CBP Issues Instructions on Filing and Acceptance of Claims Under the Bahrain FTA (Part I)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a memorandum titled: "US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Instructions," that provides instructions for the filing and acceptance of claims for preferential treatment of goods under the U.S.- Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (BFTA).
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According to CBP, the BFTA was implemented by Presidential Proclamation 8039, and is effective for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after August 1, 2006.
The proclamation provides for, among other things, the immediate or staged elimination of duties and barriers to bilateral trade in goods and services originating in the U.S. and/or Bahrain. ITC Publication 3830, which is incorporated into the proclamation by reference, amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) by adding a new General Note 30 containing specific information regarding the BFTA and a new Subchapter XIV to HTS Chapter 99 to provide for temporary tariff rate quotas (TRQs) implemented by the BFTA. The publication also amends the HTS to provide for immediate and staged tariff reductions. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/31/06 news, 06073105 for Part I of BP series of summaries of Proclamation 8039 which implemented the BFTA. Proclamation 8039 incorporated by reference ITC Publication 3830.)
This is Part I of a multi-part series of summaries of CBP's instructions. See future issues of ITT for additional summaries.
Claims May be Filed Effective August 1, 2006; Must be Non-ABI Until Programming Completed
Effective August 1, 2006, CBP states that importers and brokers may file claims for preferential tariff treatment on qualifying goods that originate in Bahrain (or otherwise qualify under the BFTA). These claims shall be made at the time of entry summary by placing on the CBP Form 7501 the SPI "BH" as a prefix to the HTS item number for each line on which preferential tariff treatment is claimed.
CBP explains that the programming updates to the Automated Commercial System (ACS) allowing for automated processing have not yet been completed. Therefore, until further notice, importers claiming preference under the BFTA must either file entries manually or file ABI entries at release and follow through with manual entry summaries.
Overview of CBP's Implementation Instructions for the BFTA
CBP's Instructions are divided into the following sections:
- General Rules of Origin
- Cumulation
- Textiles and Apparel
- Tariff Preference Levels (TPL) Textiles & Apparel - Quantitative Restraint
- Other Textile and Apparel Goods of Bahrain
- De Minimis (Textiles)
- Treatments of Sets (Textiles)
- Agricultural Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs)
- Quota (TPL and TRQ)
- Eligible Articles (Non-Textile and Textile)/Immediate and Staged Reductions
- Information Necessary to Make a Claim
- CBP Verification
- Determination of a Claim
- Corrected US-BFTA Claims
- Petition and Protest Rights
- Merchandise Processing Fees (MPF) and Harbor Maintenance Fees (HMF)
- Termination of Agreement
CBP BFTA Textile and Apparel contact: Susan Thomas (202) 344-3719
CBP BFTA Quota contact: Michelle Vidlock (202) 344-2276
CBP Other BFTA Issues contact: Seth Mazze (202) 344-2634
CBP's BFTA Implementation Instructions available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/international_agreements/free_trade/Bahrain_.ctt/Bahrain_.doc
(BP Note: After posting, CBP overwrote its Bahrain implementation instructions with another document. CBP has been informed, and the proper link should be available soon at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/international_agreements/free_trade/ )