2013 HTS Posted, Effective Jan. 1; Includes Stat Suffix, FTA, PTA Changes

The International Trade Commission posted the 2013 edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, effective Jan. 1. The new HTS implements provisions detailed in Presidential Proclamation 8921, issued Dec. 20, including the removal of African Growth and Opportunity Act beneficiary treatment for Mali and Guinea-Bissau; modifies statistical suffixes throughout the HTS; and corrects and modifies provisions governing treatment of goods entered pursuant to various free trade agreements, to give them the intended tariff treatment.

(The ITC accidentally released part of the 2013 HTS on Dec. 20, but subsequently removed the revisions from its website. HTS modifications detailed in the incomplete change record posted Dec. 20 are maintained in this official version, along with additional changes. See ITT’s Online Archives 12122135 for summary.)

AGOA Beneficiary Status Added for South Sudan, Removed for Mali, Guinea-Bissau

Pursuant to proclamation 8921, the 2013 HTS adds South Sudan as an AGOA sub-Saharan beneficiary country. The new HTS also removes Mali and Guinea-Bissau as AGOA beneficiary countries. These changes were implemented by adding South Sudan, and removing Mali and Guinea-Bissau, from the list of AGOA sub-Saharan beneficiary countries in general note 16(a) and note 2(d) to Subchapter XIX of Chapter 98.

New Statistical Suffixes for 'Certified Organic' Ag Products, Wood Flooring, Iron & Steel

The 2013 HTS adds statistical suffixes for (i) several agricultural products that are “certified organic,” (ii) “wood flooring” entering under Chapter 44, and (iii) iron and steel products in chapters 72 and 73.

'Certified Organic' agricultural products. For the following agricultural products, the general statistical suffix was deleted and replaced by provisions for “certified organic” and “other” products:

• 0703.20.00 -- “Garlic: Fresh whole bulbs”
• 0802.12.00 -- “Almonds: Shelled”
• 0803.90.00 -- “Bananas and plantains, fresh or dried: Other” (i.e., other than plantains, or Bananas)
• 0804.50.40 & 1509.50.60 -- Mangoes
• 0910.11.00 -- “Ginger: Neither crushed nor ground”
• 1204.00.00 -- “Flaxseed: For use as oil stock”
• 1509.10 -- Virgin olive oil
• 2204.10.00 -- Sparkling wine, valued at over $1.59/liter
• 2204.21.50 -- Red and white wine, valued at over $1.05/liter

'Wood Flooring' suffix for plywood & laminated wood products. For “Plywood, veneered panels, and similar laminated wood” contained in heading 4412 of chapter 44, the 2013 HTS adds a statistical suffix for “wood flooring” to several subheadings, including: 4412.31.40, 4412.32.05, 4412.32.25, and 4412.399.51.

New iron & steel statistical suffixes. The 2013 HTS adds statistical suffixes for several iron and steel products in Chapters 72 and 73. Specific changes are as follows:

• Adds a statistical suffix under subheading 7217.10.40 (“Wire of iron or nonalloy steel: not plated or coated, whether or not polished: containing by weight less than 0.25 percent of carbon: round wire: With a diameter of less than 1.5mm: Heat treated”) for wire “in coils weighing not more than 2 kilograms.”
• Adds statistical suffixes under heading 7222 (“Other bars and rods of stainless steel; angles, shapes, and sections of stainless steel”) for stainless steel “Containing less than 8 percent by weight of nickel.” The ITC made this addition to subheadings 7222.11.00, 7222.19.00, 7222.20.00, and 7222.30.00.
• Adds statistical suffixes under subheading 7326.20.00 (“Other articles of iron or steel: Articles of iron or steel wire”) for “Sod staples, U staples, irrigation staples, ground staples, and ground pins” and “Double loop bar ties and double loop wire ties.”

HTS Provisions for FTAs & PTAs Corrected and Updated

The ITC updated HTS provisions for several free trade agreements and preferential trade agreements to correct and update tariff treatment for 2013. These changes were detailed in Proclamation 8921, and are as follows:

USCFTA rules of origin. As detailed in Proclamation 8921, because of recent changes by both the U.S. and Chile to their respective tariff schedules, some Chile FTA provisions no longer provide the intended tariff treatment. The ITC updated the USCFTA rules of origin in HTS general note 26(n) to conform the rules of origin to the WCO HS changes.

KFTA rules of origin. The 2013 HTS corrects an error to the KFTA rules of origin for HTS chapter 61, also pursuant to Proclamation 8921. Rule 17 to chapter 61 of general note 33 is modified to provide the intended tariff treatment.

Australia FTA meat provisions. The 2013 HTS modifies provisions governing tariff treatment for meat imported from Australia, pursuant to the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement. The changes are detailed in Presidential Proclamation 7857, and affect subheading 9913.02, as well as maximum allowable quantities for Australia beef detailed in the U.S. notes to chapter 99. The following subheadings were also modified to make conforming changes: 0201.10.50, 0201.20.80, 0201.30.80, 0202.10.50, 0202.20.80, 0202.30.80.

Staged duty reductions. The new HTS includes changes to implement staged duty reductions for 2013, pursuant to the following FTAs: U.S. Panama Trade Promotion Agreement; U.S.-Colombia TPA; U.S.-Korea FTA; U.S.-Peru FTA; U.S.-Oman FTA; U.S.-Bahrain FTA; Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. FTA; U.S.-Morocco FTA; U.S.-Australia FTA; U.S.-Singapore FTA; and U.S.-Chile FTA.

Errant GSP Ineligible Country-Product Pair Corrected

Finally, pursuant to proclamation 8921, the ITC removed an errant country-product pair listed as ineligible for Generalized System of Preferences duty-free treatment. The entry for “3923.21.50 -- Thailand” is removed from general note 4(d).

(See ITT’s Online Archives 12122725 for summary of Presidential Proclamation 8921.)