CBP Issues Instructions on Requesting "New" Retroactive Benefits for Textiles and Apparel Co-Produced in Countries That Joined DR-CAFTA on Different Dates
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued instructions on requesting "new" retroactive benefits1 for textiles and apparel co-produced in countries that joined the Dominican Republic - Central America - U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) on different dates, currently El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala.
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CBP is issuing these instructions due to the enactment of H.R. 4, which corrected 19 USC 4034 (DR-CAFTA) to redefine the retroactive benefits available to a beneficiary country's originating textile or apparel goods so they apply to entries entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption made on or after January 1, 2004 and before the date of entry into force of the DR-CAFTA for that country or any other DR-CAFTA country.
According to CBP, as a result of this technical correction, the following textiles or apparel are now eligible for CAFTA-DR retroactive benefits provided they would have qualified as an originating good under the tariff shift rules of HTS General Note 29:
originating goods from El Salvador with raw materials from Nicaragua and/or Honduras entered from March 1, 2006 through March 31, 2006
originating goods from El Salvador with raw materials from Guatemala entered March 1, 2006 through June 30, 2006
originating goods from Nicaragua or Honduras with raw materials from Guatemala entered April 1, 2006 through June 30, 2006
Deadline for Filing Requests for "New" Retroactive Benefits is December 31, 2006
CBP states that upon request, it shall liquidate or reliquidate qualifying articles from eligible CAFTA-DR countries for retroactive preferential treatment1 and refund any excess duties paid with interest, only if a request is filed with CBP by December 31, 2006.
(CBP states that it will address at a later date the necessity of extending the December 31, 2006 deadline for filing requests for liquidation or reliquidation as a result of the delayed entry into force of the CAFTA-DR with respect to Costa Rica and/or the Dominican Republic.)
Requests Must be Filed at Port of Entry by Letter or as a Protest, Etc.
According to CBP, requests must be filed at the port of entry and must contain sufficient information to enable CBP to locate the entry or reconstruct the entry if it cannot be located.
In addition, all requests for retroactive benefits must cite the regulation 19 CFR 10.699 and may be submitted to CBP either by letter or as a protest (Section 514) on a CBP Form 19. Requests submitted by letter will be converted to a 514 by the port of entry.
CBP states that CAFTA-DR claims on entries not eligible for retroactive benefits under 19 CFR 10.699 must be submitted under 520(d).
1 With the exception of textile and apparel articles classified in 14 subheadings subject to DR-CAFTA staged duty rate reductions, the retroactive benefits are duty-free treatment. (The 14 subheadings are found in HTS Chapters 51, 52, and 94.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 08/11/06 news, 06081115, for BP summary of H.R. 4, the Pension Protection Act of 2006.)
CBP contact: Jacqueline Sprungle (202) 344-2277
CBP TBT-06-019, dated 09/26/06, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/tbts/tbt2006/tbt_06_019.ctt/tbt_06_019.doc