The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has posted to its Web site the draft text of the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), which is dated March 1, 2004.
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.
Broker Power is making available by email its lists of 2004 general (column 1) duty rates for knit and crocheted (knit) and woven apparel in Chapters 61 and 62 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), and their associated categories.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that on March 2, 2004, the U.S. and Morocco reached agreement on a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA).
President Bush has issued Proclamation 7758 in order to delete ten countries from, and add one country to, the list of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) beneficiary developing countries.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice regarding the visa and Certificate of Origin/Eligibility numbers for the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement's (SFTA's) tariff preference level (TPL) for certain cotton or man-made fiber (MMF) apparel.
European Union (EU) sources have confirmed that effective March 1, 2004, the EU will impose additional customs duties on imports of certain U.S.-origin products in connection with the EU's World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over the U.S. Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (FSC/ETI) tax regime.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the Automated Commercial System (ACS) has been updated to accept U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA) and U.S-Singapore FTA (SFTA) claims through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI), effective February 23, 2004.
CIT Rules in Favor of CBP's Classification of Frozen, Unbaked Danish. In Schulstad USA, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled in favor of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) finding that certain frozen, unbaked danish products were properly classified under HTS 1901.90.90 (6.4%) as other food preparations of flour, etc., not elsewhere specified or included.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently posted to its Web site certain new Trade Support Network (TSN) committee Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) user requirement recommendations.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that USTR Robert Zoellick formally notified Congress, on behalf of the President, of the Administration's intent to initiate negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Thailand.