ITC Issues Semi-Annual Revision to 2020 HTS; Changes Effective as of July 1

International Trade Today is providing a summary of all changes in Revision 14 to the 2020 HTS, as listed in the ITC’s change record. All changes take effect July 1, 2020, unless indicated otherwise. Included in this guide an outline of the several changes to the tariff schedule that have occurred since the beginning of the year, mostly to implement changes and exemptions to Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs, as well as the removal of many products from Thailand from the Generalized System of Preferences program.

USMCA Implemented in New General Note 11

The release of Revision 14 marks the first appearance of tariff schedule provisions implementing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as of July 1. New Special Program Indicators (SPIs) “S” and “S+” are added to General Note 3(c)(i) for goods eligible for USMCA. The SPIs are added to the special rate of duty column for subheadings throughout the tariff schedule, with most getting SPI S. SPI S+ is used for goods that receive different treatment between Mexico and Canada, namely certain agricultural tariff rate quota (TRQ) goods, agricultural staging goods, and textile tariff preference level (TPL) goods.

New General Note 11 is also added to the tariff schedule, detailing the USMCA rules of origin. General Note 12 remains in the tariff schedule for goods entering under NAFTA, but only applies to goods with a time of entry before July 1.

Organic Recognition for Taiwan

The change record says the ITC amended General Statistical Note 6 to add Taiwan to the list of countries with organic certifications that are recognized for the purposes of the expression “certified organic” in the tariff schedule. However, the change does not actually appear in Revision 14 as of press time.

New Section 301 Exclusion Added for Motorboats

Changes to Section 301 exclusions announced in a June 24 Federal Register notice from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are implemented in the tariff schedule (see 2006190034). New U.S. Note 20(aaa)(79) is added to exempt some motorboats of subheading 8903.92.0065 from List 3 Section 301 tariffs. Technical errors in some other previously announced exclusions are also corrected.

Statistical Reporting Changes for COVID-19 Supplies, Other Products

The July 1 update to the HTS also includes a series of changes to 10-digit statistical suffixes throughout the tariff schedule. Updated provisions affect classification of dried tart cherries, rice, some medical products and personal protective equipment, among other things. The full set of changes is as follows:

Dried tart cherries. Subheading 0813.40.3000 for dried cherries into subheadings 0813.40.3010 for “tart varieties (Prunus cerasus)” and 0813.40.3090 for “other” cherries. Turkish dried tart cherries were the subject of recent antidumping and countervailing duty investigations that came to an end after the ITC found no injury (see 2001140066).

Jasmine and basmati rice. Subheading 1006.20.4020 for “other” long-grain, husked (brown) rice is divided into new subheadings 1006.20.4025 for jasmine rice, and 1006.20.4035 for long-grain, husked (brown) rice other than jasmine rice. Similarly, subheading 1006.30.9055 for non-organic, milled long-grain rice is divided into new subheadings 1006.30.9057 for jasmine rice, 1006.30.9059 for basmati rice, and 1006.30.9061 for other non-organic, milled long-grain rice.

Non-organic wine. Subheadings 2204.21.5040 and 2204.21.5055, which previously referred to “other” red and white wine, respectively, are changed to more specifically refer to “not certified organic” wine.

Diagnostic reagents. Subheading 3002.15.00 for immunological products for retail sale is subdivided to create new subheading 3002.15.0010 for diagnostic reagents based on an antibody test. A new residual “other” category for all other products formerly classified in the subheading is created under subheading 3002.15.0090.

Similarly, new subheading 3822.00.5050 is created for diagnostic reagents based on polymerase chai reaction (PCR). New “other” subheading 3822.00.5095 is created for “other” reagents classifiable in heading 3822.

Disinfectant wipes. New tariff provisions are added for disinfectant wipes. Subheading 3808.94.5000 is divided into subheadings 3808.94.5010 for “wipes, other than paper wipes or nonwoven wipes, impregnated with alcohol or other disinfectant,” and 3808.94.5050 for “hydrogen peroxide put up in disinfectant preparations for sanitizing or disinfecting surfaces.” New subheading 3808.94.5090 is created for “other” disinfectants.

Viral transport media. Subheading 3821.00.0000 for “prepared culture media for development or maintenance of micro-organism” is subdivided into subheadings 3821.00.0010 for “viral transport media,” and subheading 3821.00.0090 for “other” prepared culture media.

Face masks. New subheading 3926.90.9950 is added to the residual category for other plastics for “face masks and shields, medical positioning or transport pads, medical waste containers or disinfectant wipes dispensers.” The residual “other” category is renumbered 3926.90.9985.

Paper personal protective equipment. Subheading 4818.50.00 is divided into new subheading 4814.50.0020 for hospital/medical gowns or scrubs, of paper, and subheading 4818.50.0080 for other paper articles of apparel and clothing accessories. Subheading 4818.90.00 is divided into new subheading 4818.90.0020 for paper face masks, and subheading 4818.90.0080 for “other” goods formerly classifiable in the subheading.

Subheading 4823.90.8600 is divided into subheading 4823.90.8620 for paper “shoe covers (booties) of a kind described in statistical note 2 to this chapter, and subheading 4823.90.8680 for “other’ goods formerly classifiable in the old subheading. New statistical note 2 to chapter 48 says: “For purposes of statistical reporting number 4823.90.8620, shoe coverings (booties) must be 50 percent or more by weight of cellulose/paper. This provision does not include disposable shoe coverings (booties) of non-woven textile fibers classified in heading 6307.”

Textile personal protective equipment. New tariff provisions are added for face masks, including respirators without replaceable filters, of textile materials. New subheading 6307.90.9845 covers N95 respirators, 6307.90.9850 covers other respirators, 6307.90.9870 covers other disposable face masks, and 6307.90.9875 covers other face masks. New residual subheading 6307.90.9891 replaces 6307.90.9889 as the residual catch-all “other” category for other made-up articles of textiles.

Crystal glassware. New subheadings are added throughout heading 7013 for “crystalline or non-lead crystal” glassware. Affected subheadings are 7013.28.20, 7013.28.50, 7013.28.60, 7013.37.10, 7013.37.20, 7013.37.50, 7013.37.60, 7013.49.20, 7013.49.50, 7013.49.60, 7013.99.40, 7013.99.50, 7013.99.80 and 7013.99.90.

Refillable stainless steel kegs. New tariff provisions for refillable stainless steel kegs are added in heading 7310. New subheading 7310.10.0005 covers refillable stainless steel kegs of a capacity of 50 liters or more, with subheading 7310.10.0010 for empty steel drums and barrels renumbered 7310.10.0015 and the “other’ category 7310.10.0050 renumbered 7310.00.0090.

New subheading 7310.29.0020 covers refillable stainless steel kegs of a capacity between 11.4 liters and 26.6 liters, and new subheading 7310.29.0055 covers other refillable stainless steel kegs under 50 liters in capacity. “Other” subheadings 7310.29.0025 and 7310.29.0050 are renumbered 7310.29.0030 and 7310.29.0065.

The new subheadings for refillable stainless steel kegs refer to new statistical note 1, which says: “for the purposes of statistical reporting numbers 7310.10.0005, 7310.29.0020 and 7310.29.0055, 'refillable stainless steel kegs, whether or not pressurized' refers to cylindrical kegs for liquid beverages, each keg with a domed top and bottom and a single neck piece, designed for a coupler (valve) system and an extractor tube (spear) by which the keg can be cleaned, filled and dispense the liquid contents.”

Mobile clinic and radiological vehicles. New subheading 8705.90.0010 is created for mobile radiological units, and new subheading 8705.90.0020 for mobile medical clinics. Subheading 8705.90.0000 for other special purpose motor vehicles is renumbered 8705.00.0080.

Infrared thermometers. New tariff subheadings are created for infrared thermometers. New subheading 9025.19.8010 covers infrared thermometers of a kind described in statistical note 2 to chapter 90. That new note says: “for the purposes of statistical reporting number 9025.19.8010, ‘clinical infrared thermometers’ are devices designed to be used to check the body temperatures of humans and animals.”

New subheading 9025.19.8060 covers non-clinical infrared thermometers. Subheadings 9025.19.8040 and 9025.19.8080 are renumbered 9025.19.8020 and 9025.19.8085.

Adjustable folding mattress foundations with legs. Subheading 9403.20.0045, which covers metal foldable mattress foundations with legs, is divided into new subheadings 9403.20.0046 for mechanically adjustable foldable mattress foundations, and 9403.20.0048 for “stationary (not mechanically adjustable)” foldable mattress foundations with legs.

Collector’s coins. New subheading 9705.00.001 is created for “coins made prior to the 14th century and not known to be the direct products of excavations, finds or archaeological sites.”

GSP Treatment Corrected for Thailand

The GSP indicator for several subheadings is changed from “A” to “A*” to provide for the correct tariff treatment for goods from Thailand. The changes, which were omitted from an April 2020 tariff update (see 2005010049), affect subheadings 9620.00.10, 9620.00.20, 9620.00.25, 9620.00.50, 9620.00.55, 9620.00.65 and 9620.00.70, which were declared ineligible for GSP when imported from Thailand because of the country’s lack of labor rights (see 1910280044). General Note 4 had been amended to reflect the ineligible country-product pairs, but the subheadings themselves had been unchanged.

Corrections to ROOs for South Korea, Colombia, and Panama FTAs

Per Presidential Proclamation 10053, General Notes 33, 34 and 35 are amended to add rules of origin that were inadvertently omitted for the South Korea, Colombia and Panama free trade agreements, respectively. The changes for South Korea and Colombia are retroactive to May 15, 2012, and the changes for Panama are retroactive to Oct. 31, 2012.