U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a 15-page memorandum containing its instructions on the filing and substantiation of claims for preferential tariff treatment made under the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA).
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued to the ports and posted to its Web site separate instructions regarding (1) the use of visas to make claims for duty-free treatment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for qualifying textile and/or apparel articles (textile articles) from Benin that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after January 28, 2004, and (2) quota reporting for certain apparel articles from Benin that are subject to the AGOA aggregate tariff preference level (TPL) and its sublimit.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that on February 8, 2004, the U.S. and Australia concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) which is designed to, among other things, eliminate and reduce tariffs and other trade barriers. The USTR states that the text of this FTA will be made public in the near future.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a 12-page memorandum containing its instructions on the filing and substantiation of claims for preferential tariff treatment made under the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has posted to its Web site the draft text of the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which is dated January 28, 2004.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice which invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on information collection requirements concerning the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) non-textile Certificate of Origin (Form CBP-450).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice designating the Resources Company for Development and Investment Zone (RCDI), the Al Hallabat Industrial Park, and the expanded Al Tajamouat Industrial Park as qualifying industrial zones (QIZs) from which goods, including textiles and apparel, may enter the U.S. duty-free under the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act (IFTA Act).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice announcing its determination that Benin (1) has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment and the use of counterfeit documents in connection with shipments of textile and apparel articles, and (2) has implemented and follows, or is making substantial progress toward implementing and following, the customs procedures required by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). This determination is effective January 28, 2004.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that the U.S. and Costa Rica have concluded negotiations to finalize Costa Rica's participation in the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
The Winter 2003 issue of the NCBFAA Quarterly Bulletin contains an article that states that miscellaneous tariff and trade bills are no longer routine, are not predictable, and may not even be possible. The article notes that such bills have increasingly become the vehicle for solving larger, tougher trade and economic issues that have nothing to do with the tedious technical language of miscellaneous tariff and trade bills. (NBFAA Quarterly Bulletin, No. 103-4, Winter 2003, www.ncbfaa.org.)