or any other provision of law, CBP shall liquidate or reliquidate entries of subject articles as free of duty and free of any quantitative limitations (excluding any tariff preference levels) that meet the below requirements.
Liquidation or reliquidation may be made only if a request is filed with CBP within 90 days after December 3, 2004. Specifically, the requests must be made at the port of entry by close of business March 3, 2005.
The request must contain 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. (For example, CBP sources state that the request cannot simply say "AGOA" or "CBTPA" but should cite the tariff number, what is being allowed (e.g. knit-to-shape) or why, etc.)
The notice states that importers will receive denials for refund requests which cite AGOA III for claims based on the changes to the special rules, such as the use of foreign collars and cuffs. Importers must instead file a refund request citing the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004.
CBP further states that for all requests for liquidation or reliquidation for AGOA merchandise, all entry document requirements of AGOA must be met at the time a claim is made (AGOA visa, AGOA certificate of origin, etc.)
Requests for Liquidation/Reliquidation Cannot be Processed Until Proclamation is Published
CBP states that requests 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.
Changes Eligible for Retroactive Benefits
According to CBP, the following is a summation of the Trade Act of 2002, AGOA III, and Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 amendments that may be requested to 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 request for liquidation or reliquidation.)
| Susan Thomas (202) 344-3719 |
| Jackeline Martel (202) 344-2277 |
| Robert Abels (202) 344-1959 |
CBP notice (TBT-04-032, dated 12/16/04) available at