The International Trade Commission (ITC) has posted to its Web site its preliminary report for its investigation (No. 1205-6) on proposed modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). According to the ITC, these proposed modifications are scheduled to become effective in January 2007.
Customs duty
A customs duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs duty rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight. U.S. customs duties are listed in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the low-duty Tariff Preference Level (TPL) (2) for Mexico filled on April 19, 2005 at 10:52 a.m.
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The International Trade Commission (ITC) has instituted an investigation entitled, Steel: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Import Relief, for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of relief action that was imposed by the President, and subsequently terminated, on imports of certain steel products.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the 2005 in-quota ("low duty") tariff rate quota (TRQ) for canned tuna and skipjack (tuna) filled at opening moment on January 3, 2005.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing the 2005 in-quota ("low duty") tariff-rate quota (TRQ) quantity for tuna and skipjack (tuna) in airtight containers, not in oil, weighing with their contents not over 7 kilograms (kg) each, that is not the product of any U.S. insular possession, as described in HTS 1604.14.22 (6% duty).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a notice announcing that, effective April 1, 2005, an electronic certification (eCERT) transmission issued by the Government of Singapore will be required for tariff preference level (TPL) claims under HTS Chapter 99, Subchapter X, U.S. Note 13, pursuant to the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA).
The U.S. Census Bureau (Census) has issued a proposed rule to amend the Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR, 15 CFR Part 30)1 in order to require mandatory filing of export information through the Automated Export System (AES) or AESDirect for all shipments where a Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) is currently required, etc.
On March 23, 2005, President Bush met with Canadian Prime Minister Martin and Mexican President Fox to announce the establishment of the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America" (SPP).