ITC Issues Update on Changes to HTSUS
U.S. importers and customs brokers should be advised that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), the U.S. agency responsible for issuing the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), has issued another update regarding the status of the 2007 changes to the HTSUS. These changes are necessary to implement the modifications made to the Harmonized System by the World Customs Organization (WCO). While these changes will go into worldwide effect on January 1, 2007, as noted below the new version of the HTSUS incorporating the changes made by the WCO will not be available until January or February 2007. The complete text of the ITC's announcement is reprinted below:
IMPORTANT NOTE CONCERNING THE 2007 HTS:In the meantime, U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Trade Enforcement and Facilitation has issued a blanket authorization for Immediate Delivery (ID) procedures for merchandise to be released on or after December 15, 2006 and until December 31, 2006. The authorization is offered to filers who may want to take advantage of the 2006 HTSUS with 2007 staged duty rates, which take effect on January 1, 2007. A second blanket authorization will be offered 10 days prior to the effective date of the 2007 HTS changes.
Effective January 1, 2007, the USITC will post on this website an electronic version of the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) (Preliminary). This version will include changes occurring since the posting of the 2006 HTS (Supplement 1, Rev. 2), but likely will NOT include the following: (a) tariff legislation recently passed by the Congress and (b) amendments recommended by the World Customs Organization (WCO) for implementation on January 1, 2007. By U.S. law, the President cannot proclaim the implementation of these latter amendments in the HTS until a required Congressional layover period is completed; that layover period was completed during the week of December 4-8, and it is anticipated that the President will sign the implementing proclamation before the end of December, with an effective date yet to be determined. As soon as possible after the President signs the proclamation, the ITC will post an updated electronic version on this website, and the Government Printing Office will publish a hard-copy version of the 2007 HTS.
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