CBP Notices on Honduras and Nicaragua Agricultural/Sugar CAFTA-DR TRQs That Took Effect April 1, 2006
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued two notices on the CAFTA-DR tariff rate quotas (TRQs) that are in effect for the April 1, 2006 - December 31, 2006 period for certain "qualifying" agricultural products (including sugar) from Honduras or Nicaragua.
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These Honduras and Nicaragua TRQs opened on April 3, 2006 at 1:00 EDT or its equivalent in other time zones. CBP states that P is the primary SPI indicator.
Sugar TRQ - "In-Quota" Limit
CBP's notice on the sugar TRQs for Honduras and Nicaragua lists the in-quota quantity for Honduras as 8,000,000 kilograms, and the in-quota quantity for Nicaragua as 22,000,000 kilograms. CBP states that these sugar TRQs are provided for in HTS 9822.05.20 and described in HTS Chapter 98, Subchapter XXII, U.S. Note 25. In addition, no certificate of quota eligibility is required for imports under these TRQs.
CBP also states that headquarters will administer these TRQs manually until programming is completed, which will require the ports to fax entries summaries presented for the in-quota duty rate to (202) 344-2371.
Other TRQs - "In-Quota" Limit, "Over-Quota" Limit, and "Safeguard" Duty Rates
According to another CBP notice, the agricultural CAFTA-DR TRQs (except sugar) for Honduras and Nicaragua each have an aggregate in-quota (duty free) quantity limit.
All but two also have an aggregate over-quota (high duty) quantity limit , and all but one have a safeguard (high) duty rate for quantities in excess of the aggregate over-quota limit.
List of Aggregate "In-Quota" and "Over-Quota" Limits.CBP states that the DR-CAFTA agricultural TRQs for April 1, 2006 - December 31, 2006 applicable to Honduras and Nicaragua are in U.S. Notes 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of HTS Chapter 99, Subchapter XV.
For the 2006 time period, the aggregate "in-quota" and "over-quota" quantity limits for Honduras and Nicaragua are as follows (See CBP notice for all applicable HTS Chapter 99 and HTS Chapter 1-97 tariff numbers; CBP's notice does not list any duty rates; also there are no quantity limits for any of the safeguard duty rates):
Note Number In-Quota Over-Quota Safeguard
U.S. NOTE 4*
Honduras 525,000 kg
Nicaragua 10,500,000 kg
U.S. NOTE 5
Honduras 560,259 L 168,078 L
Nicaragua 254,663 L 76,399 L
U.S. NOTE 6
Honduras 100,000 kg 30,000 kg
U.S. NOTE 8
Nicaragua 100,000 kg 30,000 kg
U.S. NOTE 10
Honduras 350,000 kg 105,000 kg
Nicaragua 625,000 kg 188,000 kg
U.S. NOTE 11
Nicaragua 250,000 kg
U.S. NOTE 12
Nicaragua 10,000,000 kg 3,000,000 kg
U.S. NOTE 13
Nicaragua 280,000 kg 84,000 kg
U.S. NOTE 14
Honduras 48,544 L 14,563 L
Nicaragua 266,989 L 80,097 L
*The quantities in this note shall be available only after the quantity allocated to "Other Countries or areas" under additional U.S. Note 3 to Chapter 2 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule has been filled for the year.
Non-ABI Entry Required Until Further Notice
Due to ongoing system programming for the CAFTA-DR, CBP states that ABI transmission of entries for eligible agricultural/sugar goods is not available at this time. Filers are required to file non-ABI until further notice.
TRQ Products are "Qualifying Goods" and Require a SPI P
CBP states that DR-CAFTA provides quantitative limits associated with a reduced duty rate for agricultural products that meet the requirements for a "qualifying good." A qualifying good is one that meets the product specific rule of origin, however U.S. materials or inputs are considered to be of a non-Party; in other words, U.S. materials are considered non-originating. P is the primary SPI indicator.
(See CBP notice for Chapter 1 - 97, and Chapter 99 tariff numbers applicable to Honduras and Nicaragua for each U.S. Note. See April 1, 2006 HTS (Revision 2) for current TRQ in-quota, over-quota and safeguard duty rates, and annual TRQ quantities. See Presidential Proclamation 7996 for applicable over-quota and safeguard duty rates for each year.)
CBP contact: Christine Kegley (202) 344-2319
CBP QBT-06-522 (agricultural TRQs except sugar, dated 04/03/06), available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/qbts/qbt2006/06_522.ctt/06_522.doc
CBP QBT-06-523 (sugar TRQs, dated 04/03/06) available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/qbts/qbt2006/06_523.ctt/06_523.doc